<p>I'm trying to figure out the best time to send letters to coaches (D3) showing interest in their program. My son is a Junior and a tennis player and would like to procrastinate as long as possible about sending these letters. I (Mom) am getting concerned that when he gets around to it may be too late. Any feedback would be appreciated.</p>
<p>It never hurts to show interest. Most coaches want to be able to see where a students stands academically, and that means junior grades and initial SAT scores, but early interest shouldn’t hurt. Make sure to initiate contact before you go to visit, if that is planned.</p>
<p>Thanks, jersey girl.
Anyone- other feedback?</p>
<p>I’m a parent who is just beginning to help my tennis player with the process as well, but I’ll be glad to tell you my observations:</p>
<p>Those selling recruiting services would like students and parents to panic, feel that they’re behind in the process, and hire them to overcome that perceived problem. As a result, the recruiting services have an incentive to encourage panic.</p>
<p>One tennis pro told me that in many cases, D3 coaches aren’t in a rush to recruit players anyway because they’re waiting to see which almost-D1-level players tried for D1, didn’t make it, and are available for a D3 team. </p>
<p>There are legitimate reasons for junior boys to delay contacting coaches, in my non-expert opinion. A player may have had a poor sophomore school season (for example, had a minor injury or illness but played anyway) and legitimately believes that his junior season will be better. A player might not be emotionally or socially ready to contact coaches, but will gain interest and courage as classmates go through the college search process. A player could be a late bloomer physically, could obviously be still growing, could be just starting a weight training program, or could have just switched to a new coach. A player could believe that other factors (academics, for example) are just as important as the presence of a D3 tennis team, and wants to narrow down his potential options rather than sending lots of letters. For many students, the junior year is the hardest, and a player may feel that he doesn’t have time to focus on sending letters–for example, because after school yesterday he went to training, watched the US Open final while eating dinner and then had to stay up until midnight to finish his homework. He could be about to turn 17, and want to play his last two tournaments in 16s in order to get his USTA 16s ranking as high as possible before starting over in 18s.</p>
<p>There are a few things that a reluctant player can do without sending letters. He can update his profile for free on tennisrecruiting.net, the main tennis recruiting website. College coaches can see whether a player has visited the college profile on that website, and if a player joins (for about $50), he can see which college coaches have visited his profile. He can fill out online questionnaires found on the college website’s athletic page (which are generally short and to the point, and require less effort than sending letters). </p>
<p>A mom who is concerned could ask her son to choose one nearby college to visit during his fall break, and ask him to contact just that one coach before his visit, and see how that goes.</p>
<p>Good luck to you!</p>