What Does It Mean If A College Coach Emails You?

As a prospective collegiate athlete, receiving your first email from a college coach is extremely exciting! While this is a great first step, there is still an excess of communication and evaluation to be done before a coach will extend an offer to you.

When a coach emails you, they are showing some level of interest, but you aren’t necessarily being actively recruited. A lot of coaches will invite you to camps that serve as a great way for them to raise money for their teams. Beware of these generic coaches’ emails as they don’t represent personal interest in you as an athlete and aren’t considered a form of active recruitment.

Below is some important information about what to do when a collegiate coach emails you. This includes the types of email a coach may send, how to respond to a coach’s email, as well as some other signs that a coach may be interested in you.

Types Of Emails A Coach Will Send

A coach will send one of a few different types of emails to a potential recruit. When a coach sends an email, this does not necessarily mean you are being actively recruited. Below are a few of the different kinds of email’s a coach may send you.

Generic Email: A coach may send you an email inviting you to one of their program camps. When reading a camp invite, it’s important to read it closely and determine whether this email was a generic invite or personal. If you aren’t able to determine whether the email is personal or generic, it’s always a good idea to respond to the email and ask the coach a couple of questions regarding their interest in you. Additionally, even though this email may not mean you are being actively recruited by that college or university, be sure to use this coach’s contact information as a connection.

Prospective Email: A prospective email is an email a coach sends when they have a certain degree of interest in you. If a coach is sending this, they may have watched snippets of your film or have heard about you. This email’s goal is to ultimately obtain as much information about you as possible, as well as to try and get a grasp of what level of interest you may have in that program. If you have some level of interest, and get in contact with the coach, you have actively begun the recruitment process.

Personalized Email: If you receive a personalized email, you are definitely on a coach’s radar. To make it known that this email is personal, a coach may mention things such as watching you play and what interested them in you. The difference between this and the other email’s is that you are no longer just being viewed as a prospect for a program, but as a recruit. If a coach sends this type of email, they have gathered enough information about you and watched enough film to determine that they think you could be an asset to their program. These are just a few types of email’s a coach may send, ranging from no interest to great interest. Make sure to not disregard any of these emails as they all provide you with a direct connection to both a collegiate coach and athletic program.

How To Respond To An Email From A Coach

Now that you know the different types of email you can receive from a college coach, your next step is to send an email in response. Here are a few tips to consider when responding.

Be Prompt: At this point in the recruiting process, it’s important to make a good impression. You are most likely not being actively recruited yet, thus responding promptly and courteously to a coach may put you on his/her radar. When trying to play college athletics, it’s important to try and bring as much positive attention to yourself as possible in order to make sure coaches are aware of you as a potential prospect.

Do Your Research: When responding to a coach, it’s important to show the coach that you haven’t taken his communication lightly, and that you have done some research on his or her athletic program. Be sure to research the university that the coach is a part of along with the area in which it’s located. Additionally, this isn’t just to show said coach that you care. It’s for you as well! If you have no interest in attending that school or have a problem with where it’s located, there is no use in inquiring further. It saves you time as well.

Be Personal: Be sure to thank the coach. No matter what type of email you received, this coach was both willing to send you an email and has some sort of interest in you, no matter how large. If it’s a more personal email, thank them for the time they have spent looking into who you are and watching film to decide how well you will fit into their program. This is also where you should express your interest. Include why you think this school may be a fit for you and possibly an elevator pitch on who you truly are and what you could bring to the program.

Be Persistent: If you’ve sent a coach an email and you don’t receive any response from the coach within a couple of days, don’t give up. Send the coach a follow up email a week or so later or try giving the coach a phone call. Being persistent shows that you are truly dedicated to playing collegiate athletics and will most definitely put you on a coach’s radar.

Whichever way you choose to respond, you want to do so in a timely manner, in a personal way and show you’ve done your research on their program..

Other Signs A College Coach Is Interested In You

Beyond receiving an email, there are a few other clear signs that a coach is interested in you. Below are a few of the telltale signs a coach has more than just a general interest in you as an athlete.

Request Film From Your Coaches: This is a key sign of interest in you as an athlete. If a coach is requesting film, this coach has serious interest in you as a potential recruit. They want to further evaluate you and your skillset and hope to get a better understanding of what positive qualities you would bring with you if you were to join their program.

Receiving A Phone Call: A coach will most likely call you after some initial contact via email or text. This call represents a coach trying to develop a personal connection with you. Making a personal connection is a vastly important part of the recruiting process and is a great indicator that a coach is interested in you.

Visits Your School To Watch You Play: If a coach begins to visit your school, they have significant interest in you as a recruit. You have made it past the initial film evaluation, and coaches want to see what you are really like in person. Additionally, depending on where you are being recruited, a personal visit like this could take days of a coach’s valuable time, so if they are willing to come visit you, they have serious interest.

Talking About Setting Up An Official Visit: If you have made it to this point in the recruitment process, a coach has more than likely extended an offer to you. That being said, if a coach begins talking to you about scheduling an official visit, he may be getting rather close to extending an offer. Most coaches will invite you on an official visit in hopes to sell their school to you, and encourage you to enroll there. An official visit is the peak of the recruitment process.

If you find yourself in any of the situations above, you can rest assured that you are on a coach’s radar and are progressing in the recruiting process.

Things To Keep In Mind

An Email Doesn’t Mean You’re Being Recruited: Any form of communication is better than none, but when you receive an email from a college coach, don’t get your hopes up. Lots of these emails will be coaches inviting you to participate in camps to raise money for their programs. While these camps do provide an opportunity to prove yourself to a coach, they are also ways for teams to obtain additional funding. Be cognizant of what type of email a coach is sending you and whether or not they are serious about potentially recruiting you.

Communication Should Be Consistent: When engaged in conversation with a college coach, make sure to be consistent. Communication should be fairly steady in terms of keeping a coach updated on your athletic and academic success. If you infrequently communicate with a coach, or the coach is always having to reach out to you, you may give off the impression that you’re uninterested in their program.

Keep Working Hard: An email is just the first step in what is a long recruitment process. The first instance of contact is worthless if you become stagnant in your growth as both an athlete and an individual. Make sure to continually dedicate yourself to becoming better in all facets of the sport you play and growing your skillset. Coaches a lot of the time recruit based on potential. Exemplifying growth throughout high school as well as in the recruiting process in general, will make you much more favorable to college coaches. Just because you’ve got a little interest, don’t take your foot off the gas pedal!