Should You Email College Coaches?

If you’re just starting to look at colleges to play sports at, you may be wondering if it’s appropriate to email college coaches to find out more information. It can be intimidating to send an email to a coach that you’ve never met before. You may be worried that they won’t respond or you’ll offend them. So should you email a college coach?

You should definitely email college coaches if you want to play for their school. Emailing coaches is one of the best ways to get noticed during recruiting. College coaches are used to getting hundreds of emails from student-athletes every year. Sending a great introductory email to a college coach is key to getting on their radar.

The most important reason to email a college coach is to start building a relationship with them. Recruiting is based on relationships, so starting to develop a connection with a coach is essential. Email is a great way to get noticed by a coach and communicate with them as you get to know each other better.

Generally, the best way to contact a college coach and get on their radar is by sending an email introducing yourself and including your contact information. You can let the coach know where they can watch you play next. It’s appropriate to contact the coach a couple more times, through an email or phone call. It’s important to strike a balance between persistent and pushy when contacting coaches, especially through email.

How Do You Get Noticed By A College Coach?

Recruiting is not as easy as just waiting for coaches at your top schools to contact you. You’ll have to go out of your way to contact coaches and put yourself in situations to get noticed. The best way to get noticed by a college coach is to contact them.

Contacting Coaches: One of the most reliable ways to get noticed by a college coach is to contact them first. You should do some research on your top schools before reaching out to coaches to decide who you need to contact. The most effective forms of communication are email, social media DMs and phone calls. Remember to keep your tone polite, but don’t be afraid to reach out multiple times.

Current Coach: Your current coach can be really helpful during the recruiting season. They may have connections with college coaches and staff that you can take advantage of. High school and club coaches can vouch for your skills and character to college coaches if you’ve developed a strong relationship with them. Your current coach can also help you decide on your goals for your college experience and what schools you should be targeting.

Showcases And Tournaments: Showcases and tournaments are good places to get some exposure in front of college coaches. Coaches often go to these events with a list of athletes in mind that they want to see, so it’s rare that they’ll notice an athlete they haven’t spoken to yet. To make the most of a showcase or tournament, email college coaches beforehand and let them know where and when they can watch you play.

By leveraging these channels of communication and your current relationships, you’ll be able to get noticed by a college coach. This is just the start of the recruiting process. You’ll have to keep checking in with a coach as times goes on to make sure you’re still on their radar.

What Should I Write In An Email To A College Coach?

So you know that it’s important to email a college coach to get noticed. Some college coaches recruit mainly through their inbox. But what’s the best format for an email to a college coach?

Introduce Yourself: Start by introducing yourself, including your name, age, high school and class. Think about what information will be most important or interesting to the coach and lead with that. For example, you might include an interesting statistic or your position in the subject line to catch their attention.

Specifics: After introducing yourself, you’ll want to get into the specifics. Tell the coach exactly why you want to play for them or why you’re interested in the school. List any relevant athletic statistics and academic information, such as your GPA and test scores.

Next Steps: To wrap up the email, give the coach some next steps. If you’ll be playing in a showcase or tournament soon, include those details so they can potentially watch you play. You can also let the coach know that you’ll be calling them at a specific time and date to follow up. Don’t forget to include your contact information so they can reach out to you if needed.

A good email to a college coach maintains a respectful tone and expresses genuine interest in the coach and school. Personalizing your email to a college coach by mentioning things specific to their school shows that you’ve done your research and are willing to go above and beyond to play there. Emails are one of the most reliable ways to get noticed by a college coach, and following this format can help you emphasize your unique strengths.

What Does It Mean If A College Coach Emails You?

You can either send the first email to a college coach or you might respond to an email that was sent to you. But what does it mean if a college coach emails you? Are they genuinely interested or just going through the motions to get a solid batch of recruits in place?

You Have The Skills: Getting a response from a college coach is a pretty sure sign that you have the athletic skills to make it on the roster. The coach is at least a little bit interested in you as a recruit if they send the first email or if they respond to your original email. But just because you have the athletic skills to play on the team doesn’t exactly mean that you’re one of the coach’s recruits yet.

Coaches Want To See Who’s Interested: Coaches can’t just target the top ten most talented players that they want to have on their team. They need to recruit a wide range of student-athletes to see who is interested in their school. If a coach replies to your email, then you can be sure that they’re interested in you as a recruit. If a coach sends you an email first, then you can bet that they sent the email to many student-athletes and are waiting to see who responds to the email.

Depends On Type Of Email: Different types of emails mean different things. The more personalized a response is, the more likely it is the coach is recruiting you. The coach may invite you to a sports camp or ask for more information if they are recruiting you. If the email is very generic, then the coach is probably checking to see how interested you are in the program first.

An email from a college coach, especially in the early stages is a sign that the coach thinks you have what it takes to make their roster. There are a lot of other qualities they are looking for beyond just your athletic skills, though. Coaches want to recruit student-athletes who can connect with college coaches, have good grades and have positive attitudes. Emailing college coaches is just one way you can show a coach that you have what it takes to play sports at the college level.

Things To Keep In Mind

College Coaches Are Busy: Because of their schedules, college coaches may not respond right away. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back from a coach in a few days. If they are interested in you as a recruit, they will get back to you eventually.

NCAA Regulations: Besides a college coach’s schedule, you may not have heard from them because of NCAA regulations. Before June 15 or September 1 of your junior year, college coaches won’t be able to respond to your emails. These dates vary depending on the division you’re targeting and the sport you play, so be sure to double check on the NCAA website for specifics.

Edit Your Emails: Before sending an email off, make sure to edit it thoroughly. Proofread twice to be sure you haven’t made any spelling or grammar errors.