What Should The Subject Be When Emailing A College Coach?

Emailing college coaches is a major part of recruiting in today’s world. It’s often used as the first point of contact between coaches and players, and these initial emails can be crucial in attracting attention and moving forward in the process. While the content of the email itself is obviously important, the subject line can sometimes be the deciding factor in whether or not the coach even opens the message. Understanding the right practices for creating subject lines can be extremely helpful in making the right first impression and achieving the ultimate goal of the coach opening and responding to your email.

The key to a subject line is getting the coach’s attention, and this can be done by displaying a variety of things about you that they might want to see. To name a few, coaches care the most about athletic talent, academic eligibility, and a genuine interest in their program, so a strong subject line should cover some or all of these aspects when possible.

It’s also important to keep in mind that there are different scenarios in which different types of subject lines are appropriate. There is not a specific email subject that fits all, because the right one may depend on things like your sport, specific interests/connections to the school, or your stage of recruitment. With that being said, we recommend checking our tips for crafting subject lines as it might help you find more success in communicating with coaches via email.

Information To Include In Email Subject Lines

Email is often the first point of contact in the recruiting process, and therefore the first chance for you to make an impression and attract the attention you’re looking for. If you’re using email to send introduction emails to coaches, it’s safe to assume that they know minimal to no information about you.

College coaches receive countless emails from prospective players during the recruiting process, so there’s a possibility that they won’t even open yours unless the subject line grabs their attention. Therefore, it’s important to be aware of the different things that coaches want to know and how they can be incorporated in a subject line to spark their interest.

Introduction: This may seem obvious, but if it’s your first time reaching out to a coach, the first part of your subject line should include your name and graduation year so they have a basic understanding of who you are and where you are on the recruiting timeline.

Athletic Information: After providing your name and age, your subject line should cover the basics with regard to your sport and some specific athletic characteristics. Some helpful things a coach might want to see are your position, current team (if the coach is probably familiar), height and weight (if relevant for your sport), and some sort of particular stats/info about you. For example, you might want to include your 40-yard dash time as a football recruit or your fastball speed as a baseball pitcher – this can be optional and you don’t need anything overly detailed, the goal is to provide something that sets you apart from the dozens of other emails in the coaches mailbox. It’s also helpful to indicate in the subject line that you’ve attached a highlight video, sports resume, or some kind of results/achievements page – there are different options here depending on your sport and specific situation, and we’ll provide some specific examples later on.

Academic Information: Beyond athletic achievements, one of a coach’s greatest concerns for recruits is whether or not they have the grades to actually enroll in the school and clear NCAA eligibility requirements. Your academics are one of the first things a coach will ask you about anyway, so it can be really helpful to just provide basic info like GPA and/or test scores to save them some time and concern. If your grades currently aren’t where you need them to be and you have time to improve, you should exclude this, but if your grades are above average it can be highly appealing for a college coach.

Personal Specifics/Being Unique: The athletic and academic information described above is pretty standard for an email subject line, but as we said before, coaches receive tons of emails from aspiring recruits, so it can be helpful to set yourself apart in your subject line and really get the coach’s attention. This is not necessarily required and you should only include it if it’s appropriate information, given that the coach doesn’t know you. For example, you might have had some kind of referral to the coach, or you have a connection to the program (such as knowing a player, alumni, coach, family member, etc), so noting this at the end of your subject line can be helpful.

Similarly, another thing that can set you apart is some indication of your specific interest in the coach’s program. Let’s say you know you want to play Division III and are not interested in recruiting elsewhere. A Division III coach might really appreciate you adding something like “Looking For DIII Opportunity Only” in your subject line. Division III coaches likely waste time and effort each year trying to recruit players that are recruiting in DIII as a back-up plan, so adding this small gesture of your specific interest can make the coach more likely to open your email and respond.

Again, this type of information is not mandatory for your subject line but it can be helpful to include if you know there is something that will set you apart from the other emails sitting in the coach’s inbox. The goal of a subject line is to provoke the coach to open your message and read further, and the different types of information above are a good starting point for this.

Examples: Standard Subject Lines and Unique Situations

Now that you’re familiar with the different things you might want to cover in an email subject line, you’re probably wondering exactly what it looks like, and how subjects might differ across unique situations.

Examples of Different Sports/Positions (Standard): As we mentioned earlier, your subject line might vary slightly depending on your position or sport, so these examples should provide some more clarity on what this looks like in a standard scenario.

• Football – “John Smith 2022 Grad LB/TE, 6’4” 280lbs, 3.6 GPA 1350 SAT, 4.70 40yd dash – Highlight Video Attached”
• Basketball – “John Smith 2022 Select Academy Grad PG, 6’3” 195lbs, AAU All-Star Nominee – Highlight Video Attached”
• Golf – “Jane Smith 2022 Grad, 3.7 GPA 30 ACT, Florida Women’s Amateur Tournament Results and Swing Video Attached”

As you can see, your subject line might look slightly different depending on the sport you play, whether or not you’re ready to share academic information, where you’re from, and whether or not you choose to include some brief stats or accomplishments. These are pretty standard and again, it doesn’t have to look exactly like this, but it should give you a good starting point.

Examples Of Unique Situations: There are a variety of scenarios where your recruitment has some unique aspect that you might want to share in an email subject line. Maybe you have strong ties to a program, or you’re looking for a specific type of opportunity – whatever it may be, it can be helpful to include in your subject line to grab the coach’s attention.

• Child of Alumni Athlete – “John/Jane Smith 2022 Grad Midfielder, Son/Daughter of ____ Smith ’86 – Athlete Profile and Highlight Video Attached”
• Recruiting For Specific League/Division – “John Smith 2022 Grad Left Wing, 6’1” 190lbs, 3.6 GPA 1280 SAT, Looking for Division III Hockey Opportunities Only - Stats Sheet and Highlight Video Attached”
• Aspiring Walk-On – “Jane Smith Class of 2024 Walk-On Prospect, SG 6’1” 160lbs, Already Enrolled in Classes – Highlights Attached”

These situations won’t apply to everyone and it’s not a necessity to have in your subject line, but it can be a good opportunity to set yourself apart if the information is appropriate and relevant.

Things To Keep In Mind

Cover The Basics: While subject lines for emails can vary based on a number of factors, you should always try to cover the basic information that a coach is going to want to know regardless of your specific situation. This includes things like name, age, position, and academics if your grades and/or test scores are qualified.

Setting Yourself Apart & Achieving Your Goal: Remember that coaches receive tons of emails from prospective recruits weekly. It’s likely that a lot of coaches don’t even open some of the emails they receive, so a subject line that sets you apart is a great way to break that barrier and move forward in the process. Cover the important basic information and add unique personal elements if applicable. Remember that the ultimate goal of a good subject line is to make a good impression and grab the coach’s attention, which will hopefully open up the opportunity to communicate further.