Contacting coach

<p>I am trying to reach a coach at a NAIA school that is in the process of transitioning to NCAA d 2. From looking at footage of the team playing matches online i know I am good enough to make the team. I sent the coach an email a few weeks ago letting him know I was applying as a transfer and that I was very interested in being on the team. Last week I sent him an email with the link to my recruiting video. I also filled out the recruitment form online. He still hasn't responded and I am afraid he won't. What should I do next? How many times can I email him etc?</p>

<p>Call him. Have some questions to ask such as what positions he’s looking for and ask him if he’s had a chance to see your video. If he’s interested, I don’t think he’ll change his mind if you call him, if he’s not, he’ll probably let you know.</p>

<p>rayray - I recall discussing whether or not you wanted to run track in college. How did that go?</p>

<p>Keep in mind that some colleges started back only this past Tuesday after winter break. </p>

<p>There are no regulations preventing you from emailing him again. It is possible your email is going to his junk folder, however. I agree with sadilly’s suggestion to call him. Be polite, not angry that he isn’t responding to you.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice everyone! I’m not frustrated, just nervous that I won’t be able to reach him. As far as track… I decided I didn’t like track enough to run for a d1 team after all.</p>

<p>Actually, I wouldn’t blame you if you were frustrated. I realize I wrote my response too quickly and therefore wasn’t very tactful. </p>

<p>I responded because my son (a junior) is in the same situation with a DIII coach with whom he’s trying to schedule a meeting when he visits the college. So far my son has emailed the coach twice and has completed the admission’s office’s visit form, indicating that he’d like to meet with the coach. If we don’t hear from the coach in a couple of days, my son will need to call.</p>

<p>Our situation is one in which my son would be one of the top students academically and would fit right in with the team, so it isn’t a matter of the coach purposely ignoring him because he is unqualified. At the same time, we have no way of knowing what is happening because we haven’t received a response, and therefore it is frustrating to us.</p>

<p>Good luck to you!</p>

<p>You also need to familiarize yourself with the NCAA guidelines on recruiting. It may be that he is prohibited from calling or emailing you back. But even if he can’t call you, you can always call him.</p>

<p>Another thing, rayray, if the coach at your prospective school is assuming that you are on the team at your present school, NCAA rules say he cannot respond via email or telephone to any 4 year college transfer student without the student-athlete first obtaining a release.</p>

<p>Best put in a call.</p>

<p>^ I missed the bit that your new school is NAIA but there are still some guidelines about coach contact w/ enrolled student athletes
[Recruiting</a> Rules](<a href=“http://naia.cstv.com/member-services/legislative/currentissues/RecruitingRules.htm]Recruiting”>http://naia.cstv.com/member-services/legislative/currentissues/RecruitingRules.htm)</p>

<p>Oh wow thank you that is very helpful!</p>

<p>My daughter is at an NAIA school… very different and much more lenient with regards to recruiting. I am not sure on the transfer rules but often coaches are very hesitant to get involved unless the player has informed current school and coach they will be leaving and get a release and permission to speak to other schools.</p>

<p>Sorry if this is a dup post. My first attempt looks like it failed.</p>

<p>RayRay-</p>

<p>I am friends with a D1 coach and a D3 coach. I played D1 college sports and my kid is a recruited athlete by D1, D2, D3 and NAIA coaches.</p>

<p>First, positively dont tell the coach you dont like your sport enough to commit yourself to meet the the demands of D1. Many D2, D3 and NAIA coaches demand just as much time and effort as their D1 counterparts. Dont make the mistake of thinking that all D2 programs are easier than D1. Some are and some are not.</p>

<p>Second, understand that coaches are flooded with DVDs, emails, links to highlight sites and phone messages. Some coaches might have as many as 1 dozen HS kids show up in 1 day. Most arrive unannounced. as other posters mentioned the process is difficult to start but is even more complicated because many coaches are limited by NCAA rules as to their contact with a recruit.</p>

<p>During one offical visit to a school my sons 45 meeting with a coach was interrupted 3 times by other HS kids knocking on the office door, DVD in hand. The coach said hello, took the DVD, explained he was in a meeting and added the DVD to a large pile. Told us he can receive 100 contacts in a week and rarely looks at a DVD unless there was something special about the kid (read All State, record holder etc).</p>

<p>If you have blazing fast speed and run a time which will impress a coach then add that to the front of an envelope and send it along with your resume and DVD in a $3 next day snail mail cardboard envelope. If you were All State in your team sport, do the same and include your DVD. However, is you were All Conference Honorable Mention in HS, dont expect any coach at any level to get excited - especially an NAIA or D2 school which has some scholarship money to attract top athletes.</p>

<p>Hopefully, you choose a school based on academics and a fit first. Sports should be 3rd priority at best. That is the advice we gave our kid from day one (and I think he has listened)</p>

<p>RayRay, it’s hard to know how to read silence. Many coaches are part-timers and take long breaks from the college during the off season to either attend to their real job or to recruit, or whatever. My son has sent several emails to coaches and heard nothing for weeks, only to have them reply apologetically. Also, many coaches are still in the dark ages computer-wise and just don’t get around to responding to emails quickly. And some coaches are lazy.</p>

