This past week I received a message from a college coach who wanted to share an email she had received. This email had so many things wrong with it that she wanted to make sure others knew and didn’t make similar mistakes.

I won’t share the actual email but I do want to list out the mistakes that both myself and the coach concluded were necessary to address. Keep in mind this email was considered an “introductory email” where you are trying to make the best impression on a coach.

  • The email was written and sent by the parent and not the player, a major turnoff to most all college coaches
  • The email was typed on a phone and not a computer, leading to numerous formatting, grammatical and spelling errors.
  • Simple words like “you” and “and” were shortened to “u” and “n”
  • The very first sentence addressed the cost of tuition, something that should be discussed later
  • There was no resume or important info included about the player, only a few general places (no links) that the coach could search to find out more.

Takeaways:

  • The player ALWAYS needs to be the one writing the intro emails (and most every email after that).
  • Sit down at a computer and type up the email so that it looks professional and can be checked for grammar/spelling errors.
  • An intro email is not the time to shorten word and use “texting” language
  • Do not have your intro email address topics about scholarship or tuition which are sensitive and often misunderstood subjects that need to be addressed at the correct time
  • Include the information that a college coach needs to see, preferably in a document or online resume. Make everything easy and accessible for the coach to see your scores, academics, video and contact info.