ADVICE FOR CALLING COLLEGE COACHES

Before calling the coach, a student should visit the college’s website to learn some facts about the college and the team. Does the college offer the athlete’s major? What are the graduation rates? What was the team’s record last year? How many senior players are graduating? An athlete should know all this information going into the call. If a student calls to inquire into a program at a school that doesn’t offer their major, the athlete will be embarrassed and the coach might be irritated.

Parents should consider role-playing with the recruit before the  first phone call. For adults, the process seems easy: Pick up the phone and call the coach. But parents need to remember that their child is inexperienced and needs to practice calling authority figures. They should have their child record his or her practice calls. Play them back and help their child eliminate “ums” and “ahs.” A confident voice mail can pique a coach’s interest.

Contacting coaches one at a time is the next step for a student-athlete. Ideally, recruits will call those colleges that have sent questionnaires or have their name on their “recruiting list” since it will make the identification easier.  That being said, recruits should also be empowered to call the schools they are interested in attending, but have not heard from yet.

Coach’s Tip
After five or ten calls, a student-athlete will start to get into the rhythm and develop confidence and comfort leaving messages. Practice makes perfect!

To get acclimated to the process, an athlete should start by calling those colleges who rank at the bottom of their list of favorite colleges. Recruits will probably be nervous, stumble, and mutter when they talk to this coach. By talking to a coach at their least favorite college, they will gain confidence for when they call the coaches that are higher on their priority list. Recruits can also call during off-hours so they are able to leave messages, allowing a chance to warm up to the process.

A student-athlete should have a list of questions, as well as a script, to work from when calling the coaches.  Below is an example script that recruits can follow:

Sample Script
Student-athlete: Hi. My name is Jane Student. I’m a soccer player at Boulder High School in Boulder, Colorado. I received your questionnaire last week. Thanks for sending it. I sent it back a few days ago, and I’m really interested in your program. I’m wondering if you have a few minutes to answer some of my questions.

[Pause and wait for coach to affirm his ability to spend time answering questions.]

What GPA and ACT or SAT would I need to have a chance to attend your school and play for your program?

Have you had a chance to see me play? [If the student-athlete has not sent the coach a highlight or skills video, replace this question with: Would you like me to send you a link to my video?]

When would be a good time to visit your campus?

How many players are you recruiting from my position?
Thanks so much for your time. I just have two more questions:

What else would I need to do to have a chance to compete for your program and earn a scholarship?

What is the next step I should take with you?

Great! Do you have any questions for me?
[Pause to allow the coach to answer questions, which the student has prepared for in advance and will be covered in next week's newsletter]

I really appreciate your time, and I look forward to talking with you in the future.

The best way to improve your phone calls with college coaches is to establish familiarity prior to the call.  This can be done by contacting college coaches at an early age and making sure you are on their recruiting list.