basic Qs re: contacting college coaches

My son usually starts with questionnaire and follows up with email to the RC.  Sometimes it's the other way around, but he ALWAYS does both, primarily because he's trying to get info re: camps/showcases staff will be at, and he thinks, and I agree, that a  personal email is bette than a stock, "Thanks for filling out our questionnaire." response

JMO

smokeminside posted:

My son usually starts with questionnaire and follows up with email to the RC.  Sometimes it's the other way around, but he ALWAYS does both, primarily because he's trying to get info re: camps/showcases staff will be at, and he thinks, and I agree, that a  personal email is bette than a stock, "Thanks for filling out our questionnaire." response

JMO

Thanks.  When your son emails the RC, does he include his full athletic "resume," even though he also gave that info on the questionnaire?  And if not, what info does he include?  

We do both and put key information in the personal email as well as 2-3 video clips.  Sometimes they don't watch them, but I can tell through the youtube analytics that some do.  I think it is worth sending a few short clips.

Do both....it can't hurt.   There's a chance that you may get your name in front of a couple different coaches that way if someone other than the RC is looking at the online questionaire. 

You mentioned "detailed stats".....forgot those lol.  They are meaningless....especially if you're talking about HS stats.   60 time, velo if he's a pitcher and exit velocitiy if it's good.  That's plenty.  Unless your son did something ridiculous like hitting 10+ HR's last season, I wouldn't include any HS stats at all....the coach won't likely get serious about recruiting your son until he has a chance to see him and he won't care what he did against HS kids.

I wouldn't email an RC the first time until you have a short video....even if you do it yourself.  Anything to let them "see" your son is better than just an email saying "Hi Coach, I'm John Smith and I like your school".    You can upload it to youtube and send the coach a link to it.   When we sent out my son's initial emails, you knew right away when you got a response if it was "real" or just a "camp invite".  Almost all the "real" responses mentioned the video....the others didn't, meaning they likely didn't watch it and are just trying to get you to come to a camp.

Good luck....the fun is just starting

My son did a web site where he parked all of his stats, recommendations from HS coaches and teachers, and his transcript and video.  Then he sent emails to coaches with links to his video as well and to his web site if they had questions.

I don't think he filled out very many if any questionnaires for coaches. I got the feeling the questionnaires were kind of a "we have to offer this up to everybody" thing, while the emails and later texts between him and the coaches gave the coaches all they needed to know.

The questionnaires are procedural and put the player on a master list.  After my sons sent emails with video and stats they then completed the questionnaire.    

Don't waste time sending an introductory email without any video.  Keep the video to 2 minutes or less.. 

Also, the coaches like to see short video clips every time a player emails them, unless you're responding to a specific question or are providing an update to your schedule or ACT score.  

Chico Escuela posted:

smokeminside posted:

My son usually starts with questionnaire and follows up with email to the RC.  Sometimes it's the other way around, but he ALWAYS does both, primarily because he's trying to get info re: camps/showcases staff will be at, and he thinks, and I agree, that a  personal email is bette than a stock, "Thanks for filling out our questionnaire." response

JMO

Thanks.  When your son emails the RC, does he include his full athletic "resume," even though he also gave that info on the questionnaire?  And if not, what info does he include?  

In the subject line he starts with his name, position, grad year, 60 time, ht. wt, GPA and test scores.  He uses the same subject line each email so it's easy for the coach to find.  He doesn't include the rest of the stuff that's in the questionnaire.  The content of the email is almost always about recent performance stuff, with a short hitting clip.  When he's on a roll he does this once a week. He'll also send his test scores as soon as he gets them because he's targeting high academic schools.

Full disclosure: I've had a really hard time getting him to call, but based on advice I've seen here, he's gotta start doing it.

A friend referred me to the following website a few months back and it has been a really valuable resource. These guys are doing great work, at no cost to the public, and with no ads, etc. I follow them on twitter and it's just loads of good information.

https://keepplayingbaseball.org/

One such article that is more specific to your original question can be found here:

http://kpbrecruiting101.org/st...aches-seek-exposure/

Good luck!