College Sports – Coach Email Template: How to Write a Good Recruitment Email

Contacting a college coach via email regardless of which sport you play, is pretty much every student-athletes “go-to” for their first point of contact. Mainly because there is a certain “guarantee” that the coach your emailing will open your email since this is presumed to be built into their job role as a coach. However, in reality,  it’s not as easy as it sounds. College coaches are literally bombarded with emails every day. This means you have to figure out a creative way to catch their attention!

In this article we are going to give you some guidance on how to structure your email in the best way. First impressions matter, we intend to give you some pointers that will boost your chances at getting the coaches attention.

TIP: Before you send your first email, make sure the email you are sending from is something that is professional and appropriate. For example: Athlete.Mike.Thomas24@gmail.com is simple, informative and will help you give a good first impression. 

HOW TO MAKE YOUR EMAIL STAND OUT FOR COLLEGE COACHES

If you want a college coach to stop on your email and click, putting some real effort into your email title is the first trick. Coaches usually have in mind what they are looking for, so automatically they will be looking out for these pieces of information when scanning over their inbox. If you put your position, height, and weight  information in the title you are more likely to get a click than if you just put a generic tile like “HS Graduate Interested in Joining Your Program” – this is not detailed or catchy enough and could get overlooked. Instead try using something like this: ” PG/6’6ft/200lbs with 3.8 GPA – Interested in Joining Your Program!”

WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR HEADING

College coaches are recruiting student-athletes based on position and height so definitely include these. We recommend adding one thing that you think will make you stand out from all the other recruits. Here’s an example of this: Class 2024/SG 6’6/Very High GPA & SAT Scores! Remember to keep your heading short and memorable. Try not to use too many characters 40 or less is best.

NOTE: The purpose of your email is to introduce yourself and to get your information in front of college coaches so they can evaluate your potential. Show them you have what it takes to be recruited by them!

HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO A COLLEGE COACH

Congrats! The college coach has clicked into your email .. now what? The first thing you should do is tell them who you are and why they should be interested in recruiting you. To do this, make sure you include the following information in this first paragraph:

• First and last name
• Where you’re from
• High school you graduated from (or, your current high school with your graduating year)
• Your year of graduation
• Your position(s) with height and weight
• Your athletic and academic achievements which will make you more desirable

Always personalize your emails! Coaches are experts in this and can tell when you are just copying and pasting a generic email. You should look at it this way (because this is how coaches look at it!), if you’re not going to take the time out to write a personalized email to them, why will they take the time out to respond to you? Take a moment to think about that.

TIP: Make sure you use proper grammar when writing an email to a college coach. This is not the type of situation that calls for slang or text talk. You can use a program like Grammarly or, have a parent or teacher read over the email for you before you send it. 

HOW TO SELL YOURSELF AS A RECRUIT TO A COLLEGE COACHES

Demonstrating to the coach that you have thoroughly researched their school and sports program is a good start. Coaches are likely to be more interested in potential student-athletes who show a serious interest. For this paragraph, start by writing about something you read on their website or a recent post that you saw that you can relate to. Make sure this is a true statement and attention grabbing. Personalize your tone and tell the coach what has made you want to play for the school.

Introduce yourself, talk about your skills and how interested you are in being recruited by telling them all the reasons why you really want to play for their school. This will show the coach that you’re not just mindlessly emailing them without having a clue about who they are and what the school and sports program has to offer.

This can come either before or after.

TIP: College coaches have been doing this for a long time and can tell when something is made up. You don’t have to do this. Just highlight your best attributes and be polite. Manners go a long way in recruitment!

Here is an example to help you get started:

Coach, I’ve been following your program for a while and have done my research into your school and program. I really enjoyed reading over your website and Twitter. I read a few posts that really inspired me. I think I’d be a great addition to your team. I happened to notice you’re graduating my position this year and wanted to put myself forward for the spot.

