Son is HS Junior well into the recruiting process for his sport (already has three offers from excellent D1 programs, any of which would be a good fit). Several weeks ago, a high-profile D1 program of particular interest to him reached out via email. He responded immediately but did not hear back; followed up a few days later with his transcript/SAT/resume, still no response. After about 10 days, asked his coach to reach out to the program to determine their level of interest; school has not returned coach’s call. Next steps? Or is it time to move on?
i don’t know what sport your son is involved in, and that may change the quality of the advice I can offer. In my son’s sport (football) things kind of move slowly during this part of the calendar as the first part of the spring evaluation period gets under way and the coaches are on the road in various high schools. Additionally, many are busy with the start of spring practice and junior days for recruits. In my son’s case, regular (meaning a couple times a week) e mail contact really didn’t pick up until after the junior days/spring evaluation period ended in late April I believe. That said, I think “several weeks” is a long time to wait for a response to an e mail. I don’t know for sure, but I don’t think my son ever waited more than a couple three days for a response to an e mail from any school who was actually interested in him. Again, that may vary by the sport though.
Was the email very personal toward your son or was it more of a generic type email? Also agree hard to say pending sport. Sports in season have very busy coaches. Agree with above though, that is a long time to not get a response, I would not hold my breath for that school. Congrats on the already on the table offers!! Very exciting
Although my son’s sport is futbol, I appreciate Ohiodad51’s perspective. Other coaches have been actively in contact during this waiting period. The email was short and direct: head coach saw you play; we’d like to talk to you about our amazing program. What baffles me is that a top program at a highly regarded university would express interest and then not follow through. Previous experience has been a only few days between initial contact and response when the interest is mutual. We are thrilled with the other opportunities presented but, because of this school’s academic reputation, Mum does not want to let it go without a final rally.
From our experience (also of the football rather than futbol variety), waxing and waning interest may have to do with what’s happening at the position level. If one hot prospect falls through or there’s an injury on the current squad at a certain position, recruiting efforts for the next few kids on the recruiting depth chart may heat up for a bit. Conversely, if the team unexpectedly gets a strong verbal from someone they see as adding more to the roster than your son can, they may decide to put things on the back burner. Both things happened during my son’s recruiting process.
The thing to keep in mind is that they’re building a team, and current personnel and playbook plans as well as recruiting success will play a part in their decisions re. your son. A kid may be the best midfielder in the country, but if the team really needs a goalie and some forwards, chances are that excellent midfielder won’t be pursued as aggressively.
Anxiousmum, you said there was no follow up from this highly regarded university after he submitted test scores and transcripts.Are his scores and grades in line with their recruiting standards?
Offers currently on the table include one Ivy and one public Ivy so, yes, I believe his paperwork aligns with admissions standards.
This one’s a bit puzzling, especially because the email came from the head coach. My recommendation is for your son to call the head coach.
AnxiousM,
Congratulations on the two strong offers that both will be good fits. It puts your son in a great position relative to the High Profile D1 Head Coach. If something starts to move, it will be yet another good option. If not, your son is still in a great place.
As for the Head Coach contact, it can be fairly disconcerting when responses are not quick, but be careful in reading too much into it, at least at this point in time. I would like to think that the failure to respond can be broken up into two general possibilities: intentional and unintentional. If the coach is acting intentionally in not responding, it can be curious. Why would the coach initiate contact and then not respond? The possibilities are endless, but in each instance the conclusion is one that the coach is not (or no longer) interested in your son. Then there are the reasons why the coach’s failure to respond was not intentional. For example, a family member might be sick or the coach is involved in a conference or recruiting camp that has taken up his time. Maybe he is just not as organized as he should be. Think of all the reasons that prospective employer does not get back to a job applicant as quickly as he or she could. I think the final explanation is a definitive “who knows.”
What does that mean for your son? If you want something, you have to be persistent. Colleges want applicants to keep at it. An example, I spoke to one admissions officer that told me that the office makes a note of every contact by an applicant including calls, emails, visits. I am told the same is true with coaches. Which leads to EvertonN’s very good suggestion to call. Why wouldn’t your son try calling. I wouldn’t give up. If it ends up leading to nothing, so be it. On the other hand, keeping at it to find out about the true level of the Coach’s interest could well be worth the effort.
Thanks to all who shared thoughts on this one. @EllieMom, your theory of changes at the positional level seems to make the most sense. @Varska, your Essential Guide has been invaluable as we navigate the path to athletic recruitment. After 3 emails, 2 phone calls and 1 long wait, it is time to move on. Son has no interest in further chasing a program that does not have the courtesy to respond after the coach has initiated contact. Smart kid.
Good call @anxiousmum. Move ahead with the schools that are showing continued interest, but don’t be completely surprised if this coach pops up again weeks or months down the line.
just popping in to say that my s ended up with an offer from his top choice school after several periods of silence, so if your son likes this school a LOT, he might want to casually and cheerfully continue to update the coach via email from time to time until he makes his final decision.
My s sent almost a weekly update with a video link from that weekend’s race (he rows), where he placed, any good academic news, and a brief reiiteration that this school was his top choice. He called the coach a couple of times but he never picked up and the work study kids at the boathouse didn’t take messages. Finally, he decided to give up and commit to another school, but when he made that call, that coach said he would call back in a few days. Thank goodness, because three days later, the top choice head coach called.i
It’s weird and stressful, but man, VERY GLAD he kept sending those updates. So yes, it’s annoying and you feel kind of like you’re being jerked around, but given that the next few emails were from the coach’s iphone, I think he really was swamped and answering stuff on the fly, trying to put his roster together. I also think it must have helped to have regular, non-aggressive updates with a clickable link so that he could remember who the heck this kid was. That’s my guess, anyway. Your s sounds like he’s in a great situation because he has other offers–just wanted to jump in with our experience just in case this nibble is something that really interests your s.
Glad it worked out LIvesin Hobbiton! My son did exactly the same thing- he emailed the coach at his top choice frequently to keep him posted. He would send updates on his games, academic accomplishments, comments on the college team’s games, etc. He also called every once in a while just to say hi…just checking in… He always included a headshot photo of himself at the top of his emails just to refresh the coach’s memory. It was kind of funny- before the coach actually met him face to face (he had already attended a couple of my son’s games) my son contacted him so much that when they finally did meet, the coach said something like, “well, I finally get to meet the infamous ___ ___)”. I thought maybe my son had overdone it but the coach later told him that he really stood out because of his aggressive approach.