Advise on colledge response letters

[bucket pinata]

Advise on college response letters

So my DD just finished two exposure tournaments in AZ and So Cal. during these our coaches were approached by about 5 recruiters that were asking allot of questions about her and looking for info, which the coaches provided along with a basic profile sheet. She is in the 9th grade and just turned 15 so we are very new at this whole recruiter thing. but I'm doing the best to get up to speed. So I need some advice from People I trust that have been there before. She has been asked to send them all an E-mail, but we are struggling with what to Include. We are familiar with the come watch me play introduction type letters along with all the info but these coaches already have done that. Do we just keep it short and thank them for watching and include a future schedule or do we send all the athletic/scholastic achievements with stats and so on. I know about researching the school and the program and making that university specific. So since we are responding to their interest about her do we keep it short and sweet or send them the whole nine yards? would really appreciate any advise you could offer.

 

[John T]

My daughter is about to "Verbal" to a D2 school in another sport and I can only tell you what our experience is...I would keep it short and tell them when/where she is going to play next and if she has played in a tournament/game, tell them how she did. They want an email from you to get the conversation going and answer any questions you may have. If they need anything from you believe me they will ask for it. It is about starting a relationship with the coach and finding out if your daughter is right for him/her and if the school, coach etc are right for your daughter. They are interested in, but not committed to, your daughter so take what they say/promise with a grain of salt and the one thing we always kept in mind is that coaching is his/her job and keeping that job is important to them.

It is really early in the process (We started sending out recruit information sheets to as many schools D1-D3 as we could find or she was interested in when she was a freshman) and your goal in the end is for your daughter to be happy with her coach and school.

The last and best piece of advice I can pass on (It was given to me) is, DO WELL IN SCHOOL! There is a hell of a lot more academic money out there than there is athletic.

Good luck and keep us posted on what is happening because there are a ton of good people with good advice on this forum!

 

[sjross96]

Keep it short and sweet with a customized personal note, and try to have her do it asap after they see her play. They want to see if she is interested in them and if she sends a full blown bio and softball history, it usually looks like it is being sent to every coach in the country (maybe because it usually is...)

After that first thank you email, she can follow up later with more details including notes about how she is doing and where she will be playing.

 

[guero_gordo]

I strongly suggest spellchecking everything. ;-P

 

[daddiox2]

I strongly suggest spellchecking everything. ;-P

I was thinking the same thing

 

[SB23]

Recently DD attended to Div. 1 camps, after both camps she sent short emails in which she thanked them for the experience and said she was looking forward to attending the next one.

The one area where she/we struggled was the reference line. - not sure what is appropriate.

 

[John T]

GG you sent me back to my post worrying about my spelling...did I miss something?

 

[sjross96]

For the subject line, I generally recommend something like: XYZ Camp - Sally Softball 20xx Shortstop

That way they can tell right away what it is in reference to and at least your daughter's name gets in front of them.

 

[abbygale]

If they left a a phone number use it. Doesn't matter how nerve wracking it might seem. Have her call, refresh them who she is and then explain that she was unsure what they were looking for in an email from her. That kills all sort of birds with one stone.

 

[Sweet Lou]

GG you sent me back to my post worrying about my spelling...did I miss something?

It is in reference to the OPs thread title.