<p>S is a junior with national cuts (swimming). He is getting an increasing number of recruitment emails/mails. We have already worked out a list of 10 schools he is interested in. What do we do with the rest of the schools that have expressed interest in him? Does he have to send an email to each of them acknowledging he received their materials etc?</p>
<p>DD got “recruiting” information from 200 coaches, you can’t possibly follow up on everything. Most of those sent one thing and we never heard back from them, which was fine, she wasn’t interested in them. The ones that are contacting here now (she has already applied to the schools she wants-senior) she is emailing them back saying that she has applied at other schools but if things change she will let them know. She had about 50 coaches that were serious about her, meaning that they sent material, emailed her, called her, showed genuine interest in her. She was in contact with them on various levels. She ended up applying to 9 schools and we are waiting for the $$$ to come in so she can make her final choice.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, it’s early junior year, DD’s list changed almost completely from this time last year to application time. Keep investigating schools that may interest him.</p>
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<p>I totally agree with SteveMA. </p>
<p>My two cents…Our experience (and the experience of many we know) was vastly different from start to finish. I would absolutley have your son follow up with any coach’s email acknowleding their interest with a quick email reply. That’s it. As part of the process, he should also try to learn a little bit about each school. BTW…My son’s sport is baseball.</p>
<p>I would not necessarily look at this as etiquette. This is college athletic recruiting and it is like trying to find a job. For most people this is not a casual endevor. It takes a lot of time, discipline and organization. You’ll see.</p>
<p>Our requirements changed no less than three times as we started to uncover what was possible and what my son wanted. It was constantly evolving, and finally led us to the best fit possbile. So, 10 schools is not a lot in the grand scheme of things. Typically juniors in high school will identlfy with a school brand they’ve seen on TV (Duke, North Carolina, Alabama etc…). While they are very good schools, they may not necessarily fit your son in his sport or reperesent the best fit. Take this time to explore all opportunities and then narrow it down as you get more information and meet more coaches. Good luck.</p>
<p>Agreed, 10 schools is not many to really have in your pool of choices and on top of that coaches all talk to one another and they talk about recruits and I am sure both of you want your son to be talked about in the best way possible… “What a polite young man” etc… Also coaching changes do happen and if your son has put him in a positive light with all coaches it will be the best he can do for himself. You don’t have to lead them on, if it is a school he is truly not interested in nor ever will be, just send a thank you email for the interest but I am looking in another direction type of response.</p>
<p>My son wasn’t as talented a swimmer as your son but he did get anough mail from D2 and D3 schools to wallpaper his room. And I cringed at the letters and emails that were going unanswered. However, there was one D1 coach that had been courting my son fairly heavilly, where we made an unofficial visit to the school. S ruled it out and sent her a polite email thanking her for her time and explaining that while there were things he liked about the program, the school itself was not for him. He never did get a reply to that. The D2 coach I suggested he not just ignore because his was in the same family of schools as one my son WAS interested in, didn’t reply to his email saying the school sounds great but its just too far from home for me.</p>
<p>I would agree with the above posters that shouldn’t worry about sending everyone a “bread and butter note”.</p>
<p>Seriously - recruiting letters are sent out by the thousands. Tens of thousands. Replying with a nice note is like responding to a pre-approved credit card offer. “Thank you for your kind words about my strong credit history, while I appreciate the fact that you think I would be a good match for the Wells Fargo Visa, I’m not in a position right now to commit - but I hope we can stay in touch.”</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. I think I will have S classify them into three groups: one with special attention, one with a simple but nice thank you note, and one to the delete folder/recycle box.</p>
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<p>Good plan. Your organizational skills are shining through! The next challenge is to show your son how to qualify schools , interest, and potential fit so he does the work. At least in my case, I showed my son how to reply, schedule visits, initiate correspondence and he did the rest of it. Oh course this takes some coaching, but he got the hang of it real quick. My son is an introvert. If he can do it, anyone can do it.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Good plan. He has a list of qualities he is looking for and we have discussed the evaluation criteria. The number of schools that have the kind of academic and athletic combination he wants is not large. I did gently “force” him to expand the list somewhat. I do have questions about the introvert personality. S is a classic introvert as well. Very eloquent with people he knows well but can’t get him to talk in front of strangers. He has promised to call a couple coaches he has been corresponding after the championships meet in a month. I know I will have to give him some kind of script to get him going. I have read something of that nature here on the forum. Fenway, can you share some content/flow how your introvert did it? S will need to work in that area for sure.</p>
<p>swimming2014,</p>
<p>In the recruitment early stages , son was introduced by his baseball travel coach to college coaches at showcase or tourunament events. Some of these coaches invited him to unofficial visits (on campus) that we attended together during his junior year. He understood he was responsible for asking the questions and follow up with the coach. He was uncomfortable doing this, BUT he knew he had to do it if he wanted to play college baseball. At first it was not easy as we had to constantly remind him to follow up with coaches. </p>
