Q:  How can I tell if the coach is actually interested?

A:  Here are the top indicators of a coach’s level of interest, in declining order:

1.  Full scholarship offer in writing
2.  Full scholarship offer made verbally
3.  Partial scholarship offer in writing
4.  Partial scholarship offer made verbally
5.  Offer of an official visit
6.  Phone calls from the head coach on the first day of the contact period, which varies by sport
7.  Hand-written weekly letter from the head coach or assistant coach (the former indicates higher interest)
8.  Athletic application with fee waiver
9.  Letter from the head coach or assistant coach with an invitation to call or email (the former indicates higher interest)
10. Offer of an unofficial visit or game day visit
11. Request for game, highlight, or skills video
12. Invitation for pro-rated one-day summer camp visit
13. Questionnaire and letter inviting the student-athlete to correspond or call

Q:  When can I receive a phone call from a college coach?

A:  The answer to this question depends on the sport, the prospect’s age, and division level.  One thing to keep in mind is that prospects can make calls to college coaches at their own expense at anytime!

Also a few important ideas to remember is that receiving a phone call from a college coach should not be the start or end of the recruiting process.  The prospects who receive phone calls on the first day possible are the ones who have executed a successful recruiting campaign up until that point.  This includes being proactive at a very young age to ensure their name is high on the coach’s recruiting list. 

If you do not receive a phone call on the first day possible, it does not mean you are a viable recruit for that division level; however it does mean that you might not be on the radar for those college coaches.  Or it could mean you need to target a more realistic level of play.  Either way it should be a sign!

5 Types of Questions You NEED to Ask a College Coach

 While knowing what questions to expect from a college coach and how to answer them is important, any conversation with a coach also allows the student athlete an opportunity to find out some critical information that will help them through the athletic recruiting process.  The key is to know the right questions to ask in order to maximize your short time with a coach.

Every conversation with a college coach will be unique.  Since the recruiting process moves at different speeds for prospects and coaches, the current relationship should dictate the type of questions that are appropriate.  However, regardless of where you’re at in the process, we wanted to give you some advice that every recruit can take advantage of.

Before we go into specific questions that potential recruits should ask college coaches, let’s go over a few basics to keep in mind while preparing for the conversations.

• First and foremost, PREPARE! While a prospect might not know the exact time a college coach will be calling, every recruit should recognize that phone conversations will be a significant portion of a recruiting relationship. With that in mind, prospects should write down a list of 15 questions that they could ask a coach…and keep it handy! While the conversation should flow naturally, it will only help a potentially nervous student-athlete to have a set of questions prepared ahead of time that they can always ask a coach.
• A prospect should never ask if they will receive a scholarship during an initial conversation unless a coach brings up the topic.
• Recruits should maximize the conversation by only asking questions that they can find answers to by talking to the coach directly. They should not waste this valuable opportunity by asking questions that can be answered through a brief visit to the college’s website. Each conversation serves as a limited chance to develop a real relationship…make the most of it!
• Do not be afraid to ask coaches about themselves. Often times, recruits only ask questions that pertain to their life and neglect to find out anything personal about the coach. It’s important for a recruit to get to know a coach (their interests, their family, etc…)

Now, let’s go over some questions recruits can ask to make the most of the conversation.  As we mentioned earlier, every conversation will be dictated the by current recruiting situation, but here are a few topics that should be covered and some sample questions from each…

Academics

Simply put, academics are the most important part of the process.  If the college coach does not share your academic goals then it might be time to look at other options.  Here are some academic questions every recruit might want to ask:

• What are the admission requirements for an athlete?
• Will my specific major interfere with the athletic schedule?
• What are some of the most popular majors for athletes on your team?
• Does your team have a full-time academic advisor?
• Do your players graduate in four years?
• Can the application fee be waived for athletes?

Athletics / Recruiting

These two topics overlap in many cases, as an athletic evaluation will determine how heavily the coaching staff will be recruiting a prospect.  Here are some “must ask” questions for recruits at any point in the process:

• Has your coaching staff evaluated me?
• Where do I fit on your recruiting board?
• Have you offered scholarships to others in my class? At my position?
• Have any other athletes in my class accepted the offers?
• How many players will you be recruiting at my position?
• Where will you be recruiting this season / spring / summer?
• What types of off-season activities are expected?
• What does the training program consist of at your school?
• What is your recruiting timeline?
• Is there a good time to come visit your school?

Scholarship

As we noted, it is rarely appropriate for a recruit to ask if they will receive a scholarship in an initial phone conversation, however there are a few questions that will help you gauge your scholarship possibilities at that school…

• How many scholarships do you have available for my class?
• Am I under consideration for a scholarship?
• What types of academic scholarships are available? What about other sorts of grants and aid?
• Do I have to apply before a scholarship is offered?
• What happens if I get injured?