<p>The best advice is to simply call; if you don’t get the coach on the first try (one rarely does), leave a message with the day and time of your email and say that you’ll try again at a specific time. So, hopefully, the coach will scroll back and look at your email and YouTube link (I assume that’s what you sent) so he doesn’t have to be totally ignorant when you call. </p>

<p>One thing that I’ve been struck with in seeing my son go through the process is that talking to high school kids (or, as in your case, transfers) is what coaches do for a living. So, you shouldn’t be shy about calling and asking, politely, some very direct questions, along the lines of “I can get into your school and, with these athletic credentials, do you think you might have a spot for me.” The news may be good and it may be bad, but bear in mind that 100 “no thanks” from coaches and 1 “yeah, we’d like you on our teams” is better than never asking. Be prepared for rejection and move on.</p>

<p>My one quibble with Feldy is that most coaches are now preferring YouTube videos to DVDs. DVDs require the software to load up and so the coach may have to twiddle his thumbs for a minute until any content comes up, and, if he likes you, it’s ungainly to keep a connection between your name, your video, and his “I like this kid” list. With an email with a YouTube link, he can click on it and within five to ten seconds is looking at you. If he’s interested, he can close the link and slide your email into his “let’s look at this kid again” email subdirectory. And if he forgets what you can do, he can click on the link again, rather than dig through his DVD pile to find you.</p>

<p>Actually, I have another quibble with Feldy – about his comment that if you were only “All Conference Honorable Mention in HS, dont expect any coach at any level to get excited - especially an NAIA or D2 school which has some scholarship money to attract top athletes.” Many NAIA schools are begging for decent athletes and would be happy to have a solid, contributing Honorable Mention level player. The coach may not be “excited” about you, but you just want to get an invite onto the team - the excitement in his eyes will hopefully come on the first day of practice.</p>

<p>Thank you everyone! This is all really useful. Do you think it would be a good idea to email the assistant coach also?</p>

<p>If they think you’re a transfer athlete and don’t have consent from your present coach - your emails will go unreturned. Time to pick up the phone.</p>

<p>Quibbles and different opinions are great.</p>

<p>The Email and You Tube advice is spot on. Indded, it is easier for coaches to open an email than a DVD. But a coach might get 100 emails a week. A $3 second day package will almost certainly be opened when an email might not.</p>

<p>That said, I can tell you about an NAIA soccer team I know pretty well. Most of the boys on that team played USSF Academy soccer - the highest level in the US. Almost all were All State in HS. Granted, a couple were not All State but they are from Brazil, Germany etc. That team finished just above 500 this year.</p>

<p>Other sports might be different and other geographic areas might be different too.</p>

<p>A quick look at the bio sections on a college sports team website will give you an idea of the level it takes to play. I’m pretty sure you will find that there are not many kids playing D2 sports who were only All Conf HM in HS.</p>

<p>Send an email to the athletic director at the school you want to attend. Simply ask whether you need any kind of release from your school to have contact with one of their coaches. My son is in D3. The only response he got to his initial inquiries was to send them a copy of his release letter. One coach did say they were excited to hear from him, they had recruited him initially. He didn’t end up there either time. D3 can do one self-release per school, other levels may not be able to self release. Here is a link to the D3 form, it is for D3 to D3. Just so you can see it…fs.ncaa.org/Docs/AMA/compliance_forms/DIII/DIII%20Permission%20to%20Contact.pdf</p>

<p>Feldy, I agree that the 2nd-day package is more likely to be opened, but what I hear anecdotally is that the disk itself is likely to be tossed onto the slush pile unless there’s something compelling about the kid or an accompanying or preceding recommendation from a (HS or club) coach known to the college’s coach. A good 2-minute YouTube video will be viewed by a coach during the time it takes for a disk to get loaded and the necessary software to be fired up. </p>

<p>But, of course, we’re speculating. I think the lesson here is that it doesn’t hurt to call … since you’re not likely to get the head coach on first try anyway, you can ask the secretary, graduate assistant or assistant coach who answers the phone what the head coach’s preference is between YouTube and DVD’s.</p>

<p>Heck, my son (a HS baseball player) was just accepted non-binding EA at a D1 school in a top (football BCS) conference and, emailed the recruiting coach there to find out if they had walk-on opportunities. Unless my kid grows about 40 inches and adds 40 pounds and 8 MPH to his fastball, the program is way over his head. Still, the coach looked at his YouTube video and called him back, and they had a lovely chat about the program and their walk-on program. Sure, the fact that my son’s already admitted to the school separates him from the pack of kids who shotgun 40 colleges with little plans to even apply, but he at least got that attention.</p>

<p>I’d emphasive your point that NAIA college teams will differ wildly in what level of competition they recruit, depending on the sport. Here, we’re talking about a team that’s transitioning to D2, so it may well be that it’s of the level you talk about. But, it’s a huge step to say the All-conf HM isn’t good enough to get into D2 programs. Many do; a kid I used to coach got a D2 football full-ride with those credentials. It depends on what the school needs and is able to attract.</p>