How Do You Get A College Coach To Notice You?
As a high school athlete, you may feel that it’ll be impossible for a college coach to ever notice you with all the other recruit’s names coming across their desks every day. In all reality, as long as you reach out to them and display your interest in their program, they will likely respond and have some degree of interest in evaluating you.
To get a college coach to notice you, reach out to them consistently with your up-to-date recruiting materials. Your efforts to deliberately market yourself to them will show your level of interest in playing for their school and give you more chances of catching them when they have a few minutes to review your materials. Be sure to strike a balance though. You don’t want to be annoying. Make sure each time you are reaching out you are providing some type of helpful update.
In the selections below, how to get noticed by a coach is explained in detail. These strategies include how to reach out and build relationships with college coaches and their coaching staff as well as the recruitment materials which you should have prepared to send to a coach.
Reach Out And Build Relationships
The recruitment process is entirely built around the concept of forming relationships. Every prospective recruit’s information that comes across a Division I coach’s desk will exemplify high levels of athletic achievement. The differentiation aspect of the recruitment process comes from establishing a strong relationship with the coach.
First Contact With Coaches: After you have narrowed down your list of targeted colleges, it is best to reach out to those coaches as soon as possible. While in today’s world there are many different ways to communicate with college coaches, the standard method you should use to first communicate is through email. Almost all collegiate coaches have their email address listed on the school’s website, and if not, it shouldn’t take all that much to find it.
Other Forms Of Contact: There are plenty of other forms of communication that you can use to reach out to a coach, and get yourself on their radar. After email, the next best form of reaching out to a coach is by calling them on the phone. Similar to email, a college coaches phone number is likely included on a school’s website. After emailing them, feel free to follow up with a call. If the coach doesn’t answer your call, leave a polite message and mention your previous email. You may feel that by calling a coach you are bothering them. This is not the case. Prospective student athletes across the country reach out to coaches via phone call every day. The more you reach out the better because it only further shows them your interest in their program.
It’s important for you to individually reach out to coaches whom you have a desire to play for. One thing that coaches explicitly look for is a prospective student athlete who is willing to take initiative and reach out. If you want to play for them, it will be much more likely that they begin reciprocating that interest.
Prepare Recruitment Materials
When you are trying to make your way onto a college coach’s radar, it’s important to prepare recruitment materials you’ll need to stand out.
Fill Out Recruiting Questionnaires: When first reaching out to a college coach, it’s important to have finished the recruiting questionnaire on the program’s website. Questionnaires feed all your important information into the “system” coaches use to run their recruiting processes. By filling out their online questionnaires, you’ll give yourself the bare minimum chance of being noticed in their process. Remember, once filled out, this process is out of your control, so don’t forget to continue to reach out to coaches.
Send In Recruitment Videos: Another great way to get noticed is by sending coaches your highlight film. Seeing you play your sport is the most effective way of peaking a coach’s interest. By sending a coach clips of your best performances, you’ll make it easy for them to quickly gauge your ability and if you could compete for their program. If a coach likes what they see, you can bet you’ve made a list of athletes for your class.
Send A Coach Your Recruitment Letter: A recruitment letter is a document that contains your most general information such as your high school name and your anticipated graduation date along with important academic and athletic statistics. On the academic side, a recruitment letter should include your current high school GPA along with any important test scores. On the athletic side, be sure to list any applicable stats for your sport such as times if you are a swimmer or runner. Feel free to provide any other relevant measurements, statistics or awards won. Presenting these to a college coach directly via email, will allow you to easily put yourself on a college coaches radar.
Providing recruitment materials is an excellent way to get a coach to notice you. By completing these materials you will be ready to make the best impression possible when reaching out to college coaches..
Things To Keep In Mind
Be Proactive: There are far fewer college coaches than there are prospective recruits. The odds are against a coach discovering you as you compete in high school or on a travel team. If you want to get noticed by a college coach you need to be proactive. This starts with initial contact. Make a list of schools you want to play for, research each program and email the coach at each school. It’s your responsibility to get on a coach’s radar.
Be Persistent: Persistence is key. There will be times when you don’t feel like you are getting through. Remember, coaches are busy people. They are coaching their current teams, planning travel for their teams and all while running a recruiting process. By consistently and thoughtfully reaching out to college coaches you will eventually get through. Just remember to not annoy or SPAM the coach.
Attend A School’s Camp: Attending a college’s summer camps is another great way to be noticed by coaches. Camps give you that chance to work on your skills and develop as a player, and it allows you to have close proximity to a coaching staff. Be sure to reach out to the coaching staff before attending a camp to let them know your interest in their program and to make sure they know who you are before attending.
Don’t Rely On High School Coaches: While your high school coach is an ally to you throughout the recruitment process, don’t rely on them to get noticed. A high school coach can help you obtain some information about how to get into contact with a coach, and may even reach out to a coach on your behalf. This being said, the recruiting process is still an individual one. You have to fill out the materials yourself and be prepared to communicate consistently with coaches. Your high school coach may have a few connections and be beneficial in the process, but overall the responsibility is on you as a prospective student-athlete.