How Many emails to send to a College Coach?

[Hillhouse]

Yeah, I think there is a better way to ask for feedback.
How about:
Really interested in your program and it would be honored to play for you. I am more than open to any advise you may have for me. I am also very interested in attending any of your upcoming camps. I am hoping you respond positively to this email, but if that is not the case please advise otherwise. Thanks.

Rolling Hard, here's the problem with what you said.... EVERY email received by coaches says something like this: it'd be an honor to play for you, etc. etc. And very few kids actually mean it.

Coaches and TB organizations (in many cases) encourage kids to cast a wide net out with coaches, writing to every single coach with their own form letter of their interest, their schedule, their stats, etc. The hope is, if I send 300 emails and I get a reply back from 2 or 3... that's good! And college coaches know this. Right or wrong, this is probably why colleges don't respond to many of them because the player's "interest" is usually sent to 300 schools in the same form letter. I was the PITCHING COACH at schools and would get daily emails from shortstops, center-fielders, etc. who are simply writing to every single coach who's email is not hidden on a webpage. Literally dozens per day during the fall showcase season.

I made note of pitching emails I got there were not form letters from PSA's (Prospective Student Athletes). While in Omaha, if someone mentioned something about Omaha, about Creighton's campus, etc. I'd know this was more of a direct email to me vs. one that's going to be copied and sent on and on. Yes, of course those can be form letters too and you can substitute "Austin" for Omaha and keep sending but, it's not nearly as common.

Bill

 

[Hillhouse]

It also would be great to say something like, "We've just about completed our search for 2021's at this point and encourage you to keep exploring your options. Thanks for your interest." That's a good hint to move on without being negative or personal about the player who is emailing.

Yes, CMMom, you're right. US Women's National team coach Ken Eriksen is a buddy of mine, we played with and against each other for several years. He is also the coach at South Florida in Tampa.. I went to email him a few weeks ago about something and I got back an auto reply 5 seconds later saying "Thank you for your interest, we have already completed recruiting for 2021's and not seeking additional players" or something like that. Then, I got the real reply from Ken but it came after the auto reply. Anyway, I am sure he's not alone in doing this but I thought that was really different. Although, I'd hate to be him if someone like Rachel Garcia sent an email about possibly wanting to transfer then gets an auto reply like that!!! I bet Ken would regret it too. lol.

Bill

 

[Hillhouse]

"Coaches want to talk directly with the kids to gauge maturity and start an open dialogue. "

OK, I think you have a good point. But what about the coaches maturity.

But how does that line up to these statements:

Also every coach is different; and this is a real surprise to most - but most of them are truly deplorable at contacting and communicating with players including ones they are interested in.

"We'd like to think college coaches can be the adults in the conversation and be honest/upfront but "

I believe coaches should be able to send out a stock email(s) to to interested players. One would say we are very interested. One would say, sorry we wish you well. And one would say at this time we are still evaluating and we will be making final decisions on a certain date. It can not be that hard to communicate. I mean you don't have to lick stamps anymore. And if a coach has poor communication skills he might not be that good of a coach. Think about it. Great coaches are experts at communication.

I'm not here to defend anyone, only to explain what I know and what I experienced first hand. I'm not 100% sure I agree with your statement in bold that coaches are bad at communicating with the players they are interested in.

Improvements and honesty can absolutely be enhanced on players they are NOT interested in, regardless of the reason. But again, this is partially a percentages game. The coaches know that kid is sending the same letter of interest to 300 more schools in hopes of getting a nibble.

And, right or wrong, it's not in the coach's best interest to dismiss PSA's. Until their #1 recruit signs on the dotted line of that letter of intent, you never know what could happen. Your #1 could decide XYZ university is better, closer, whatever and then leave you at the alter. Then your # 2 pick, 3 pick, 4 pick have all moved on to other schools thinking they aren't getting interest leaving only the #5 pick on their board for an offer. If that coach had sent the email you're suggesting to the #5 pick on their depth chart, they may have to move to #6 and beyond.

I'm not saying it's right or fair, I'm just saying that's how it is. And lest we forget, it happens ALL THE TIME that a kid who's been stringing a school a long for a while makes her announcement on social media that she picked the arch rival school instead of that coach's.... playing one offer against the other. So it goes both ways.

Bill

 

[diamond14]

"College coaches (in both programs I worked at, D1 mid majors) prefer hearing from the kid directly. Not a 3rd party. Coaches want to talk directly with the kids to gauge maturity and start an open dialogue.

