How often do you follow up with coaches?

Sorry if this thread already exists- I'm in work, did a quick search and didn't find it.

My question: DD is a 2018, sent emails to (5) college coaches, heard from (and met) 2 of them.

how often should she e-mail them just to touch base and remind them who she is and not be annoying? it's not even pre-season so she won't have a lot to write about, though she could update them on related stuff- like arranging school visits, testing schedule, what she is doing in the off season, etc.

I would suggest checking in 2 or 3 times a month.

JAD said:

I would suggest checking in 2 or 3 times a month.

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I agree with JAD. Keep the Coaches updated with testing dates, how pre-season workouts are going, congratulations on how their team came out in pre-season polls( shows that DD is paying attention to the college teams news). All the info that obbay listed.

We are updating once a month unless something substantive happens. Test scores, fun at your prospect camp, or so sad couldn't go to the prospect camp because of school where we are diligently studying, working out, and otherwise turning ourself into the perfect prospect!

obbay said:

Sorry if this thread already exists- I'm in work, did a quick search and didn't find it.

My question: DD is a 2018, sent emails to (5) college coaches, heard from (and met) 2 of them.

how often should she e-mail them just to touch base and remind them who she is and not be annoying? it's not even pre-season so she won't have a lot to write about, though she could update them on related stuff- like arranging school visits, testing schedule, what she is doing in the off season, etc.

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I don't think 5 coaches are enough for a 2018. You want to be on a few more radars than that! My DD started with about 12 and feels like 6 of them pay attention to her other than inviting her to their camp. I know you only need one, but coaches only take 4-5 girls a year and they also sometimes leave the school. Georgetown told us she got prospect emails from 3000 girls a year !

obbay said:

Sorry if this thread already exists- I'm in work, did a quick search and didn't find it.

My question: DD is a 2018, sent emails to (5) college coaches, heard from (and met) 2 of them.

how often should she e-mail them just to touch base and remind them who she is and not be annoying? it's not even pre-season so she won't have a lot to write about, though she could update them on related stuff- like arranging school visits, testing schedule, what she is doing in the off season, etc.

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I think there is a lot of good advice on here from the others. No more than weekly updates. How interested are these coaches? She is a JR so they can call her. D1, D2, D3, NAIA? At what level do you think she has a reasonable chance at being recruited? Has she had regular back and forth emails/texts/etc with either of these two coaches? Are the schools nearby? Has she visited or asked to visit? Has she camped at either of these schools? If not, I would up the ante on the two schools that have shown interest and get a visit planned if she hasn't already. As slappinandstealin (for some reason I keep thinking slappy-mc-stealer!) stated, you should probably cast a little wider net. As your DD stays uncommitted don't be surprised if more schools reach out to her as she gets through her HS season and into TB this summer. However, I would not count on that.

Thank you all- great info here. she has just begun the hunt and will probably widen the net a little (time-wise I think she's too late for any more DI's and probably DIIs). the schools are about 2, 2.5 and 3 hrs away, already know we have a conflict with winter camp for two schools (same weekend). this year she is slower than ever getting started and is also more stressed than ever about school.
DD#1 applied to about 15 schools and was accepted and received some kind of money to 13 of them- I pushed her more and that process was a pain. She picked a DIII school and walked on but found she couldn't play a sport and maintain the GPA necessary for her scholarship. for the next 4 semesters she was battling to get her GPA back up and she finally did.

with DD#2 I want her to find the schools that interest her and if she doesn't go to a school where they want her to play ball. so be it. it's got to be what works for her, not me.

thanks again!

DD1 decided not to play college ball during the summer before her senior year of high school. Then she changed her mind during her senior year. It was not too late for D3. The coaches at the University of St. Thomas and the College of St. Benedict's were more than happy to have her visit and both coaches were extremely friendly and welcoming. She ended up choosing UST based on location, major, and cost. She quit softball during her freshman year (tough to balance academics, ROTC, and softball) and is glad she chose her school based on location and academics rather than softball.