I sent out first contact letters to several schools. After about a week, some of the colleges sent letters back. Does that mean they are interested in recruiting me or just being polite?
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It could mean either thing. Keep in contact with them and soon enough, you'll know whether they are truly interested or merely being polite.
My son had a few colleges always/usually respond to his emails, but never make offers. On the other hand, there were two schools that always answered emails and did make offers.
It all depends on the individual program.
My son had a few colleges always/usually respond to his emails, but never make offers. On the other hand, there were two schools that always answered emails and did make offers.
It all depends on the individual program.
Tigerfan, I agree it could be either case, some schools have the coaches keep track of that stuff and others have interns work the letters as mass mailings in hopes of getting you to come to a camp and supplement the coach’s income, but unless you are a top prospect, if you don't continue the correspondence, they most likely will lose what every interest they may have had.
Good Luck, enjoy the ride!
Good Luck, enjoy the ride!
tigerfan - coaches do not recruit letters or stat sheets - they recruit players they have seen play. Recruiting means they either talk to you by phone or in person to determine your interest in playing for them and they are not going to do that until they have seen you play. Use the letters as an opportunity to find out what their needs are and what their potential interest might be. None of us here have those answers. You might call the coach and ask:
You: I received a letter from you and was calling to find out what it would take to play for you.
Coach: What is your GPA, SAT scores, and what position do you play?
You: My grades and SAT's are excellent and I am a catcher. I led my team in hitting and was first team all-conference. We made a deep run in the state playoffs.
Coach response1: We just signed two high school all-american catchers and thus our needs are not are not there for that postion. You might want to check with Coach so and so who is looking for catchers - good luck.
Coach response2: Our top two catchers either graduated or were drafted this year so that is a need position this year. In order for us to recruit you we have to see you play. Can you attend one of our upcoming camps? Alternatively, can you attend the upcoming PG showcase which we will be attending. Either way, we can not make any type of offer until we have seen you play. Please let us know as soon as possible what your plans are. Good luck.
You: Thanks Coach for taking the time to talk with me. I'll run it by my parents and get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks again (enthusiasm in your voice).
tigerfan - do you see how it works now? This is pretty much how it goes for every player. Make it happen and it will. Trying to determine it from a letter or a message board will not make it happen. Good luck!
You: I received a letter from you and was calling to find out what it would take to play for you.
Coach: What is your GPA, SAT scores, and what position do you play?
You: My grades and SAT's are excellent and I am a catcher. I led my team in hitting and was first team all-conference. We made a deep run in the state playoffs.
Coach response1: We just signed two high school all-american catchers and thus our needs are not are not there for that postion. You might want to check with Coach so and so who is looking for catchers - good luck.
Coach response2: Our top two catchers either graduated or were drafted this year so that is a need position this year. In order for us to recruit you we have to see you play. Can you attend one of our upcoming camps? Alternatively, can you attend the upcoming PG showcase which we will be attending. Either way, we can not make any type of offer until we have seen you play. Please let us know as soon as possible what your plans are. Good luck.
You: Thanks Coach for taking the time to talk with me. I'll run it by my parents and get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks again (enthusiasm in your voice).
tigerfan - do you see how it works now? This is pretty much how it goes for every player. Make it happen and it will. Trying to determine it from a letter or a message board will not make it happen. Good luck!
Good advice ClevelandDad.
tigerfan_09, to answer your question they were not just being polite, they were doing there job. Good recruiters always follow up.
Honestly you should have been sending letters out during the Fall of last year. Don't fret though, you still have time to get noticed. A little advice about letters though:
1. keep them short and sweet.
2. don't send a bunch of stats and newpaper clippings(they just end up in the trash).
3. Absolutely no dressed up portfolios of your baseball career over the last 10 years.
4. Do not over exaggerate your abilities. For example: if you are a pitcher and you touched 88 once, don't say you pitch 88. When they do see you and you are only 83-85 mph you will lose credibility in their eyes.
5. Never mention scholarships.
The plain truth of it is, "coaches are just too busy to take the time to read letters." If you are looking D-I this is definitely the case. They just get so many long-winded letters. If you get a form letter, questionnaire, and camp brochure, then they most likely they did not read your entire letter. They were just doing their job by following up. If you get a personal handwritten note along with the other stuff, then you got their attention.
Here is a sample letter to send out that will standout from all the others coaches receive.
Dear Coach Smith,
I am a 2009 SS from ABC H.S. in Anytown, PA. I consistently run a 7.1 60 yard dash and my home to first time is right around a 4.35. My best tool is my arm strength which has been clocked at 86mph across the diamond. I am a contact hitter with gap power and I consistently use the whole field. My coaches will verify this information is accurate.