This is not high school where someone passes a note asking the boy if he "likes" her, please check the box YES, NO, or MAYBE. "

Can do without the snark, Bill.
It is a legitimate request for information. Yes, my DD has been in contact with coaches. She is going to camps. Is it legitimate to have your coach provide essentially a reference letter about the PSA in addition to their camp interaction and email/phone calls? This is done with college apps (teacher/guidance references as well as in employment. So, no i dont see it as analogous to your "passing the note" reference.

 

[clarity]

I have been asking our TB coach to do a quick introduction email to coaches before camps. I ask specifically for him not to address skill (as the coach can make his/her own assessment at camp) but rather ask that they speak to her work ethic, competetiveness & drive, leadership and personal qualities relating to team. Things that may not be evident in a 1/2 day camp that a coach, who has known player for a few years, can highlite for college coaches.
Yeah or nay?

My daughter's coach does this, and it definitely makes an impact. It's almost always mentioned, and the travel coach almost always gets an email back with comments after the camp. Now it may matter who the travel coach is and if the travel coach is known to the college coach. In our case, our travel coach is very well known to just about all college coaches we encounter, so it helps.

 

[BT3100]

What is the name of the service you used ?

Captain U
Google it.
Worth it!

 

[cleareyesfullheart]

How many emails are your DDs sending to a college coach before giving up? (or getting the point, that the school is not interested?)

DD sent a video from to the coach, got a response after the first email (the hitting we taped was great), but the coach wanted more defensive video footage...

Sent that 2nd video video awhile back....crickets...no response from the coach

How many times should she she the video, before throwing in the towel?

Should she just continually keep sending the YouTube link along with a short email?

Or what is the best way to keep up the emails, before the coach says we are interested, or not interested?

Thanks

What grade is she in? Is the email sent to D1 or D 2 coach? If she isn't a Junior or Senior they can't reply due to NCAA rules.

 

[Strike2]

First what year is she? If she is an underclassman depending on division or sanction there are rules around contact. If she is already a junior then all comms are allowed.

Also every coach is different; and this is a real surprise to most - but most of them are truly deplorable at contacting and communicating with players including ones they are interested in.

To the point where I am still confused about where some of these schools get ANY of their players. Seriously. Others often don't engage recruits in any way until they are juniors or seniors. Some are creepily over communicative. Some use weird methods. And so on. So the lack of a response is not any sort of guideline of interest.

So if your DD is TRULY interested in going to a school just keep emailing and turning up. If you have something new to say, send an email. Demonstrated interest in a school and program sees to be looked on VERY favorably at a huge number of schools - especially the middle of the pack teams. As long as you have something new to say in each email, just keep doing it until you are ready to cross the school off.

Some people just lack basic manners, and it goes well beyond softball coaches. As my kids got older and I started routinely dealing with people beyond my professional or friends circle, I saw some pretty bad email and texting behavior. Instead of a polite "no thanks" or even a "got it, will get back to you" reply, it's amazing how many will simply not answer until it somehow suits them.

 

[spleen1015]

"College coaches (in both programs I worked at, D1 mid majors) prefer hearing from the kid directly. Not a 3rd party. Coaches want to talk directly with the kids to gauge maturity and start an open dialogue.

This is not high school where someone passes a note asking the boy if he "likes" her, please check the box YES, NO, or MAYBE. "

Can do without the snark, Bill.
It is a legitimate request for information. Yes, my DD has been in contact with coaches. She is going to camps. Is it legitimate to have your coach provide essentially a reference letter about the PSA in addition to their camp interaction and email/phone calls? This is done with college apps (teacher/guidance references as well as in employment. So, no i dont see it as analogous to your "passing the note" reference.

FYI,

Having met Bill in real life and spending a few hours talking pitching with him, I am pretty sure his HS note comment was a joke. He likes to joke around.

 

[PitchMum]

My daughter is a committed 2020, and we've used both Captain U and FieldLevel recruiting sites. Didn't pay a dime for either, and received plenty of contacts by creating a profile with additional details like GPA, degree interests, and adding video links. Fieldlevel definitely generated a lot more results than Captian U via the free profile, and has been great at matching up DD's profile with potential schools based on location, profile, teammate connections, coach connections, and HS & TB coach evaluations. Still, the free CaptainU profile has generated recent interest (like November and December 2019?), but the coaches are a little too late! If my daughter hadn't already committed, I would have definitely paid for the monthly fee for FieldLevel going into Spring/Summer season. Someone mentioned here about setting up a website for your DD, I think that's also a great idea. I had a link on Fieldlevel to my daughter's current HS tournament and TB schedule posted on a free Weebly.com website, along with the latest video links and some screenshots of stats from GameChanger, not much personal info. I couldn't tell who was visiting, but could see day to day stats of site visits. Good luck in your search!!