How to get colleges interested in you as a high school athlete
By Katelyn Fisher
Students wishing to continue their athletic career into college often find themselves confused by the process. Applying to the actual college is only a small part of committing to a school. There is a long list of tasks beforehand that are required to get to the point of signing with a college.
Finding a college
When searching for colleges, there are a lot of factors that go into choosing the right one: the correct major, the right location and desired extracurriculars. A quick Google search will give you enough information to decide whether or not you want to look further into a certain college. There are three main questions when determining which university is the right one: Does it have your major, does it offer your sport at the desired level and is it within your price range? If not, move on to the next, but if yes, continue researching.
Start looking deeper into each possible college with subjects like entrance to graduation rate, campus environment, housing and the overall vibe you get. Sometimes you won’t have a reason other than “it just didn’t feel right”, and that’s okay. Trust your gut and go with which colleges you prefer.
Reaching Out
Once you have found a few quality programs that stand out to you, it is time to reach out to coaches. Start by finding the email of each head coach and/or assistant coach which is usually located under the staff profiles. I have found that the easiest way to send out emails is to write an outline that can be reused and specified for various colleges.
When constructing your email, make sure to remain professional and use proper grammar and punctuation. It might seem like a waste of time, but the little things like that are important to coaches. In your email, include your age, grade, school/club you participate in, preferred position or event, appeal for the school and schedule if applicable. It should be apparent that you have done some research and are genuinely interested in each college- the coaches can tell. To conclude your message, try to set up a time to talk or meet and end on an optimistic note. “I hope we will talk soon!” or “I look forward to meeting you and getting to look around campus.” are some good options.
Another way to end an email is with game film. Many athletes put together snippets of quality moments from various games or meets. Coaches love this because it gives them a sneak peek at how you perform and what you look like. While coaches appreciate being sent film, keep it short. Most coaches don’t have the time to stop and watch you for 30 minutes. Pick some of your favorite moments and aim for less than five minutes.
Inviting Coaches to Events
Once you have been in good contact with a coach, it is time to invite them out to watch you perform. I recommend sending out your schedule with the next upcoming events, dates, times and location included. Be sure to give the coach a few options as their schedule tends to be quite busy. Once they have picked which event they will attend, send another message with some enthusiastic words. For example, “I look forward to talking with you after my game!” is a good phrase to use.
After the sporting event ends, find the coach you invited and thank them for coming. Express your gratitude for them taking time out of their day to come watch you and ask their opinion on how you performed. I like to send one more text message a few hours later just to thank them again and ask how the coach would like to proceed.
Campus Visits/ Team Practices
Photo taken by Katelyn Fisher
The next step in the college recruiting process is to go on a visit at the campus of interest. This could be either an official visit, or an informal one depending on variables such as travel distance and coaches interest level in you.
I always made an effort to practice with the team at least once before making any further decisions. Sometimes the campus and coach will seem perfect, but not the team. Reasons varry from bad team chemistry to a lower skill level than the desired. Whatever the reason, I encourage asking about meeting up with or practicing with each team.
Decision Time
Once all these steps are completed, a coach will either give you an offer or decline any further interest. If declined, move onto the next option and start the steps over again. However, if you receive an offer, it is time to decide whether or not to accept it. This decision can be tough, but in the end, go with the option that makes sense and makes you happy. Once you have decided on a college, accept the offer, verbally commit and then officially commit by signing your letter of intent.
Picture of official letter of intent, taken by Katelyn Fisher