Going to visit campus - advice on contacting coach

DD (2018 grad) has a school she has heard very good things about and thinks she is interested in attending, if she can play softball there.

DD has been in contact with coaches about her interest but never received email responses. One assistant coach saw DD play at D9 this winter. Shortly after that, another assistant coach who helps with recruitment contacted DD's batting coach about her. DD called that coach and they had a nice conversation and the coach said they need to see more of her before they can make any decision (which can't really happen until this summer). So that is the extent of the conversations with this school and its coaches.

Here's the situation I need advice on: My son started college this year and is playing baseball - his first game is in about 3 weeks and is a couple hours away from the school DD is interested in and I was thinking of taking DD for a trip to go see his game and then visit the campus while we're in that area. If we do that, I'm assuming it would be OK to let the coaches know by email and a phone call that she's visiting and ask if she can meet them (right?). They haven't been very responsive by email so my question is, if they don't respond and if she can't reach them by phone, should we still try to see if we can connect with the coaches while we're there? Do they mind if people just 'stop by'?

Any other thoughts about things we should do while we are there? We might try to go to a softball game (there is a double header that weekend but it conflicts with son's game - I would want to try to squeeze both in but I'm not sure if that's going to be possible given the distance between the two locations).

Any thoughts would be appreciated - thanks!

When you set up the visit through the school ask them to set up a meeting with the softball coach. This is perfectly normal.

My DDs did it several different ways. Since she already has talked to one of the coaches, I would have her try to set a visit up through that coach. It is much more direct than requesting it through a third party. I think it shows that your DD is really interested in the school and also shows that she is an assertive young lady who makes things happen. If they won't respond (I believe they will) then go through the school to set it up.

Added: Have her call the coach she talked to on the phone. We found that they are more responsive to phone calls and texts than they are to emails.

Will they be playing somewhere when you plan to visit? I wonder how many coaches do much recruiting/visiting during their season? I know when we visited earlier this month, the coach said he needed to know by the end of the month before the season started.

They have home games on Saturday and Sunday. We plan to go on a Friday. Not sure if this matters with regard to your question, but this was not initiated by the coaches - I just thought it would be a good opportunity for DD to see the campus and confirm that she likes it there. Do you think they won't see her or speak with her because they are in season?

I would contact the coaching staff and let them know of your tentative plans. If there is any interest in your DD they should welcome the visit and offer a tour of the facilities and campus.

learning said:

Do you think they won't see her or speak with her because they are in season?

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Yes, I agree with JAD. Contact them. Good luck