What To Do When A College Coach Calls

As a prospect with hopes of playing a sport at the collegiate level, or a parent of the prospect, you are probably wondering what to do when you get that first phone call from a college coach.

Receiving a call from a college coach, especially the first one, is incredibly exciting! It most likely means they have at least moderate interest in you as a recruit. When the coach calls, try to be as relaxed as possible, practice good phone etiquette, and exude self-confidence. This will help set you apart from other recruits.

Coaches begin calling recruits early in the recruiting process. Without proper guidance and advice, managing phone calls with coaches can be an incredibly difficult process - for both recruits and parents. For this reason, we have included a more detailed explanation of how best to manage this process below.

When The Coach Calls

When a coach calls, it’s most important that you be yourself. Coaches are very experienced and have talked to hundreds of recruits during their careers. They can tell when you are being ingenuine, and in turn will really appreciate honesty and transparency. That being said, there are a few things you can do to put your best foot forward.

Exude Passion: Coaches are much more likely to enjoy a conversation with you if they can tell you are passionate about your sport and their program. Make this clear through the phone call. Prospects who are monotone, or seem like they aren’t excited about the possibility of playing in college, can be off-putting to coaches.

Sell Your Potential: Coaches recruit you based on the player they believe you can become under their guidance. For this reason, it is important that you sell yourself as someone who embraces a growth mindset and is incredibly coachable. You can also demonstrate this by mentioning personal goals you have for your current season.

Be Prepared To Talk: Coaches are less likely to enjoy conversations with prospects who respond to questions with only one or two words. In addition to being actively engaged in the conversation, you should be ready to talk about yourself pretty extensively.

Prepare Questions: You should prepare a list of questions to ask the coach you’re talking to before the phone call begins. They will be impressed by your preparation, and it will signal to them that you are truly interested in their program. We included some basic questions below to get you started.

What are the admission requirements for athletes? What are some popular majors for athletes on the team? What does the training program consist of? How do you see me fitting into your program?

A phone call is often the first form of direct communication between you and a college coach. By following the advice above, you will greatly improve the chances that you leave a good first impression on the coaches you talk to.

When The Call Ends

Even after the call ends, there are numerous important steps you should take to help increase your chances of receiving significant interest from the coach’s program.

Take Notes: After each phone call with a college coach, you should write down some of the important take-aways from the call. Not only will this help you organize your thoughts, but it will also help you prepare for any future phone calls or interaction with that same coach.

Consider Your Interest In The School: While you obviously cannot be entirely sure after one phone call, it hopefully will give you enough information to help you decide whether you are still interested in attending that school. Discussing this with your parents and family while the call is fresh in your mind will help you make the most informed possible decision.

Follow-Up Email: Coaches talk to lots of recruits over the phone. One way to stand out is to send them a follow-up email an hour or two after the phone call. In the email, make sure you thank them for taking the time to talk to you and mention something you learned (and liked) about their program during the phone call.

Do Your Research: Coaches love to see that prospects have researched their program - it shows that you have real interest in becoming a part of it. In anticipation of a second phone call, or any sort of further communication with the coach, you should research their program extensively. This will allow you to both sound knowledgeable and signify that you are taking the coach’s program and the recruiting process seriously.

Following these steps after the phone call ends will help you stand out to college coaches, and prepare you for future conversations with them. In addition to these steps, talk to your support network about how the phone call went! They may have advice to help you prepare better for future calls.

Parents’ Role In Phone Conversations

When a coach calls, it is because they want to talk to the prospect, not the parent. However, this does not mean that parents don’t have an important role to play in phone conversations with coaches.

Answering The Phone: A lot of times your child will be very nervous about a phone call with a coach. When this happens, you can answer the phone to greet the coach and mention how excited your child is to talk to them. The most important thing to keep in mind, however, is to keep this incredibly short - the coach is calling to talk to your child. After greeting the coach, you should hand the phone off to your child and let them take over.

Preparing Your Child: Your biggest role as a parent is to support and prepare your child. The better you help them prepare, the more likely they will have a successful phone call. This can entail a number of things ranging from running through potential questions the coach may ask them to giving them a pep talk right before the phone call.

Celebrating And Encouraging Your Child: Talking to a college coach can be very stressful, especially for high schoolers. In order to help them manage the process, make sure to point out and congratulate them whenever they’re successful. Knowing that you are in their corner will be incredibly reassuring to them.

Just because coaches want to talk to the prospect when they call, doesn’t mean you don’t have a role to play as a parent. Similarly to the larger recruiting process, you should be there to support, advise, and celebrate your child during phone calls with coaches.

Things To Keep In Mind

Walk Around: During the phone call, get up and walk around! You will have more energy and talk with more confidence if you do.

Try To Relax: College coaches understand that prospects can find them intimidating. Try your best to relax and view the phone call as a conversation, and not an interview. Coaches will appreciate it.

Taboo Subjects: Don’t ask about your chances of receiving financial aid or scholarships during the first phone call with a coach. Rather, the phone call should be focused around you and the coach getting to know each other. Additionally, the conversation around financial aid and scholarships should include your parents.

Setting Is Important: Be careful when choosing where you take the coach’s call. Don’t take it in your living room when the TV is on. Try to find a quiet, relaxing place before picking up the call.

Pre-Phone-Call Email: Coaches are more likely to call you if you have expressed interest in their program. The best way to do this is to send them an email including your highlight video and the best number to reach you.