Very few high school athletes will receive a high level of attention from college coaches without reaching out to the coaches proactively. Those athletes listed as “five-star” recruits with their names on recruiting boards represent a small portion of the athletes pursuing college athletics. Most student-athletes need to take the recruiting process into their own hands to successfully find a school that is the right fit for them both on and off the field.
What Should I Do Before I Message a Program?
There are a few steps you should be taking before it's time to message college coaches.
- Build a Target List of Schools: When starting the recruiting process, make sure you are taking the time to research schools that would be a good fit for you. You must be looking at a school holistically and not just focusing on athletics. Read our article here for our step-by-step guide on finding your best-fit schools.
- Fill Out Recruiting Questionnaires: Once you have your Target List of Schools, take the time to fill out the program’s recruiting questionnaire. This is how you will get into the program's recruit database.
- Put Together Recruiting Video: Coaches must see video to evaluate you. Make sure you add video to your SportsRecruits profile before sending out messages. Check out our article here to learn what exactly coaches want to see in your videos.
- Update Recruiting Profile: Make sure your SportsRecruits profile is fully up to date with all of your academic and athletic information and video.
When Should I Start Emailing College Coaches?
The earlier you start contacting schools, the better! Especially if you have your heart set on playing at the NCAA Division I or II level. A great time to start sending these intro emails is right after club or high school season wraps up your Freshman year.
If most of the schools on your target list are NCAA Division III, NAIA, or NJCAA programs, you can start sending your introductory messages during your Sophomore year as these programs typically recruit a bit later.
Once you're ready to start emailing, head to the Messaging System and search for a school. As you type, the current coaching staff's contact information will appear. Don't forget to select every coach on staff so that you maximize the chances your email gets read. If you need inspiration for what to include in the email itself, reference our sample email template library for the important points to hit and best-in-class email etiquette.
What Information Should I Include in My Emails?
It's important to use a clean and professional structure that includes basic information about yourself when emailing college coaches. We recommend the following structure:
- Subject Line: Your subject line should always have your name, grad year, position, and reason for reaching out. Example: Emily Smite | 2026 | Attack | Introduction
- Addressing Coach: When contacting coaches via SportsRecruits, you should email the full coaching staff. Each program has a specific person in charge of recruiting. That could be the Head Coach or Assistant Coach, so address all of them at the start of your email! Example: Dear Coach Smith, Coach Jones, Coach White
- Basic Information: This includes information surrounding where you go to school, if you play for a club, etc. This also includes the essential information you have within your subject line.
- Express Interest: In every email, no matter the topic, you should always express interest in the program. It does not need to be lengthy, a sentence or two will work! Example: “I’ve been keeping tabs on (program)’s current season, and wanted to congratulate the team on their win over (rival school)!”
- Include Important Academic or Athletic Achievements: If you received a perfect score on the SAT or ACT, or if your team made it to some sort of state championship, include that in your emails. Anything that would be impressive to a coaching staff should be included in all of your emails.
Importance of Communication Surrounding Recruiting Events
When attending recruiting events, you must communicate with coaches both before and after the event.
- Before the Event: Coaches do not attend events walking around trying to find the best athlete. They are attending recruiting events with a pre-determined list of student-athletes who reached out beforehand to let them know they will be attending. Make sure to send your event schedule 7-10 days before the event!
- After the Event: After events, specifically camps, clinics, or events where you are working with coaching staff, you should reach out and thank them for their time. If your team did particularly well at the event, or you have new recruiting video from the event, you can share that with coaches who were unable to attend in person.
Check out our example email templates here for guidance on what to email coaches before an upcoming recruiting event.
How Often Should I Be Emailing Coaches?
There is no magic timeline for how frequently you should be reaching out to a college coach. The basic rule is that you should only be reaching out when you have new information to share. You should have some new information to share at least every three months.
Below is a list of reasons to reach out:
- Introduction
- Inform them of an event you are attending
- You have added or updated video on your profile
- You have added or updated your transcript on your profile
- You plan to visit their campus
- You are within five days of your official or unofficial campus visit
- On the day of a coach’s off-campus visit with you
- Wishing a coach good luck in a pivot game/match
- Any new athletic accomplishments
- Setting up a phone call to learn more about the program
We've outlined several example email templates here to help you craft these emails.
Parents/Guardians: How You Can Help Your Student-Athletes Contact Coaches
College coaches want to hear directly from the student-athletes. They should be the ones sending the messages and driving their recruiting process. However, there are still several ways you can assist them in this process!
- Help Build Target List: Take the time to sit down as a family and discuss what is important in a college or university. Attending college is a family decision, so discussing what types of schools should be on their list will be helpful.
- Check Grammar & Spelling: Take the time to read through and make sure their grammar is correct. Also, ensure they are addressing the correct school and coaches!
- Practice Interviews: After your student-athlete starts to narrow down their list they will most likely be having phone calls or even official visits. Take the time to practice interview questions, and help them come up with questions to ask college coaches.
Communications from the Coach Perspective
There are no rules for student-athletes contacting college coaches. However, there are rules surrounding how much college coaches can communicate with you. Depending on your sport and the type of programs you are interested in, coaches may not be able to have direct recruiting conversations with you until June 15th or September 1st entering your Junior Year.
However, just because a coach may not be able to answer you directly does not mean they are not keeping tabs on student-athletes who have been proactively reaching out. Make sure you are putting in the work early on so when the time comes for college coaches to reach out, they know who you are. You can learn more about NCAA contact rules and regulations for your sport here.
Next Step: Send Your Introduction Emails
From your SportsRecruits profile, you can use the free School Search Tool to build out your target list of schools and send your introduction email to each of your favorites. When a member of the coaching staff clicks your message to evaluate you further, you'll receive an update in real time. Start building out your target list and messaging coaches here.