Now that the excitement of September 1st has worn off a bit I want to take the time to address a few things that you can learn from the communication you received (or didn’t receive) on September 1st and how it can be a lesson for your own communication with the coaches.
Mass email vs Personalized Email: Many of my players forwarded emails they received from coaches with excitement, unfortunately, those same emails were sent out to several others players that I consult. Keep this in mind when reading the emails, if there is nothing personal in the email (just your name does not count as personalized) then it may mean you are not a high priority on that coaches list. It does not necessarily mean that the coach isn’t interested and they may simply be trying to find out who replies back but do know that many coaches will personalize emails to the recruits they are legitimately interested in recruiting.
This same concept applies when you email a coach. I ALWAYS emphasize the importance of making an email personal to the coach and not just addressing it to them. When you do this, you show that you have done your research and are legitimately interested in their school and program. So as you read those emails from coaches think about how it makes you feel when a coach actually knows about you and your game, as opposed to just sending you a general info email. You can make a coach feel the same way when you make an email personal to them as well.
Email vs Phone Call:
I know my players get tired of hearing me say this but Sept 1 was a great reminder of the impact that phone calls can make in the recruiting process. As I was able to watch the different types of communication that took place among numerous coaches and recruits I was able to see the different reactions based on what communication was used. While many times even coaches prefer to use texts and emails for their communication, a phone call (even just a voicemail) will always be more impressive. We all have busy schedules and can usually read an email or send a text easier than having to take a phone call but within my own business I can 100% say that the players who initiate phone calls to me to discuss their rounds or recruiting, even if we can’t connect at that time, stand out to me more than the ones who always only text and email. Did you have any coaches try to call you that day? If so, did it make you feel different than the ones who just emailed or sent a text? Remember that next time you get ready to communicate with a coach.
No, It’s NOT Over:
Unfortunately, there is the “darker” side to Sept 1 where players don’t hear from any coaches or the coach they really wanted to hear from didn’t reach out. One thing to keep in mind, not all coaches make it a point to contact players on Sept 1. With recruiting happening early and earlier and players being proactive on their end, the appeal of Sept 1 isn’t what it was 10 years ago. Some coaches do make a big point to reach out to players, even right at 12:01am on Sept 1. Some may only contact a couple of their top recruits that day while others may send out 100 or more emails through their database.
No matter what happened or didn’t happen on Sept 1 there is still lots of time left in the college recruiting process. Yes, many players commit and coaches finish the process sooner than later but I have had players find great schools and scholarship money all the way through the middle and even end of their senior year. Two of my better 2016 recruits ended up going to mid ranked DI schools on good scholarship money and as of Sept 1 of their junior year they didn’t even know those coaches or schools really even existed. So make sure you take a deep breath, refocus your direction if necessary and keep working hard to find the school that fits you.
The biggest takeaways from Sept 1:
- Think about the way a coach’s communication makes you feel and keep that in mind when you communicate with them
- Phone calls are the more personalized and direct way to show a coach your level of interest and maturity
- Sept 1 is not the end all to recruiting and many things can and will occur after that date if you stay persistent and proactive both with your game and recruiting
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