Can Sophomores Contact College Coaches?
If you’re just starting to look into playing sports in college, you may have heard how important it is to contact college coaches. Most experts suggest reaching out to coaches early on in high school. When exactly you decide to contact college coaches depends on several factors. Sophomore year seems like a good time to start recruiting, but can sophomores contact college coaches?
Sophomores can contact college coaches, but college coaches may not be able to respond. Depending on the sport you play and the division you’re targeting, college coaches are restricted from responding to student-athletes before June 15 of their sophomore year or September 1 of their junior year. You won’t commit an infraction by contacting a college coach in your sophomore year, but, likely, you won’t hear back from the coach.
The NCAA has specific contact rules in place to prevent early recruiting. For elite-level programs, coaches start looking for potential recruits as early as middle school. Recruiting at this age puts a lot of pressure on young student-athletes to make significant life decisions that they aren’t prepared for. By pushing the formal recruiting process back a few years, student-athletes have more time to develop skills and think critically about where they want to go to college.
Contacting College Coaches By Division
It’s still important to contact college coaches, even if they can’t respond. Especially for major programs, coaches will be building lists of potential recruits based on research years in advance. Sending them necessary information about yourself, including your highlight video, athletic statistics and academic record, can cause a coach to consider you early on.
Division I: For some sports, the NCAA prevents coaches from extending scholarship offers to student-athletes until after their sophomore year of high school. Football, basketball, softball, baseball and lacrosse are not part of this rule, so the recruiting timeline might be earlier. Verify the specific restrictions for your sport, so you know when a coach can begin a recruiting conversation.
Division II: Division II contact rules are similar to Division I, with college coaches being allowed to contact student-athletes after June 15 of their sophomore year. Student-athletes are permitted to take unofficial visits at any time, but they cannot schedule a meeting with the coach before August 1 of their junior year. So an unofficial visit is an excellent way to see if you like the campus, but it won’t help you move the recruiting process forward very much until your junior year.
Division III: Division III schools are not bound to the same recruiting rules. College coaches can contact student-athletes at any time, but there are a few restrictions on meeting a student-athlete off-campus. Division III coaches tend to follow the same general timeline as Division I and II, as they are recruiting student-athletes who consider multiple divisions.
Depending on your sport and your division, you may decide to reach out earlier or later in high school. Team sports tend to recruit beforehand, while individual sports like swimming and track and field will recruit players into their senior year. It’s essential to do your research and be prepared before starting to contact coaches for the best results.
How To Start Contacting A College Coach As A Sophomore
The best time to start contacting a college coach is when you feel ready. Earlier is always better, as it helps grab a coach’s attention, but it’s also necessary to be prepared. Make sure you’ve researched schools and coaches first and have a list of colleges you’re targeting. After you’ve established what you want your college experience to be like, you can contact a coach.
Call Them: Coaches can talk to you if you call them, and they answer right away. It’s against the rules for them to call you back if they’ve missed your call. It’s good to follow up with the coaches you email with a phone call for a chance at a conversation with them. Set up another time to talk when the coach is available on this phone call.
Ask Your Current Coach: Your current coach, whether they’re from your club or high school team, can be a great resource to connect you with college coaches. They might have a relationship with a coach at a school you’re interested in and set up a phone call for you. Your current coach can also help you consider which school is the best fit for you.
Send Your Schedule: A college coach may not be able to respond to your email, but they might still be interested in watching you play. Send your upcoming tournament or showcase schedule to the coach in your introduction emails, so they can make plans to watch you play in person.
Attend A Sports Camp: Many college coaches will host a sports camp on campus and invite many potential recruits. If you’re interested in the school, you should consider attending the camp to get exposure to the coach and see their coaching style.
Reaching out early, in your sophomore or junior year, can help you get a head start on recruiting. Starting a conversation with a coach that you keep up with over time will pay off when it comes time for a coach to give out scholarship offers. Relationships are an important part of recruiting, so it’s always better to start contacting coaches as soon as possible.
What To Do Before Contacting A Coach
If you decide you want to wait before reaching out to a coach, here are some things to do to help you prepare for contacting a coach. Completing these tasks ahead of time can give you an edge on other recruits and set you up for a less stressful time in your junior and senior years.
Evaluate Your Courses: Sit down with your guidance counselor or take a look at your academic requirements to make sure you’re taking the classes you need to graduate and be eligible for schools you’re considering. Early high school, especially sophomore year, is a great time to focus on making good grades to maintain a high GPA. Having a good academic record shows that you’re a well-rounded student-athlete that has time-management and organization skills.
Develop Athletic Skills: Take the opportunity you have early on in high school to develop your athletic potential by learning new skills. Putting in extra time at practice now can take your game to the next level while coaches are still looking for recruits. Be honest with yourself about where you could improve and focus on those aspects.
Take Unofficial Visits: Another way to prepare for contacting a coach might be taking an unofficial visit. Touring campus and researching the school can show you what aspects of the college you’re interested in. If you’re taking an unofficial visit before your junior year, you can email the coach after visiting and share what you liked about the school.
Register With NCAA Eligibility Center: Any student-athlete that plays college sports is required to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. You’ll have to upload your contact information, standardized test scores and any relevant athletic information. Coaches can access your profile, and it’s a good idea to update this early on so all your data is in one place.
Preparation is vital, especially when it comes to contacting a college coach. You want to make sure you’re organized and ready to make a great first impression. Thinking about what type of college you want to go to and where your athletic and academic abilities will fit in is one of the best ways to prepare before reaching out to a coach. Keep editing your list of schools as you grow and change your mind about the most important things for you in college.
Things To Keep In Mind
Review Your Social Media: Before sending an email to a college coach, go through your social media. You don’t want to leave up any posts that could be seen as inappropriate or offensive. Your profile should be public, and you should have a link to your highlight video available. Utilizing your social media to promote your athletic career can be a great way to keep coaches updated.
Break It Down: Recruiting can be overwhelming, with all the priorities you have to balance in high school. Break down contacting college coaches into manageable amounts of work by only sending a few emails a week. Starting early can also help make the process less stressful by giving you extra time to talk with coaches and complete eligibility requirements.