In the next paragraph you should go into more detail about yourself as an athlete. This is the part where you tell the college coach why you are a good fit for the program. Make sure you include the following types of information:

• Game stats (best game, averages etc.)
• Weight-room stats (1-rep max, max weight lifts etc.)
• Athletic test scores (vertical jump, vertical reach, dash scores, wingspan, running times etc.)
• SAT/ACT scores (if the school still requires this, check if they do first)
• Club awards you have received (MVP, Championships etc.)
• Outstanding academic awards (all coaches love players who are great in the classroom)

TIP: Keep it short! You don’t have to go into great detail about your entire basketball history. Just focus on your best, main points that really make you a good candidate to be recruited.

End this section with a link to your most recent basketball highlight video. Always, check your link to make sure it works!

HOW TO END AN EMAIL TO A COLLEGE COACH

You want to end your email strong. The best way to do this is to end with a short paragraph that tells the coach how to contact you, what you will be doing next and when you plan to follow up with them.  After all, the whole purpose is to get the college coaches interested in you so they will contact you back!

Contact information to include:

• Your cell number (let them know if you are on WhatsApp, Telegram etc.)
• Your twitter handle (@JalenBaker2024)
• Your parents contact number/email
• Your high school coach email
• Your club coach email

TIP: You can also give them a list of dates when you are playing so they can come out to see you in person if they want.

How long do you want to leave it before you intend on following up with the coach? for example: 2 days of 1 week? In your last paragraph inform them of this along with a set time so they know when to expect a call from you. This will show college coaches that you are serious and interested in attending.  Whatever you do, do not forget to make your follow up call! This will demonstrate to the coach that you can organize yourself and stick to deadlines.

TIP: Schedule a reminder of the date and time into your phone. This way you will get notified on the day to call the coach so you won’t forget!

EMAIL TEMPLATE TO SEND TO COLLEGE COACHES

To avoid your email being disregarded by a college coach you should always personalize your email to each coach you contact. This means addressing the coach by their last name (Example: Hello Coach Jones not just Hi Coach). Coaches can tell if you’re just sending a generic “copy & paste” email. We advise not to do this as it can hurt your chances of being recruited. We recommend using our template as a guide for you to fill out with your own words and research.

EMAIL TEMPLATE:

Hello Coach [insert the last name of the college coach you are contacting],

My name is [your full name] I am from [hometown/state]. I’m a [your position/height/weight], class of [graduate year] at [high school]. After doing some research on your school and [your sport] program, I wanted to contact you about playing for you because [write 2/3 sentences about what has made you interested].

Some of my greatest athletic accomplishments are [list 2-3 athletic accomplishments that are relevant to the school and program you’re interested in]. Last season, I [add couple of crucial athletic stats which highlight your skills & ability]. In the off season, I’ve been working on [include 1-2 skills] to improve on my game for next season..

As a student-athlete I have [list any outstanding academic achievements you have made over your high school years and include your GPA and test scores].

What I really liked about the school was [Write a couple of sentences on what it is about the school that makes you want to attend].

After reading about your [your sport] program, what stood out to me the most was [write a couple of sentences on what you like about the program and why it makes you want to play for the team].

I think I would be a great fit to the program because [write a short paragraph to sell yourself, write about what you can bring to the program, what your strengths are, what your good at, how you can make a difference on and off the court/field].

Here is my most recent highlight video: [Insert link]

You can reach me via this email and at the following contact numbers:

• My cell: [insert your number]
• [Mom/Dad/Guardian] cell: [insert their number]

My coaches said that they would be happy to talk with you if you wanted to speak with them. Here are their contact numbers:

• High School Coach: [insert number]
• Club Coach: [insert number]

I appreciate you taking the time to read my email Coach [Coach’s last name]. I have attached my game schedule. If you have time, it would be great if you could come out and watch me in person. I will give you a call on the 2024 to talk to you more about my interest in attending [the schools name] and possibly setting up a visit.

Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you soon Coach!

[Your name]

CONCLUSION

If you implement everything we discussed in the above article, you should see some improvement in your email open rate. However, it is still not a guarantee that a coach will open your email. It’s tough. You are going up against thousands of other student athletes who are doing the same things as you. But there is another option. If you want help and assistance from professionals who have placed many students athletes into college, then you can simply fill out the form below and one of our recruitment coaches will contact you.