Currently I am on track to be an NCAA qualifier with a 3.4 core g.p.a. I will be taking my S.A.T. in October and will forward the results to you a.s.a.p. In the mean time here is an unofficial copy of my transcripts. If you have any questions you can reach my guidance counselor (Jim Lewis), at 555-555-5555. I have informed him that he may be receiving calls from college coaches in the future regarding my academic performance.
Coach, I realize a letter is no substitute for seeing me play, so I have included my entire Fall tournament and showcase schedule. I know there is no guarantee you will be at any of those venues listed. I will be calling you as soon as I receive your recruiting questionnaire in the mail to find out exactly where you will be this fall so I can hopefully be there too.
Thank you for your time Coach Smith.
Respectfully,
Jason Williams
123 ABC Lane
Anytown, PA 12345
Cell: 555-555-5555
H.S. Coach: Sam Walton 555-555-5555
Summer Coach: Jeff Kemp 555-555-5555
Fall Coach: Frank Jackson 555-555-5555
And there you have! The perfect contact letter. Even though they may have no idea who you are or if you can play for them, this letter will atleast give you credibility and make you standout from the rest of the 25 or so letters they get on a daily basis.
One more piece of advice. After you mail the letters shoot the coach a brief email stating your name and the fact that he should be getting your letter in the mail soon. Hopefully when he gets your letter your name will sound familiar causing him to actually read it instead of handing it off to the secretary.
Hope this helps and good luck.
tigerfan_09, to answer your question they were not just being polite, they were doing there job. Good recruiters always follow up.
Honestly you should have been sending letters out during the Fall of last year. Don't fret though, you still have time to get noticed. A little advice about letters though:
1. keep them short and sweet.
2. don't send a bunch of stats and newpaper clippings(they just end up in the trash).
3. Absolutely no dressed up portfolios of your baseball career over the last 10 years.
4. Do not over exaggerate your abilities. For example: if you are a pitcher and you touched 88 once, don't say you pitch 88. When they do see you and you are only 83-85 mph you will lose credibility in their eyes.
5. Never mention scholarships.
The plain truth of it is, "coaches are just too busy to take the time to read letters." If you are looking D-I this is definitely the case. They just get so many long-winded letters. If you get a form letter, questionnaire, and camp brochure, then they most likely they did not read your entire letter. They were just doing their job by following up. If you get a personal handwritten note along with the other stuff, then you got their attention.
Here is a sample letter to send out that will standout from all the others coaches receive.
Dear Coach Smith,
I am a 2009 SS from ABC H.S. in Anytown, PA. I consistently run a 7.1 60 yard dash and my home to first time is right around a 4.35. My best tool is my arm strength which has been clocked at 86mph across the diamond. I am a contact hitter with gap power and I consistently use the whole field. My coaches will verify this information is accurate.
Currently I am on track to be an NCAA qualifier with a 3.4 core g.p.a. I will be taking my S.A.T. in October and will forward the results to you a.s.a.p. In the mean time here is an unofficial copy of my transcripts. If you have any questions you can reach my guidance counselor (Jim Lewis), at 555-555-5555. I have informed him that he may be receiving calls from college coaches in the future regarding my academic performance.
Coach, I realize a letter is no substitute for seeing me play, so I have included my entire Fall tournament and showcase schedule. I know there is no guarantee you will be at any of those venues listed. I will be calling you as soon as I receive your recruiting questionnaire in the mail to find out exactly where you will be this fall so I can hopefully be there too.
Thank you for your time Coach Smith.
Respectfully,
Jason Williams
123 ABC Lane
Anytown, PA 12345
Cell: 555-555-5555
H.S. Coach: Sam Walton 555-555-5555
Summer Coach: Jeff Kemp 555-555-5555
Fall Coach: Frank Jackson 555-555-5555
And there you have! The perfect contact letter. Even though they may have no idea who you are or if you can play for them, this letter will atleast give you credibility and make you standout from the rest of the 25 or so letters they get on a daily basis.
One more piece of advice. After you mail the letters shoot the coach a brief email stating your name and the fact that he should be getting your letter in the mail soon. Hopefully when he gets your letter your name will sound familiar causing him to actually read it instead of handing it off to the secretary.
Hope this helps and good luck.
Thanks for the help. To GradDad, the coach sent me a form letter along with a fairly long handwritten note. Is that a good indicator of interest?
tigerfan, long hand-written notes are much preferable to generic letters. They still are no guarantee that you'll receive an offer from that school, but things sound promising.
2024GradDad provided a wonderful sample of a form letter. You may also want to add your height and weight so the coach can get a sense of your general build and also your Perfect Game rating if you have it.
