How to Communicate with College Coaches

Much of the success you have in the process will depend on the management of communications with American coaches. That is why it is imperative that you always know how to handle communications.

Communications with coaches are a fundamental part of the university search process. It is important to dedicate enough time to this section during the entire process and especially during the first contacts, since the first impression can be crucial.

 

What to Do when a Coach Contacts you

 

If you receive a message from a coach, first read the content carefully, check the University website, and check the links or additional documents that may have been sent to you. In order to take the initiative by contacting a coach, or to respond quickly to a first contact, it is very important to have a standard message that covers the most important points.

There are many ways of communication (email, Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype), but our recommendation is that you always try to have everything well organized in your communications section of Mooxye to keep track of all contacts. Here are some of the most important points you need to include in your first communications:

Appreciation

Thank you for the interest shown by the university (if you have been contacted) or the time dedicated to reading your message (if you are taking the initiative to contact a coach).

Presentation

Expand the content of your profile with more detailed information on the following aspects:

• Personal: describe your interests, hobbies, talk about your family, etc.
• Sports: give more information about your competitive characteristics, about how you can contribute to a team, talk about your ability to learn  y  and progression, effort, ability to work, etc.
• Academic: explain your current academic situation, give information about your results or date on which you will take the SAT/TOEFL, explain the area of ​​study that interests you, etc.

Objectives

Comment a little on what your expectations and goals are at academic, athletic, y  and personal level.

College Information

Include questions while sharing information. For example:  What are college practices like? Here in my club  we usually…

• Sports: what they look for in  an athlete, characteristics of the competition in  USA, practices, trips, etc.
• Academic: what are the best study programs, resources for athletes, relationship with teachers, class hours, etc.
• Student life: environment, social activities, location, etc.
• Offering:  at the end make yourself available to the coach to talk on the phone or Skype  or to continue with communications by email.

 

 

Once you have a draft ready and your list of target universities defined, it is time to take the initiative and introduce yourself. Contacting coaches shows that you are involved in the process and that you are proactive, something that is always valued. Ideally, each communication should be personalized, with the name of the university, coach´s last name, and some noteworthy feature of each university you are contacting.

This message may have a similar structure to that discussed above but includes more specific information about each university. For example, you can refer to the latest results of the team, upcoming competitions, academic programs offered by the university that you are most interested in, etc. This is one of the best ways to initiate a very personal contact with each coach and to have more possibilities for feedback on your interest, on scholarship availability, or on university requirements. These personalized communications are also a great opportunity to ask more specific questions, to help you learn more about the coach, team, university, campus life, etc.

 

 

Keep the Track

It is very important to keep track of those coaches you contact, those who respond, those who do not, and those who maintain good communications with you as well as the ones who do not, to follow up with the latter group when possible. It is important that you do everything you can to make the communications fluid and consistent, although this will not always depend on you, so do not be discouraged if this happens, since it is more common than you think.

You will not always receive a response from a coach after the first contact, so you will need to consider making additional attempts to contact them, adding new universities to your list and continue contacting them one by one. This action will help coaches see that you are committed to the process and that you are proactive. Ideally, as we said, each communication is personalized, with the name of the university, the names of the coaches and some significant aspect of each university you contact. This establishes a personal contact with each coach and can provide feedback on the minimum university requirements or the availability (in terms of vacancies) that a team has. It is also a good time to ask more specific questions and consider if it would be a good option for you.

Depending on the factors that interest you most, some options will be more, or less, attractive. There is no university that does not deserve at least a response of gratitude, even if there is no interest on your part, so you should always thank those who show interest (see section “Thanks to coaches who submit a proposal”). You should never leave any emails or messages unanswered, as all options can become an opportunity (at the beginning of the process or later). The response during this part of the process is translated into interest, so you should respond as quickly as possible to the coaches, always checking the format and the tone of the communications.

 

When is Best to Send the Presentation Letter? 

The cover letter can be sent at different times, but especially in two moments:

1. When the coach has contacted you directly by showing interest in you. In this case, you will respond to the communication received.
2. When you are interested in college, you have done a previous research about it, and consider that you could have a chance to be admitted and bring positive aspects to the team. In this case, the communication must be specific to that university. If you do not receive an answer in either case during the first week, you can proceed to try again with one more communication. You can try another way.

 

 

How much Time do I have to Respond? 

Our recommendation is that you plan to review your communications once or twice a day and invest some time in responding and researching the universities, what you would have to do to improve your profile, and prepare your answers well.

 

Is it Mandatory to Respond to all Coaches who are Interested by you even if you are not Interested in their University?

Yes, it is important to be polite and respond appropriately even if the offer does not interest you. It is the best way to thank them for the time they spent contacting you and at the same time allows you to leave the door open in case you want to recover that opportunity again or if, for example, the Coach changed university and became part of one which you are interested in.

 

 

• andrus bustamante 28 June, 2018 at 7:06 pm – Reply

  ehh…!! tengo dos año en natacion la cual eh parado el entrnamienta ya que mi pais pasa por una situcion mala estoy en un liceo talento deportivo y pues quiero estudiar fuera del pais
  • Manuel Montenegro 17 July, 2018 at 9:09 am – Reply

    Buenas Andrus,

    Si quieres estudiar en el extranjero, existen muchas oportunidad de becas, y mas siendo deportista de alto nivel. Deberias registrarte en Mooxye y crear un perfil para que los entrenadores americanos te puedan ver. Por otro lado, cuando te registres, en la seccion de mis tareas tendras todos los pasos que hay que realizar para poder ir a una universidad americana. Gracias y mucha suerte!
• Eddier Rojas 25 July, 2018 at 2:35 pm – Reply

  Me gustaria una beca deportiva
  • Manuel Montenegro 31 July, 2018 at 9:54 am – Reply

    Buenas Eddie! Estas en el lugar adecuado, te recomiendo que te registres en Mooxye y completes tu perfil. Muchos son los entrenadores americanos que estan buscando a jugadores para ofrecerles becas deportivas en Estados Unidos.