four tips for emailing college coaches

by Kellen Petrone

Assistant Coach/Recruiting Coordinator - University of Pittsburgh 

1. Research the school you are emailing! If you are interested in playing for a specific university, when communicating with the coach, make sure to include information to show you've researched their program. Comment on the team’s current events or past season’s success. Follow your team of interest on social media so you can keep current with what is happening at that program. Coaches want to see that recruits are taking time to correspond with them personally, which is something a player would want in return!

2. Send video. College coaches receive up to 50 emails a day from recruits who are interested in their program. Sending video is important because it allows college coaches to quickly evaluate if a player fits their recruiting needs. You can send video of a full match, a highlight film, or a couple of clips captured from a cell phone. Be sure to include the link to the video in the body of your email.

3. Tell the college coach how to get in touch with you. Due to NCAA regulations, college coaches are only allowed to respond directly to recruits in their junior or senior year of high school. If you are younger than a junior in high school, when communicating with a college coach, please include the contact information (phone number and email) of your club’s recruiting coordinator or coach so we can respond to your email through them. This will allow coaches to respond to you quickly and easily.

4. Respond. Coaches recognize that choosing a college is a big decision. Although the recruiting process can feel overwhelming, it is important that a player responds when a school expresses interest. Not every school will be a good fit, either academically or athletically. Knowing a recruit’s level of interest allows coaches to move forward with their recruiting.