Step 9: Contact Coaches
Now it is time to start reaching out to the coaches. If you have followed Steps 1-8 and have prepared well, this step is crucial in setting you apart from the thousands of other high school students you are competing against!
There are several important aspects to this step:
- Finding contact information for coaches
- Finding official recruiting forms for the schools which interest you
- Prospecting coaches’ instructions
- Follow-up communications
- Staying organized
Important! The student athlete must communicate with the coaches – NOT your parents. As a student-athlete you are going to take control of this process. Coaches recruit players, not their parents.
Finding coaches’ contact information
It is very simple to find coaches contact information, if you know how to navigate the Internet.
- Go to Google
- Type in ,for example, “University of Oklahoma Athletics”
- Go to the official athletics site
- In one of the top tabs there should be an option for “Staff Directory”
- Write all the coaches listed for your sport listed, including phone number, email, mailing address
Finding the school’s official recruiting forms
These forms help you get in the coaches database and on their recruiting radar. To locate them:
- Use the steps listed above to get to the school’s athletic website
- Go to the sport of your choice
- There should be a section on the team page for “Potential Recruits” or something to that effect. Click and follow the prompts. Follow instructions to submit form.
Prospecting Coaches’ Instructions
Each school’s athletic site will include the coach’s instructions for potential recruits. Read these carefully and follow them as outlined by each school.
Make sure to complete the Recruiting Surveys, which will be located on the athletic site. Complete the entire form and submit online or through the mail.
Follow the instructions for submitting your cover letter, resume, tournament schedule and video (DVD).
If by email, copy and paste cover letter into body of the email and attach your resume and upcoming tournament/game schedule; your resume should also include a link to your on-line video. Make sure to email each coach separately and make each as personalized as possible.
If by regular mail, make sure to address the mailing to “Coach (Last Name), sport” and include your cover letter, resume, tournament/game schedule, and video (DVD).
Follow-up Communications
This is a critical aspect in the process. Many student-athletes will not follow-up with coaches for various reasons, the two foremost of which are: 1.) they are intimidated, or 2.) they do not feel it is necessary because they are good and the coaches will get back with them.
Both are bad reasons. When you want something you have to follow up until it gets done. Coaches receive hundreds of emails every day; you must distinguish yourself from the pack by following up and standing out. And you do not just follow up to say “hi”; you are prepared to ask questions and listen before you make the phone calls!
Some tips to start your communications with the coaches:
Call once per week, until you reach the coach. If you don’t reach him, leave a message stating:
- Your name
- Reason for call – to follow up on a letter and resume you had sent
- Politely ask for a call back and leave your number
Your objective for first conversation is to introduce yourself to the coach and let him know that you sent him information and confirm that he received it. If he cannot confirm that he has received it, tell him that you will resend if necessary. (Review key points and questions to ask the coach on the first call developed in Step 8.)
Your objective in your second call is to set a time to go visit the campus!
Stay Organized
As you talk with different coaches you will need to keep organized as to which coach you talked with, when the conversation occurred, outcomes, deadlines or other things on which follow-up is required. This is an extremely important part of the process.
To stay organized, develop a notes log to track all conversations with the coaches. This can be organized in an excel spreadsheet, a word document, or even a carefully kept notebook. But this will become your individual college recruiting database, which is easily accessible and at your finger tips every day when you are ready to work on your recruiting. You may want to consider an icon front and center on the desktop of your computer, so you can’t go a day without seeing it.
This will help you keep all your notes with schools separate and organized for follow up calls, application deadlines, financial aid, and scheduling recruiting trips.
Your log should be formatted like this:
General Layout of Notes Log
School Name
Mailing Address
Head Coach Name, title, phone number, email
Asst. Coach Name, title, phone number, email
Date – completed recruiting form located on each teams team website and submitted
Date – second plan of action, which should be emailing letter, resume, and upcoming game schedule to coach
Date – third plan of action, physically mail to the above
Date – fourth plan of action, first follow up call to all coaches, until you talk to one
Sample Notes Log
<Your Name>
Coaches Contact Information
Texas Tech
Betsy Rawls Golf Club
TTU – Box 43021
6th & Boston
Lubbock, TX 79409
Coach Sands Head Coach, 806-742-7545×272, email
Coach Jeff, Asst. Coach, 806-742-7545×274, email
2/23/11 submit recruiting questionnaire
http://www.texastech.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/recruit-form.html
2/24/11 sent letter, resume, video via email
2/27/11 physically mailed all materials
3/3/11 followed up with first phone call. Coach Sands has seen my materials. Thinks I would be good fit. Told me to follow up 4/7/11 to see scholarship situation.
University of Michigan
Athletic Department – Golf
University of Michigan
1000 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2201
Coach Rosen, Head Coach, 734-647-3035, email
2/23/11 there is not a recruiting questionnaire available…so I emailed my materials to the coach.
Texas Christian University
TCU Athletics Department -Golf
Box 297600
Fort Worth, TX 76129
Coach Lewis, Head Coach, 817-257-7360, email
Coach Tanaka, Asst. Coach, 817-257-5324, email
2/23/11 submitted recruiting survey
http://gofrogs.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/tcu-w-volley-questionnaire.html
2/24/11 emailed coach my materials
2/27/11 physically mailed coaches
3/4/11 followed up with first call. No answer left a voicemail. Will try again next week.
TIP: You are never completed with this until you sign your NATIONAL LETTER OF INTENT. FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP, FOLLOW UP