Making Coaches Notice You

Why You Need to Contact College Coaches First

By Andrea Leitner|Updated on June 27, 2023 (originally published on December 23, 2021)

When beginning your recruiting process, many people wonder if you should be reaching out to coaches or waiting for them to reach out to you. In movies and documentaries, we often see the 5-star recruit getting countless letters in the mail, phone calls, home visits, etc. from college coaches. But, this is rarely ever the case. There are SO many athletes hoping to get recruited every year, and college coaches can’t possibly notice all of them, so you need to do what you can to get on their radar.

The rule of thumb is that if you want something, go get it; therefore, if you want to play in college, you MUST be reaching out to coaches first. Opening the dialog with college coaches will show that you are interested in their program and would consider attending their school given the opportunity.

If you start the conversation and give them a copy of your schedule, they may attend a game or two to see if you would be an asset to the program. For each showcase you attend in your underclassmen high school years, you should be sending out handfuls of emails to all types of schools you are interested in. As you get a better idea of what types of schools and athletic programs you like, narrow down your scope but keep open dialogues as much as possible. If you are really interested in a school, a coach will have no way of knowing unless you tell them, so do so early.