College Life Questions

Even though athletics will obviously play a major role in the life of a collegiate student-athlete, every recruit should make sure they are going to be happy on campus even when they are not with the team.  Make sure to ask about some of the following:

• Are the players on your team close with each other?
• What is the housing situation like? Do teammates typically live together?
• Do student-athletes stay on campus during the summer?
• Is it possible to work part-time in addition to playing a sport and studying?
• What is a typical “day in the life” like for a member of your team during the season? What about during the off-season?

Important Final Questions

While there are many directions that a conversation might take with a college coach, one key goal should be to find out what comes next:

• What are the next steps in this process?
• When is the next time we can speak / meet?
• Is there anything I can provide you with that will help you further evaluate me?

Hopefully this list will provide recruits a starting point for the types of questions they should ask a college coach.  By no means is this list comprehensive, but it should assist a student athlete as they prepare for their first conversation with a coach.

As you can tell, there is quite a bit of information that student-athletes need to gather…This is one of the most important decisions a young person will make in their life.  Get as much information as possible!  That is also one of the main reasons why recruiting is all about building relationships.  This process does not happen overnight, and will consist of a number of different situations in which a recruit communicates with a college coach.  Phone conversations just happen to be an important initial step in building that relationship.

If you are prospect, at any age, who has yet to begin developing a relationship with a college coach, you might be falling behind.  There are other prospects, starting freshmen year or earlier (your competition), who have already started speaking with college coaches.  The earlier you start that relationship, the more time you will have to make the best decision possible. 

Q:  What should I include in an introduction letter to a college coach? 

When constructing a letter to a college coach, keep these tips in mind:

1.  Most every coach now relies on e-mail to both contact and receive contact from potential recruits. That is the preferred method of communication. To find out the e-mail addresses for the coaches you are looking to contact, simply go to the college’s athletic website and look for a staff listing of names and e-mails or ask your Recruiting Coach.

2.  Be brief. Coaches at all levels receive dozens and dozens of e-mails/letters from high school-aged players. All you are trying to do is show you have interest, pass along all of your contact information, your resume, and provide each coach with an upcoming schedule of your matches so he can see you play.  Always include a link to your scouting report, it has all of this information!

3.  NEVER have one of your parents write to a coach. You are the one the coach might be recruiting, so he/she wants to hear from you directly. (If the relationship develops and it appears that you might be attending that college, they’ll be plenty of time for your parents to have contact with the coaching staff.)

4.  Provide contact information for yourself and your coach (es). Nothing is worse for a college coach than to have to track down your coach’s e-mail or phone number. By having both an e-mail address and a phone number listed after his/her name, it allows for the college coach to quickly e-mail or call your private and/or high school coach to follow up.

5.  Always include basic information about yourself such as grad year, high school, athletic history, GPA, SAT/ACT scores.  Tell the coach why you are a good fit for their program based on research you might have done.. 

6.  Do not send a form letter that starts out with “Dear Coach” and does not mention anything specific about his/her program and school. The bulk of your e-mail will be kept the same for correspondence you send out to various coaching staff; however a portion of it should be personalized.  Bring in something specific about it that you learned by going through the website.  State your interest in the school and specific reasons (like “my Dad went to Madison and I want to carry on the tradition” or whatever fits you personally)  This is your chance to show off your personality!

7.  Detail is important!  Be sure that you use spell check and proper English.  This is a reflection of your ability

Q:  What happens after a recruit sends a video to a coach and when should they expect to hear back?  What should a recruit do if they do not hear back?

A:  First all, every recruit should consider the time of the year when sending a video.  For example, if they send a football video to a college coach right now while the coaches are in the middle of two-a-days, watching film on recruits might not be a top priority.

However, here is some general advice that recruits can follow when sending video:

Aside from sending the DVD or online link to a video, an athletic and academic resume should accompany the film.  This should include contact information; etc along with a well thought out explanation about “why you are interested in their school and the reasons it’s a good match.”  This is a critical question to answer to avoid the appearance of a form letter.  Keep in mind, college coaches want to make sure you are interested in their program for the right reasons (they have your desired major, their school is within your geographic target area, you think you would be a great fit for their scheme).

Typically, a recruit should give the coach 10 days to respond and then be sure to follow up to see if that coach received the film and ideally request some feedback.

If there is still no response after a written follow-up, then I would recommend calling the coach to try and get a direct answer.  If you speak with the coach, be prepared with a list of questions.  If you leave a voicemail, make sure you leave the pertinent information such as your full name (spell it out), your phone number, and explain why you are calling and what you are hoping to accomplish.

Also, be open to the potential that the feedback from the coach is potentially negative.  Recruits often face the harsh reality of having to hear the following answers from a coach:

- You simply do not fit our program athletically
- I have already identified the prospects I am recruiting in your class
- We are not recruiting your position.