subject: Don't Contact College Colleges - Demystifying a Myth [print this page] Don't Contact College Colleges - Demystifying a Myth
I remember doing a presentation a few years back at our daughter's old high school about finding a college athletic scholarship In attendance, was a representative from the PAC-10. I was amazed that he was telling the audience, mostly student athletes and their parents, that they should not, under any circumstances, contact coaches, either by phone or email, until the student athlete had been recruited. I came away from that knowing that there were probably many student athletes in that audience who would not be considered the top D-I athlete, the athlete who gets heavily recruited by coaches. They needed different advice.
Have a Game Plan
While there are restrictions from the NCAA on when you can communicate with coaches, I always recommend that after the student athlete initially contacts a coach with his profile or with a long email sending along some background information, it is really important to follow-up with a phone call or another email. This lets the coach know that you are really interested in his or her program. And, take the time to learn about both the coach's program and the college itself, so that you are both better informed for yourself, but also can communicate more intelligently with the coach. Somehow there is a misconception that all a student athlete has to do is send in a bunch of letters or emails with a profile, and then it is up to the coach to respond. This search for a college athletic scholarship is just like a job search, especially for the talented athlete who can play at lower D-I or D-II or for an academic scholarship at a D-III school.
Constant Contact
We urge the student athlete to take the first step towards establishing an ongoing communication with the coaches of programs in which you, the future college bound student athlete, might be interested. Obviously, you don't want to overwhelm or bother a coach, but calling and emailing the coach about your interest in his or her program and college is important. If you have started early in the college athletic search process, then providing updates at intervals during your high school athletic career is important for the coach to "see" how you are developing your talent and the level of dedication to your sport. My bias on having student athletes follow-up personally with coaches was validated by a recent conversation with a former college women's volleyball coach who said that she was always amazed at the number of profiles and background information sent to her, but how few student athletes actually followed up on those initial contacts. She said that to her, from a coach's perspective, the student athletes who did not follow up were almost like "tire kickers" just trying to see what was out there, but not really interested in her program. College athletic scholarships are tough to get, but establishing good communications is one tool to use!
