Email RC and HC

My kids emailed RC and HC and if they knew another coach at the school, would email all 3. For camps my son would have had contact with the coach(s) multiple times prior, and would be in touch a few days before the camp.

Keep in mind that these Coaches receive thousands of emails from potential prospects.  Put something in the message heading that will increase the likelihood of their even looking at the email.  An eye popping measureable, a great GPA, something...

nycdad posted:

My kids emailed RC and HC and if they knew another coach at the school, would email all 3. For camps my son would have had contact with the coach(s) multiple times prior, and would be in touch a few days before the camp.

This ^

My son (RHP) included the HC, RC, and PC (if he was not RC). IMO timing should be within 1 week prior to camp. Also important to note that it should be a good fit in terms of players measurables. Does not have to be every measurable but in case of a RHP, might not be good use of time if the player has FB velo in 70's and email is being sent to P5 program.

Frankly, although we did all this snail-mailing (back in 'the day' with Son #1 and later emailing too (Son #2), I question that it had any effect whatsoever....

We later met coaches recruiting our sons who obviously never knew they had earlier received a letter/email but they sure could pick a prospect out of a line of 100 kids at a camp within minutes based on what their eyes told them....

With one exception, the ONLY situation I can recall of email having any positive effect was with a coach we already knew from prior recruiting (Son #1) whom we emailed with during Son #2's recruiting.

If you're good enough, they will see it and figure it out...no matter how many kids....

I can't decide whether I agree with justbaseball or not.  When a kid is a standout player (as his were), then yes, someone's going to notice you at a camp/showcase, whether that is the camp at the school he wants to attend, or a showcase with schools at the right level.  The question many of us have is, if your son is not that kind of player, does that mean (a)  you're not looking at the right level - very possible - or (b)  you have to work harder at generating interest?

In my son's case, it varied a lot.  A couple of schools did respond to his emails, and followed him during the summer.  Some it was a combination of connections with his summer coaches and son's emails.  He also got recruited after PBR and Headfirst by schools he had never contacted.  Some of it has to do with whether you are looking locally or on a wider geographic scale (i.e. the local coaches might have heard of you through local networks); and, in hindsight, I do think that having your summer coaches contact schools is better than doing it yourself, if they are willing to do it (and have the connections or credibility).

I do agree with JBB that coaches know what they're looking for, and when they see it, they go after it, whether or not there was any prior contact.  The question is, does prior contact help, at least in some cases?

Email is just one tool in your marketing mix, and to solely rely on email would be a mistake. The key is to use email as a part of all the tactics you're deploying.

And yes, HCs read those emails. When joemktgson was going through the process, we tracked the opens and clicks from every email, and it was the HC segment that had the highest metrics vs. the RC.

My son, a 2023, is starting to get some follows of RC's and HC's on his Twitter account. When we see the new follows, should we email the RC/HC and provide more information on my son?