Recently, after one of my games, a coach from a university that I had expressed interest in contacted me saying he saw me play. He gave me some constructive criticism and told me he liked my talent and style of play. In my opinion, I didn’t have that great of a game, but he still seemed to express interest. He asked me about my recruitment situation and said he wanted me to see the school and come to their camp in the summer. I have been to these types of camps before and didn’t find too much value in them. They seemed like more of a way to raise some money for the program rather than for recruiting purposes. I guess I’m just wondering if this seems like genuine interest from this coach, or if it’s just a way for them to get more people to come to their camp.
My experience with my son’s recruitment is that if a college coach is really interested they will ask for your phone number and ask when is a good time to contact you because they want to talk to you. You may want to check with your teammates to see if they received similar e-mails. After some out of town games we would discover that virtually the whole team received recruiting e-mails from the same coach. You may also want to check with your coach to see if he was contacted by the college coach. We found that coaches that were interested in my son usually talked to his club coach about him. In your case the mention of the camp makes it sound more like a camp advertisement than a recruiting e-mail. If you are interested in playing there ask the coach if you can visit the school and meet with him, but don’t say anything about the camp.
The coach contacted me via text message, so it wasn’t one of those mass emails to get the word out there. Also, I talked my teammates and none of them said they had been in contact with the coach.
user- It sounds like you are pretty realistic about coach interest. We also found that many camps turned out to be program fund-raisers. However, there may be some value in attending the camp if the Coach seems to be really interested in you, and if the school is one that you are seriously considering. Once my son narrowed down his school list and the coach of his top choice expressed an interest in him and invited him to their camp, my son found that he got much more attention at that camp than if he had just paid his money and shown up. It gave the coach a chance to see him play over a couple of days and to see how he interacted with team members. That can be a big plus for recruiting, as long as you have a good session. My son ended up playing soccer at that school. Maybe as you get closer to the time of the camp you can decide if there is enough interest from the coach to warrant spending the money. In the meantime, try to keep up communication with that coach by letting him know where you will be playing and how you did at each tournament. If he sees that you are interested it will up the chances that you will get more attention at the camp. Good luck!
@takeitallin thanks for your insight; it helps me to know what other people’s experience has been with contacting coaches and trying to understand what exactly they’re saying to you. My next question would probably be how often should I contact this coach now that we have established some sort of contact? Also do you think I should contact him by text message instead of email because that was how he reached out to me? Thanks to both of you for your input!
The frequency of communicaton depended on the level of interest on both sides. When my son was trying to maintain communication with a coach that had contacted him my son would reach out whenever he had something of interest to convey. My son would look at the college’s schedule and his own and if there was no conflict he would invite the coach to his game. He would let the coach know if he scored a goal, or if he had posted new video online. He would also e-mail the coach if he had a question about the team. Generally, if he had not heard from the coach for three weeks or so he would find one of the above reasons to reach out to the coach. This was with a program he ultimately did not get an offer from. Communications with the coach of the program he has decided to play for were much more frequent, and the time between initial contact and an offer was just a couple of months.
As for how to communicate with the coach, I would text him and say that you would like to keep him updated on your season/progress, and ask him if he prefers that you contact him by text or e-mail.
@Tyberius thanks for the advice, I’ll make sure to keep contacting the coach with important new information!
It is always good to know more about the situation before reading the tea leaves. Are you a junior? Is this a school that you really want to attend? Is this a D3 college?
Without knowing more, I would say that you have sized it up pretty well with the assist of the CC Posters. First, any time a coach communicates with an athlete in a way that shows it is not a mass mailing, that it s good thing. (Just like you can tell that an email is not a mass mailing, so can the coach. Remember that when communicating with coaches). Second, it is true enough that camps are a “money maker” for the college teams. Also, coaches like to load up the camps to have enough athletes to play against the athletes they are recruiting. However, I also think coaches do prefer watching an athlete play to recruiting based on tapes alone. I would not assume that a personal invite to a camp is just to make money. On the other hand, it is curious that the coach just saw you play and is inviting you to be seen again. Perhaps the coach wants to see how to respond to the comments, to see how your game has developed in the last few months or wants to see you play against other possible recruits.
To my mind, the best way to size up the coach’s interest would be to ask if you could meet him or her in person at the college. I can’t really tell from your post, but it sounds like the coach invited you up both to meet and for the summer camp. The school can’t be too far away if the coach saw you play at a game. Spend 20 minutes or so with the coach and ask the really tough questions. Do you want me as a recruit? Can I get into the school. It is tempting to have the meeting at the same time that you go to the summer camp, but it could be awkward. The coach may not want to single out his or her recruits during the camp or reveal his preferences among recruits. I think you would get more individual attention (and brownie points for effort) if you were to have a meeting separate from the camp.
In sum, I read this post as being positive, but not the “I’ve got to have you” recruiing posture… It could evolve into the “I’ve got to have you” situation. If it is what you really want, you can help it along by, as Tyberious suggests, frequent updates, questions and communications.
