How to Get Recruited Guide

Dear Student, You are Special! or NOT

Dear Student, You are top on our list. We encourage you to apply to our school immediately. We have chosen you because you are an impressive student and athlete. In fact, we are positive that because you can walk and chew gum at the same time, you will excel at our institution. We invite you and your family to come visit us and experience your worth on our campus. Please schedule your visit with us right away. While you are here, you will see what an amazing college we are and how close we are too really cool things to do. Congratulations again on being chosen to apply because, well we think you are really great. Sincerely, The Admissions Department, The Coach, and of course the University President P.S. All of us here really do know who you are and are excited to include you in our top 500,000 special student prospects this year. We look forward to receiving your application.

Seniors, are you receiving mail and emails like this?

Colleges and coaches have a way of making you feel special. They are genuinely interested in you (and most every other senior in the country). Take a look at two letters my son received this summer from two very different colleges. It appears, even down to the stamp on the envelope my son may not be all that special to them. In fact, after reading the letters, I am almost positive these colleges hired another company to write and send the letters for them. Right now, you are getting a ton of mail and emails from colleges and from coaches. My advice to you:

Don’t take it personal unless it is personal.

If a letter from a coach or school feels impersonal, it is. Obviously, admissions departments mass mail high school seniors. They are looking for a percentage of you to respond.

But what about coaches?

Well, the same is true for coaches as well. They are sending out letters and emails to far more prospects than they actually intend to recruit. The more elite an athletic program is, the less they will send out mass quantities to recruits. However, they still are recruiting more players than they need.

What is the purpose of all the mass emailing?

Mass mailing is not a bad thing. Schools want you to know they exist. You may be introduced to a school you have never heard of or would not have considered. If you like what you see, contact them.

What can you do?

It really doesn’t matter whether you have received “information” from a school or not. In three easy steps, here is what you need to be doing. 1. Ask for more information from the schools you are interested in and apply. 2. Let the coach know you are alive through a phone call and a personal email. When sending an email, make it personal to the coach and school. If yours looks like a mass email, the coach won’t read it. The more it appears you are interested in their school and team, the more likely it is they will respond. 3. Get the coach to watch you play.            a. Invite them to watch you play. Send a schedule.            b. Post game and highlight film on YouTube and send the coach the link.            c. Go to camps your prospective coach is hosting. Let the coach know you are alive and interested.

Until it begins to sound personal, you are just one of hundreds of names.

How Do You Get College Coaches to Notice You?

There is more talent available than roster spots. Unless you are a top tier athlete, college coaches will not know you are alive, until you tell them. If you feel like you have been stumbling along or have not even started the recruiting process, it is time to take action. How will you push forward and finally get college coaches to take notice of you: What is your specific plan? What action will you take first? If you are ready for Recruiting to be made easy, you are ready for

How to Get RecruitedHow to Get Recruited: Got Talent. Get a Plan. Get Recruited.

 

 

 

LIKE WHAT YOU READ? You might also enjoy: What Never to Say to a College Coach (If You Want to Get Recruited)

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Thanks, Bryan

P.S. Come join our Facebook group, The Recruiting Code. This is the place to be for parents and coaches to talk about college recruiting. Come learn from each other, share stories and get information that will help your child become a college athlete.