Good Response, Bad Response
Updated: May 16
I think that in general ANY response from a college coach is good. It doesn't necessarily mean that they are "interested" or even "recruiting" you. I talk to parents all the time that tell me, "School A is interested." When I ask them when their last phone call was and they explain that they haven't had a phone call, I usually have to break it to them that "School A" isn't really that interested. Now this might not hold true in every situation, but in my experience the pattern dictates...
Something to keep in mind:
Recruiting is a 24/7 part of the college athletics. The majority of coaches, schools and programs are going through the recruiting process with someone ALL THE TIME, it just might not be you and that's okay. Find the school that WANTS to go through the recruiting process with you. As a college coach I could remember my phone ringing and if athlete "A" was calling, I dropped everything to pick up the call; now if athlete "B" called I might not always drop everything.
Remember, the only thing that college coaches CAN send you directly if you are a Freshmen or Sophomore is a Camp Invite or Questionnaire. Once June 15th prior to Junior year hits, then college coaches are allowed to call, text and email you directly. I want to talk about this topic in the framework of a POST-June 15th recruiting process.
So let's go through some GOOD and Bad responses from college coaches once you have sent them an email.
"Come to our camp!" or "Please fill out our questionnaire!"
This is not necessarily a "bad" response but if a college coach can respond in almost ANY way to an athlete sending them film and they choose one of these two? It's not a great sign.
- Bad Response -
"You currently are NOT in our Top 5"
You might not be in their Top 10 either. If you are on their list at all in this situation, that's good. Usually this kind of statement is really meant to dissuade you from pursuing their school, or at least send you in a different direction.
- Bad Response -
Asking Questions...
"Can you send me your club schedule?"
"How is high school season going?"
"Do you have any more film?"
"Do you have time for a phone call this week?"
Similar to why I suggest athletes ask questions of college coaches, if a college coach asks you a question, it's because they want start a conversation and engage with you.
- Good Response -
Sending you a text message.
If you follow my blog or any of my videos online, you should know to put your contact info in your email signature. If a coach really likes your film and they respond with reaching out to you with a text, that's definitely the kind of response you are looking for.
- Good Response -
An invitation to a 3rd party camp NOT at their campus
This is something that I actually get frustrated with my college coaching friends about. They do this when they are even done with a recruiting class, done with that specific position and when they aren't even interested in an athlete. My only caveat with this is that there are plenty of schools that have very low to 0 recruiting budget. Their only real chance to do some recruiting is at these kinds of camps. But, even if they can't come to a qualifier to watch you play, they need to do be doing more on their end then a generic 3rd party camp invite.
- Bad Response -
"We aren't really in a hurry" or "We aren't focused on your class right now"
Remember, I said that recruiting is done 24/7? This kind of response usually means they aren't in a hurry because they haven't found what they are looking for. That being said, most college coaches DO REALLY and HONESTLY want to watch you play LIVE before they offer you something. In almost every recruiting situation, ONCE a college coach finds the athlete they want, that's when they begin to move faster. If a college coach genuinely isn't in a hurry because of a roster or scholarship situation that is playing out, they will likely explain that to you as they discuss their interest in you.
- Bad Response -
When the word "VISIT" comes up
We tried really hard NOT to encourage athletes to come on a visit if they were not at the top of our recruiting board. But, if athletes wanted to come on a visit, we would never discourage that. We would just normally point them in the direction of "campus tours" and make sure they knew when we were practicing and things like that. We would also make sure to communicate where they were on our recruiting board. Usually we could have those conversations (if needed) prior to even discussing a visit. That all being said, if a schools brings up the idea of wanting you to come visit, that's positive.
- Good Response -
The last thing that I want to suggest with all of this is that athletes need to be willing to ask about and take the next step. Don't wait for coaches to ask about the phone call. Don't wait for a coach to suggest taking a visit. Athletes need to understand that college coaches want to know how interested you really are. If you're really interested you'll want to get on the phone with the coach. If you're really interested you'll want to visit campus. You might get some "bad responses" throughout that process and that's okay. Any and all feedback will just help you direct you to that school that has mutual interest in you being a part of their program.
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