What Do You Say When Calling A College Coach?
Reaching out to a college coach for the first time can be intimidating. Coaches have the power to give you an offer (or not), and you want to make sure you make a good impression. Calling a coach is one of the best ways to let them know that you’re interested in their program. So what do you say when calling a college coach?
The purpose of a phone call to a college coach is to introduce yourself and express your interest in the program to the coach. A phone call to a college coach will follow a similar format to your introductory emails to coaches. You should start by introducing yourself, including your name, the high school you play at and your position. Let the coach know that you want to learn more about their school and ask if they have time to talk at the moment. If they do, then go ahead and ask some questions about the recruiting process or their coaching style. And if they don’t have time right away, don’t worry. Just ask the coach if you can call back later and offer up a couple of times that you can talk again.
Overall, you want to sound confident and composed on the phone call. Practicing a few times before calling can help boost your confidence, but you don’t want to seem too scripted. Remember to relax and be yourself. Coaches want to get to know their recruits and appreciate if they can get a sense of your personality right away.
What To Say During A Call With A College Coach?
It can be intimidating to figure out what to say during a call with a college coach. Here are some ways you can approach the call to leave a good impression on the coach.
Introducing Yourself: Start by introducing yourself to the coach, including your name, high school and position that you play. You can reference your previous emails with your athletic stats and highlight video so that the coach knows who you are.
Why You’re Interested In The School: Next, be sure to tell the coach that you’re interested in playing for the school. If you can make a personal connection or mention specific things you like about the school, be sure to do that. The more you know about the school, the better impression you will make on the coach. You also should know the coach’s name and background before making the call.
Next Steps: Before ending the call, you should leave the coach with something they can do to find out more about you. Give them your phone number and let them know if you’ll be playing at a tournament soon. Thank the coach for their time, and feel free to send them an email with any details you mentioned during the call after.
By following this format during a phone call, you’ll remember to include all the necessary information a coach wants to know during a phone call. These things are just the basics, however. A coach will likely ask you more questions about your academics and athletics if they’re interested in you as a potential recruit.
What To Say If You Get A Coach’s Voicemail?
Coaches have to balance many different priorities and have busy schedules. They might not always be available for a phone call. If you get a coach’s voicemail, here’s what you should say:
Introduce Yourself: Start the same way you would if you had the coach on the phone—by saying your name, position and high school. You can reference the emails that you’ve sent before and your highlight video to trigger the coach’s memory of you.
Why You’re Calling: You can tell the coach specifically why you’re interested in their program and let them know you’d like to learn more. Or, you can ask for their feedback on your highlight video. You might also be trying to schedule an unofficial visit, so you could ask the coach if they’re available any time soon to meet. Whatever the reason for calling is, be direct when explaining it. You’ll have plenty of time on your follow-up call to expand on the details.
Follow Up: Finally, you should give the coach your phone number and let them know when you’ll be calling them back. You can also send another email with your highlight video and athletic stats, so the coach doesn’t have to dig through their inbox to find it after receiving your message. End your voicemail by thanking the coach for their time.
Following this format can help you stay on topic during a voicemail and remember not to leave any important information out. Overall, remember to strike a positive tone and be concise during the message.
What Should You Do Before Calling College Coaches?
Doing a little prep before calling a college coach can make a big difference in how your call goes. It’s intimidating to give a college coach a call as a high school student-athlete. Not every potential recruit will call college coaches, so it can help you stand apart from the crowd if you go the extra mile and make a phone call.
Send Introduction Email: Before calling a coach, make sure you’ve sent that first email introducing yourself and your skills. This helps to establish a relationship with a coach and at least give you some name recognition. Sending an email is also a great reason to follow up with a phone call to see if the coach has checked out your highlight video yet.
Prepare Questions: In case the coach has some time to talk, you should have some questions at the ready about the recruiting process, their program or their availability. You can write these questions down so that if you get distracted or stuck during the call, you have a backup plan.
Prepare Answers: You also might want to prepare some answers, because coaches will want to find out more about you on the call. Coaches may ask you about your academic performance, about why you think you’re a good fit for their school or about what other schools are recruiting you. Thinking about these questions beforehand can avoid an awkward moment on the phone while you scramble for an answer.
Research The School: Doing your research will help you feel more confident and composed on the call. It can also give you great topics to talk about with the coach. Researching the school and the coach’s background allows you to show your dedication and gives you specific things to reference when asked why you’re interested in the program. Checking out a coach’s roster and finding out who else has committed can give a better picture of what positions they’re looking to fill.
Preparing in these ways before a phone call can help ease your nerves and make the phone call go much smoother. If you’re calling multiple coaches, be sure to repeat this process for each school. You want to make a good impression on every coach, not just the ones at your top schools.
Things To Keep In Mind
No Response: Coaches are pretty busy, so it may take a while for them to get back to you. But if you don’t hear from a coach after reaching out multiple times, it’s probably best to focus on other schools. Your time is best spent targeting schools that are a close fit for your skills and most likely to recruit you.
Parents: Most college coaches will say that they’d rather not get a recruiting phone call from a parent. Coaches want to hear from student-athletes; they’re the ones they’ll be coaching, after all. Parents should take this opportunity to let their children take the lead and put themselves out there.
NCAA Regulations: To prevent early recruiting, the NCAA has specific regulations for college coaches. College coaches are only allowed to contact you after June 15 of your junior year for Division II, or September 1 of your junior year for Division I. This means that the coach can’t reach out to you first before these dates. Still, if you make the first contact (making the phone call), the coach is allowed to respond and talk with you. Just keep in mind that they won’t be able to call you back.