<p>Over time, he started going to a few unofficials on his own (nearby schools) and learned to carry a conversation with the coach without Mom or Dad or his travel coach. This prepared him for July 1 8am when his phone started ringing with coaches that were preveiously interested in him or coaches that wanted to introduce themselves. Over time and practice did he truly learn how to handle himself. Phone calls, and emails were handled immediatley and without Mom or Dad pestering him. At that point. we knew he could do this on his own. He made mistakes. We were there to coach him when needed. This aspect to college recruiting has made my son much more aware of how to communicate, and to be confident. He is still an introvert but he can handle himself.</p>
<p>I think another factor in this process that gets overlooked is… peer pressure. There is all kinds of peer pressure involved in college athetic recruiting. As a parent for an introverted athlete, I think you can put it to your advantage as your son sees his teammates or friends getting interest from schools. My son had a sense of urgency that he would get overlooked if he did not take the initiative. His travel team was made up of entirely D1 recruits, some extremely talented playing at top 10 schools. This motivated him in a way that we’d never seen before.</p>
<p>I hope that answers your question. Please let me know if I can help.</p>
<p>Great great advice. I like the “time” and “learning” perspectives. S will learn over time how he should handle himself so I am glad we are getting him started now. As a swimmer, he doesn’t have the opportunity of meeting coaches at showcases. But he can get started with phone conversations of hellos and updates. I hope he will practice in person communication at the Dec junior nat. That would probably harder than swimming his race. Thanks for the wonderful advice again. It’s a great learning experience for the kids.</p>
<p>swimming2014,</p>
<p>Our D is a swimmer too, class of 2013. We are almost at the end of the recruiting process., cross my fingers. She has 5 OVs (4 D1 and 1 D2) and we postponed a couple D3 but keep them in mind for backup. And this is winding down from over 100 coach’s contacts. Keep your options opened. The ones she went on OVs were not the ones on her 1st list. Our priorities/direction changed midway. You are still very early so don’t limit yourself. If the school is really bad (athletically or academically), then by all mean, eliminate them from your list, but you are not obligated to reply to each and everyone of them, especially the ones sent out to the mass. Another reason to keep your option opened, she had a male teammate who was a year ahead of her. He had JN cuts as well. However, he ended up going to the top D2 school and not the D1 school he had visited because even though his swimming ability was good, he could not cut it academically.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. Had a good talk with S. He knows he has to handle the calls, etc. He did ask a question which I don’t know the answer to. He thought he should have some experience talking to other coaches before be calls the ones that he is really serious about. So should be practice on those he doesn’t really want to go? Wouldn’t that be leading them on? I don’t know if it is ok to do so.</p>
<p>*he…, not be.</p>
<p>That’s not a bad idea, we did something similar with the face to face meetings. My daughter went to a recruiting weekend at a school that was pretty low on her list as a rehearsal for her round of unofficial visits at the schools she was very interested in. She was able to talk with the recruiting coach and head coach in a less formal environment and I think it was very helpful to her.</p>
<p>I agree with fishymom, go on an unofficial visit first to a school that is not his top choice but is in the same conference. Your son should be prepared to ask questions about training intensity and techniques as well as grades, test scores, and times that he needs to be recruited. If he is going to an IVY have him ask about the likely letter recruitment process. This will give him a chance to refine his questions before he meets with the coach at his top choice.
Jr Nationals will be a great opportunity for him. It will be held at a very fast pool. Before the meet make sure your son emails a list of his events to all the schools that he is interested in. He may not be able to talk to the coaches at this meet. Saying hello is ok, but anything more is subject to NCAA regulations (I would talk to his club coach about this). If he swims fast then the coaches at the top of his list will want to talk to him after the meet. Have him email all his times including relay splits to the coaches. Good Luck! (my kids will be swimming at this meet also)</p>
<p>Just to clarify, my daughter was told before hand that the coach would not acknowledge her at all at competitions. One coach that she has had a relationship with since she was 9 yrs old specifically told me she would not be able to speak to us at the meet. She made sure my daughter understood that things were different now that she was in high school and a potential recruit according to NCAA guidelines.</p>
<p>It seems best for S to just do the phone calls before the junior summer to keep the coaches updated. Don’t want to pressure him at the junior nat meet when he tries to make finals.</p>
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I’m not sure I’d look at it from that perspective because your always going to have some schools on the A list and some schools on the B list at all times. Your son will be working both sides. He needs to relax, and understand mistakes will be made but that is okay. I think if your son has a genuine conversation with the coach he is not leading them on. By a genuine conversation, I mean he is seeking to learn as much about the program, school, coaches as possible. If he has these conversations over and over that he will feel more comfortable. Eventually, he won’t even have to think about it. The coaches will recognize your son’s comfort level (introvert) as they do this a thousand times a year for many years. Most of them are very good at making the recruits feel more comfortable. Good luck.</p>
<p>Lol re: relaxing. It will be very hard. I don’t think I have ever seen S talking on the phone with anyone besides immediate family. Hopefully he will feel more comfortable after a few calls. It will be a good thing.</p>