2024GradDad provided a wonderful sample of a form letter. You may also want to add your height and weight so the coach can get a sense of your general build and also your Perfect Game rating if you have it.
tigerfan:
We did much like what 2024 said. My son did a small packet that he emailed to coaches, as follows:
1. Intro letter, short and brief - first paragraph says who he is, where he is from, his position, and then something about why he is interested in the college (with something specific about the college so that the coach could see he did his homework - like location, up and coming program, head coach played his position, something like that), second paragraph talks briefly about his academics - gpa, test scores, when he will take additional tests, if any, what tests, etc., third paragraph is about his baseball talent, short and sweet, lists height and weight, maybe a few stats (but remember colleges don't place a lot of value on hs stats, they need to see you), last paragraph requests info on camps (or mentions about camps he found on their website), a questionaire (or says he filled the one on line out), and any other college info, then signs off saying that he is looking forward to hearing from college. Obviously this "outline" would need to be modified to fit your timing.
2. He included page that had some photos and directed him to a website where the coach could see two-three short videos of him.
3. He included a HS stats sheet that also has his SPARQ rating, speeds, etc. (even though coaches don't look at stats too much, they would have it if they wanted it, and they are interested in your speeds, etc.)
4. His most recent up-to-date schedule, that also has his coach references and contacts.
5. Unofficial copy of HS transcript.
6. Copy of his standardized test report (obviously if you haven't tested yet, you would not have this page).
You could combine pages 3 and 4 into one, and you may not have page 2, so that would make a nice clean packet of 3-4 pages - intro letter, schedule and stats, transcript, and test scores, all the introductory info. a coach would need.
Hope this helps.
We did much like what 2024 said. My son did a small packet that he emailed to coaches, as follows:
1. Intro letter, short and brief - first paragraph says who he is, where he is from, his position, and then something about why he is interested in the college (with something specific about the college so that the coach could see he did his homework - like location, up and coming program, head coach played his position, something like that), second paragraph talks briefly about his academics - gpa, test scores, when he will take additional tests, if any, what tests, etc., third paragraph is about his baseball talent, short and sweet, lists height and weight, maybe a few stats (but remember colleges don't place a lot of value on hs stats, they need to see you), last paragraph requests info on camps (or mentions about camps he found on their website), a questionaire (or says he filled the one on line out), and any other college info, then signs off saying that he is looking forward to hearing from college. Obviously this "outline" would need to be modified to fit your timing.
2. He included page that had some photos and directed him to a website where the coach could see two-three short videos of him.
3. He included a HS stats sheet that also has his SPARQ rating, speeds, etc. (even though coaches don't look at stats too much, they would have it if they wanted it, and they are interested in your speeds, etc.)
4. His most recent up-to-date schedule, that also has his coach references and contacts.
5. Unofficial copy of HS transcript.
6. Copy of his standardized test report (obviously if you haven't tested yet, you would not have this page).
You could combine pages 3 and 4 into one, and you may not have page 2, so that would make a nice clean packet of 3-4 pages - intro letter, schedule and stats, transcript, and test scores, all the introductory info. a coach would need.
Hope this helps.
The response shoudl be like a job resume---not too long not to short----just enough to get their attention---they don't to be reading WAr and Peace if you get the point
tigerfan_09
Coaches are very busy individuals. If one took the time to write you a personal note that is a good thing. The one thing to look out for in a personal note though is if it deals only with inviting you to a camp. Sometimes this tactic is used to feign interest just to get you to be a paying camp customer. But if you are interested in the school, then paying to attend their camp is not necessarily a bad thing. But that's another topic.
My advice is to follow-up with this school. Call the coach who wrote you the letter. You probably have some questions at this point so write them down and use those as talking points with him.
Don't throw all your eggs in one basket though. Keep shopping around and do your homework on the programs you are interested in.
Coaches are very busy individuals. If one took the time to write you a personal note that is a good thing. The one thing to look out for in a personal note though is if it deals only with inviting you to a camp. Sometimes this tactic is used to feign interest just to get you to be a paying camp customer. But if you are interested in the school, then paying to attend their camp is not necessarily a bad thing. But that's another topic.
My advice is to follow-up with this school. Call the coach who wrote you the letter. You probably have some questions at this point so write them down and use those as talking points with him.
Don't throw all your eggs in one basket though. Keep shopping around and do your homework on the programs you are interested in.
We're in the middle of sending out dvds. The package includes a letter similar to the one mentioned above, profile sheet, a printout of his perfect game review, printout of college select reviews and his schedule this fall. plus the dvd which is just under 5 minutes.
son will follow-up with emails and possibly phone calls.
I like the idea about emailing the coach so he knows the videos are on the way.
also, he'll be filling out the recruiting form on the college websites.
hopefully this will generate enough interest for some coaches to come see him play this fall. we'll see...
son will follow-up with emails and possibly phone calls.
I like the idea about emailing the coach so he knows the videos are on the way.
also, he'll be filling out the recruiting form on the college websites.
hopefully this will generate enough interest for some coaches to come see him play this fall. we'll see...