Staying Consistent With Recruiting

"We haven't heard from her in awhile, so we figured she wasn't interested."

I have heard statements like this from college coaches on a regular basis. I even said it at times as a college coach. Communication is key. Consistent communication is just far and above better.

On the flip side, this is something I hear from parents and athletes as well! There is an expectation from athletes that college coaches will ALWAYS be the ones communicating first and reaching out to connect with athletes. I think there is a piece of this that college coaches could do better, yes, but the bulk of the responsibility falls on the athlete in a majority of these situations.

Talking to several club coaches and families this past weekend, it really stuck out to me that this consistent communication piece is really one that is lacking across the board, at all ages and at all levels. The assumption is, many times, that

"if they like me they will reach out"

or

"they haven't responded, so they aren't interested"

In some cases this is true (just being honest). But in lots of instances it's the 100s of things that happen throughout the day that must be dealt with immediately that prohibit me (as a college coach) to get back in touch with an athlete that emailed me or texted me earlier that day, or the day before. Email inboxes get full of new emails really fast. Text messages get sent down lower and lower because I'm talking to my assistants, the whole team, individual athletes, my SID, the AD, my family...and the list goes on and on. So many times, it's more about timing than it is anything else. Catch me at the right time and I can respond really quickly. I know for me, I can go half the day without getting to my text messages. There is a list in front of me (like writing this blog) that I'm trying to get as much done as possible.

So here are some things that can help with this consistent communication piece!

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1) Start earlier

Starting your recruiting process sooner, as a freshman or early in your sophomore season, can really help. You can create some good habits when it comes to sending out emails consistently, after tournaments, on the weekend, or even just sending 10 emails a week as a goal. Do what you can. Don't wait for everything to be perfect first.

2) Always respond

If you get a questionnaire in the mail, fill it out and then send them a message telling them you filled it out. If you get a camp invite, respond and say "thank you'. Don't let messages sit on your phone until the next day. Take 5 minutes or so each night and make sure you didn't miss any messages from a college coach. I know that college coaches send 100s of camp invites

3) Put your email on your phone

Yes, college coaches still use email to send messages and communicate with athletes. This is a thing. If you're ignoring emails all together, you might be missing some communication from some schools. So, my advice is to make sure your email is on your phone. Treat it like any other social media communication. I'm always surprised when there are athletes that A) don't have their voicemail set up on their phone, and B) athletes that don't have their email on their phone. You're just asking to miss out on opportunities.

4) Set aside 1 night a week

You don't need to give up 4 hours of your night each week. But, if you can give yourself 1 night each week to wind down and SEND messages to college coaches, you'll be better off. This will give you an opportunity to be the one that initiates the conversation and you will be consistently communicating with a school which will give them more opportunities to respond to you.

One phone call isn't enough. One text message isn't enough. One email 4 months ago isn't enough (just like reading only one of my blogs isn't enough). When we are talking about creating interest in you as an athlete YOU need to be the one that shows interest. There are WAY too many athletes out there for college coaches to choose from. You must stand out. If you are going weeks upon weeks without touching base with these schools you are missing out. Don't wait for them to reach out. They have 5 other athletes that are communicating with them regularly, they don't need to be reaching out to all of the athletes out there. Don't expect them to do that for you.

Be proactive. Take the initiative.

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