How Do You Talk To A College Coach?

When beginning your college recruiting journey you may be feeling many mixed emotions ranging from excitement to the fear of disappointment. One common feeling that many high school athletes experience is being nervous talking to college coaches. Whether you have lots of experience speaking with adults or not, talking to college coaches can be nerve-wracking, as the impression you give to coaches is very important.

When talking to a college coach you want to be confident, professional, and respectful. You also want to ensure that you keep the conversation focused on your athletic abilities and potential at the coach’s college. Practice makes perfect when talking to a college coach. You may find it beneficial to do a mock call with a peer or adult so that you feel prepared when you do talk to a coach.

Talking to college coaches should not be something you overly stress about. While you want to give a good impression, it is important to relax and be yourself. Coaches have much experience talking to recruits so they will likely lead the conversation. This article will help further explain how to get in contact with college coaches and best practices for communicating with a coach.

How To Talk To A College Coach?

When talking to a college coach you should treat it as if you were going to a job interview. You should prepare ahead of time, do your research, and sound professional. It is also extremely important to be polite and respectful and to remain as engaged as possible throughout the conversation.

Be Prepared: It is important to practice how you will talk to a coach with a peer or adult. This may seem strange but will make speaking in person or on the phone with a coach much more comfortable.

Know What You Want: You should strive to show coaches that you are confident and mature in knowing your goals and in trying to find a good fit for your college athletic career. This means being able to answer their questions completely and confidently.

Talking to coaches may be uncomfortable at first, but following these steps and being prepared will make it much easier. Always ensure that you are remaining polite and respectful and be as thorough in your responses as possible.

What To Say To A College Coach?

If this is your first time getting in contact with a coach you may be wondering what to say. The guidelines below will help you on your first call, in your first email, or when you first meet a coach in person.

Introduce Yourself: Always start out your conversation by introducing yourself. You should go further than just saying your name and where you are from as this is likely a coach’s first impression of you. You should also state your high school, position, years playing your sport, and any other relevant information or accomplishments like championships or awards won. This will help the coach get a quick understanding of who you are and your skills.

Give Your Stats: If sending an email, it is a great idea to send your most relevant stats. If you are on the phone with a coach, they are likely to ask you about your stats, whether that be your RBI, your PR, or running yards. If the coach does not ask you explicitly over the phone to give your stats you should definitely work them into the conversation as these are one of the best ways you can show your abilities to a coach while just talking with them.

Send Your Highlight Video: When communicating with coaches you should make sure to make a highlight video and send it to them. Many coaches are not able to see all of their recruits play in person. Thus, highlight videos are crucial for showing your skills and abilities.

Talk About Your Goals: It is important to talk about your short term as well as long term goals when communicating with coaches. You should have a clear idea of what you want to get out of your years playing as a college athlete and what you want to do post college. This will help a coach determine if you are a good fit for their college and whether your goals can be achieved through their program.

Ask Questions: You should have a bank of questions ready before you start conversing with a coach. This will both help you understand the college and coach better, show that you are considerate and thoughtful of the coach's time, and that you are taking the process seriously.

If you have spoken with a coach in the past, but want to know how to keep the conversation going it can be helpful to send updated stats, highlight videos, and ACT or SAT test scores. You can also begin to tell coaches that you are planning to visit the campus or are playing a game or match near their college campus soon. Always end your conversation by giving them information on how to contact you, whether that be your email or phone number.

How To Get In Contact With A College Coach?

There are many lines of communication that you can use to talk to coaches. Some may prefer email while others might be more likely to respond to a phone call. Whichever way you communicate with a coach, the goal should be the same: to start building a relationship with the coach so as to see if you are a good fit for the program.

Find The Coaches Contact Information: The first step in contacting a coach is to find their contact information. This can easily be done on the internet as most coaches’ phone numbers and/or emails are posted on their universities’ websites.

Use Your Network: If you are unable to find a coach's contact information on the internet, use your network to try to get in contact with anyone that may know the coach personally or through a connection. You also may be able to find the college’s recruiting coordinator or assistant coaches’ contact information and reach out to them.

Many high school athletes don’t realize that you don’t need special privileges to be in communication with a college coach. It is as easy as finding their contact information and sending them an email or phone call. You should start getting in contact with coaches as soon as you believe your skills are at a high enough level that you will attract coaches’ attention. This could be freshman year or junior year depending on your abilities.

#Things To Keep in Mind

NCAA Rules: Depending on each sport, there are periods of time when coaches are not allowed to contact athletes. Thus, don’t take it personally if a coach doesn’t respond to your email or answer your phone during these periods. It is still a good idea to contact coaches before they are allowed to communicate with you as it starts to gain their familiarity with you.

Leaving A Voicemail: If you call a coach and they do not answer, you should definitely leave a voicemail even if this may not be typical for you to do. In your voicemail you should introduce yourself as well as describe why you are interested in their college. You should then give them information for how to get in contact with you or how to view your recruiting page online.

Coaches Are People Too: While it may seem daunting to you to speak to a college coach, remember that they are merely human and that you should not place too much weight on each conversation with them. They should respect you if you make some errors as they do not expect you to be perfect.

Keep The Conversation Focused On You: It can be strange to spend lots of time talking to someone about yourself, but you have to remember that when talking to college coaches you are trying to sell yourself. Thus, you have to become comfortable with talking about yourself and your accomplishments as this should be the focus of your conversation with coaches.