I emailed the coaches of the sport I am interested in at the schools I am applying to (asked questions about the teams as well), but did not hear any response from them (it has been a while now) and the couple of them that did reply had some cryptic responses (PM me for more info, don’t want to risk confidentiality). However, I did list my times/statistics in my first original email (I assumed they would reply back to ask me to provide them anyway)—was this a mistake? Are they not replying because I was just not “good enough”?
Some schools (like Andover) have an athletics general interest form - make sure you fill that out. It included things like what team my kid swims for now, coaches name and contact information.
Other than that, as a non-athletic hook applicant, we had asked to meet the coach and possibly tour the facilities when we came for our campus visit. Of the 4 schools we visited witha swim team, 2 coaches met us at admissions, one said he’d ask two of the team captains to meet us (but they did not come), one said he’d try to meet with us but didn’t make it.
The communication since then has been limited at best. One school asked for updated best times. The rest haven’t been in contact at all.
We’re not worried about it. For swimming anyway, this is their busy season and they are probably very short on time.
We got responses. What are your best 3 events and times? You should know by looking up their times/results from meets where you would fit into the team. Good luck!
If by “cryptic responses” you mean that they were hesitant to show too much interest in you, it is because they do not decide who is admitted. At least for the top schools, you have to be smart enough to get in and handle the rigorous workload. Once that is established, they would love to talk to you.
A coach told my DD that they have several hundred qualified (sports ability wise) applicants this year, for a team with only two dozen or so spots. So, it makes sense that they will not go out of their way if there is no guarantee that a student is in. Coach did ask what SSAT score was upfront before getting into involved conversation.
Also, make sure you fill out an interest form for your sport. Child contacted the coach and was sent a form to fill out with times, current coach info, goals, etc., which was sent back to school a while ago. Being a good swimmer will not be a strong enough hook for my child to be admitted. It will help show how multitalented she is, but it will not be what pushes the needle over to “admit.”
Good luck and contact the coaches again to request a form, if you have not already done so.
I don’t think you made a mistake in providing your times/stats in original email. That saves the coaches the trouble of asking.
In terms of what their lack of response means, I wouldn’t read too much into it. Coaches are busy, especially in-season.
I think the amount of “pull” any coach has varies depending on the school, the coach’s standing/tenure at that school, and how important his/her sport is to that school. I personally do think they can make a difference in terms of admittance.
Most boarding/prep school coaches are also teachers full time. Some even have housemaster duties. So they are quite busy. Don’t take it the wrong way if they don’t respond. It doesn’t mean they’re not interested, recruiting is just not their top priority.
Some schools have full time coaches for their sport. So recruiting is part of their job. I don’t know how it works for Swimming, but if they have a full-time coach and you are not getting any response, then it probably means they are not interested.
Suggest that you continue to gently follow-up with the coaches again. Have you scheduled an interview on campus? If so ask if they can meet you for a few minutes. Do you have any video or updates from this year’s swimming season ? If so send to them. Sending 1-2 follow up emails is fine, just don’t go overboard and send weekly updates.
You’ll find that if you continue to show interest, the coaches may then pull for you. Like @sevendad says, the amount of pull a coach has varies considerably among the schools. Good luck
As long as you filled out the athletic interest form and emailed the coach, I’m not sure I would contact them again, unless you have some significantly new times. But try not to get too freaked out. Even if they didn’t respond, they may have you on a list somewhere (although, frankly, if you were at the top of the list of people they really are pushing hard for, you probably would have heard). Some times you may not quite be at the top of their recruitment list but, once you’re in, they’re very glad to have you-- so, if you do get in, contact them again and say you’d like to talk with them at revisit day.
Yeah, the coaches are really busy this time of year, especially swimming, as it is in season. One of the swim coaches here also doubles as my English teacher, so they’re swamped, what with major assignments and meets and such.
Thanks for the input. I saw some previous threads earlier where OPs talked about receiving emails from the BS coaches, and I was worried that I was a “special case”, haha. Thanks for informing me, everybody!