@gointhruaphase Thank you for your input and detailed response. I am currently a junior and this is a D1 school that is pretty far from where I live. The reason the coach saw me play was because I had expressed interest in the school and sent an email, and I’m guessing he was in the area for this showcase my team was in. This is a school that I would be interested in attending, however it isn’t my top choice. The coach asked what other schools were interested in me and where I had visited so far. I know this school will come to other tournaments that I will be at over the summer, so do you think it’s necessary that I go to the camp? Or do you think that if I continue to show my interest and let them know where I’ll be (so they can see me then) I might still have a shot?
Here’s the thing, it is hard to say what is necessary in any specific recruiting instance… I liken this process to the dance of the tse tse fly – it is very random with a few hard and fast rules (e.g., a mass email from a coach does not mean that you are being recruited). I have known folks who attended a camp who were recruited and dropped as well as recruited students who made it in based only on tapes. A lot depends on the needs of the school, how much they want you, its recruiting budget and how much the school is willing to rely on things like awards, stats, references, play level of club team, level of school team, etc.
Against that backdrop, you have to weigh your resources and needs. It does cost money to go to these camps. Sometimes of greater importance than the money (not trying to minimize the money) there is an expenditure of time. I know of a camp over MLK weekend that is right before midterms. Perhaps your summer is filled with a summer job or tournaments.
You obviously like this school because you expressed an interest in it. Do you feel comfortable with your chances at the other schools? Have the other schools seen you play. Would you go to this school if your higher up choices didn’t offer you soccer? My only advice to the small subset of people who will listen (which rarely includes my own kids) is to cast a wide net. Having choices is a good thing. Think through the issues and then make your decision.
@gointhruaphase Thanks for providing information based on your own experiences. My parents and I are new to this whole recruiting process so any input I can get from someone who has been through it before is very helpful!
Going to the camp really depends on how serious you are about this school and what your priorities are regarding athletics vs. academics and overall fit. I’m not sure which sport you are in (maybe soccer?) but it sounds like you are playing higher level tournaments where you will get coaches from a wide area to see you. Definitely come up with your list of schools where you feel there is a good athletic and academic fit and start contacting coaches. Be sure to send a high-light video and keep your email short and sweet. Include academic stats and maybe a sentence that shows you know something about the school (I notice you have 9 seniors graduating from your program this year…) Always check the school website before sending an email as coaches change frequently, and copy assistant coaches as well since often head coaches will have their assistants do the preliminary recruiting. Send frequent updates to each coach to let them know when you will be playing, and be specific- include a game schedule and your uniform colors and number-make it as easy as possible for them to see you. After the games, email them again to ask if they were able to see you and to let them know you are still interested. You can also call them - if they don’t answer keep calling. Making those calls is hard at first but definitely gets easier. My son found that most coaches were easy to talk to and were genuinely interested. Most of the coaches kept the conversation going, but always have a few questions written down that you can fill in with.
As far as the camp for this school, we found that the cost of camps quickly adds up, as well as the time you spend- you could easily spend your whole summer at camps if you wanted to. We limited camps to those where my son was very interested in the school and where the coaches had expressed an interest. We tried to find shorter camps where the cost and time committment was less- weekend camps or spring break camps still give the coaches a chance to see you. If you are really considering this school than it might be a good idea to try to attend the camp, but it sounds like you have some other schools that you are more interested in. You will have to weigh your chances at the other schools and decide where to put your money. I will say that since my son had decided his current school was his top choice, going to the camp there was a definite must- I’m not sure he would be playing there if he had not shown that interest. One thing to think about is how happy would you be at any of your schools if you were not playing your sport there. 2 of my son’s freshmen team members his first year had injuries that have kept them out of the sport since, and one is now considering transferring. Make sure the school is a good fit overall, not just athletically.
Getting recruited by a school that is quite a distance from where you live is difficul as it is not cost effective for the coach to see you play except at showcases where he is going to see a number of potential players. It also makes it difficult for you to visit the school without committing to the camp or incurring substantial expense. At some point you may want your club coach to call the college coach to find out what his level of interest is. Is he really interested in you as a recruit or is he just trying to increase the numbers at his camp? My son is going to be playing over a thousand miles from where we live. A lot of the early communications involved my son’s coaches. His club coaches are all college coaches, which helps. The recruiting coach was willing to accept the opinions of the club coaches as to my son’s ability. He made an offer based on video and the coaches’ recommendations, and did not see my son play in person until after the offer was made. My son did delay the acceptance until after the coach saw him play in person, just so there were no misconceptions.
User, the coach is at least somewhat interested because he took the time to watch you play and then texted you with specific comments regarding your play. So yes, it’s a positive sign. Also, assuming you are not a national level superstar, it makes sense for the coach to want to see you play again before making any offer.
To determine if the camp is worth your time and money, you should call the coach and see how he responds. After a few minutes, you’ll have a much better sense of where you stand with him. If it seems positive, then you’ll have to decide whether going to the camp is worth it. One key question for you to ask yourself: am I realistically good enough for this level of program so that I likely will be able to impress the coach at the camp? If the answer is Yes, and if the coach is warm and positive on the phone, and if the school is high on your list, then go for it.