Recently, the ECNL published a study that found college coaches preferred to be contacted by email compared to texting and phone calls. But how can you make sure that your first impression will get your foot in the door? Here’s a quick guide to crafting personalized, professional emails to college coaches and recruiters.
Subject Line
The first thing a coach will see in their inbox is the subject line. To make sure they open the email, make the subject line informative so they don’t have to guess. Always include your name and graduating class. You can also add your club team name and position.
Example:
Subject: Christina Ordonez – Class of 2022 – Center Back
Email Body
Now that you have the coach’s attention, you need to make sure to get them the essential information about you quickly. You can break up the body into three sections:
Section 1: General Introduction
The general introduction should further elaborate on your subject line by giving the coach a bit more information about you as a player. Be sure to include your graduation year, the names of your club and high school teams, position(s), and jersey number.
Example:
My name is Christina Ordonez and I am a Center Back (#5) with NSA Fury, graduating in May 2024.
Section 2: The Why
In this next section, you should describe why you’re a fit for this coach, their program, and this school. They should be intrigued by you, and want to learn more about why you would be an asset to the team. Be sure to personalize this part of the email. That means providing specifics about yourself (bonus points for including a good GPA!), but you should also make it clear that you are familiar with the coach, their program, and the school in general.
Example:
I have watched many Michigan games this season and believe my skill set is a great fit for the team’s 4-3-3 formation. I have been playing center-back in a 4-3-3 with my club team, and my ability to read the game and distribute out of the back would help the Michigan backline excel. I also know that Michigan has an amazing pre-med program, and with a 3.9 GPA, I plan on entering the medical field post-college.
Section 3: Upcoming Schedule & Trace iD / Game Film
The final component of your email is giving the coach a way to see your game moments alongside tournaments, showcases, and ID camps where they might be able to catch you in person. Keep in mind that most coaches will not have the time or bandwidth to watch entire games, so you should provide a more accessible way to see you in action.
If you’re using Trace iD, this is where you’ll drop the link to your iD along with some instructions on how they can see and explore your moments. With Trace iD, the coach can quickly jump into the full game from any moment to provide even more context around your play. They’ll see up-to-date stats across all of your matches, and anytime you add a new moment to your iD, the coach will have access to that immediately. Check out this sample Trace iD, created by a Trace athlete from FC Dallas who committed to Clemson.
If you’re not using Trace iD, you’ll want to attach some game film. Check out our do’s to get recruited for college soccer through game film.
Example:
My team will be attending ECNL Vegas from March 12-14, and I’ve included our schedule here. [OR I’ll be attending Michigan’s ID camp next month and am very excited to meet the coaching staff.] I have included the link to my Trace iD (HERE). My team uses Trace to automatically film and edit our games, and I’ve included some of the moments that I feel best represent me as a player in my Trace iD. Feel free to click the “jump to full game” option to watch a larger portion of that game or head to my “matches” tab to check out my most recent 5 games.
Full Email Example
To: coach@dreamcollege.edu
Subject: Christina Ordonez – Class of 2020
Dear Coach Berhalter,
My name is Christina Ordonez and I am a Center Back (#5) with NSA Fury, graduating in May 2024.
I have watched many Michigan games this season and believe my skill set is a great fit for the team’s 4-3-3 formation. I have been playing center-back in a 4-3-3 with my club team, and my ability to read the game and distribute out of the back would help the Michigan backline excel. I also know that Michigan has an amazing pre-med program, and with a 3.9 GPA, I plan on entering the medical field post-college.
My team will be attending ECNL Vegas from March 12-14, and I’ve included our schedule here. [OR I’ll be attending Michigan’s ID camp next month and am very excited to meet the coaching staff.] I have included the link to my Trace iD (HERE). My team uses Trace to automatically film and edit our games, and I’ve included some of the moments that I feel best represent me as a player in my Trace iD. Feel free to click the “jump to full game” option to watch a larger portion of that game or head to my “matches” tab to check out my most recent 5 games.
I am really excited about the possibility of playing for you at the University of Michigan, and I hope to have the opportunity to show you that I would make a great fit for the team.
Thank you,
Christina
Best Time to Email College Coaches
You’ll also want to be aware of how busy coaches are, especially during the season. Of course, every coach will have different preferences, but here are some general tips:
- Is it during their season? Coaches have a lot to do during the season, planning practices, preparing for upcoming games, etc. While it doesn’t mean you can’t email coaches during this time, be mindful and try to plan around their game schedule to find breaks when they might be less busy.
- What times do they schedule practice? If you know when the team is practicing, you can send emails around this to make it more likely for a coach to see it. Not only will it be more convenient for the coach, but you’ll know when not to expect a reply.
- Are you emailing too late? A good rule of thumb for emailing college recruiters is to keep communication between 6am and 11pm (in the coach’s time zone). This also makes it easier for them to see your email.
Who to Email Besides the Head Coach
On the note of coaches being busy, sometimes it can be more effective to reach out to someone else on the team about recruiting. Colleges and teams with larger staffs will typically have multiple coordinators and coaches, which gives you multiple options but can also be confusing to know who to start with. Your best bet is to look for a recruiting coordinator if they have one, otherwise, look for a position or assistant coach (just remember to mention them by name in the email and tailor it towards what they do).
When to Follow Up
Once you send this initial email, it’s important to know when to follow up. If you never heard back from the coach, following up can help remind them to review the initial email as they might have been busy when they first received it. If they did respond but haven’t given you any next steps, following up is a great way to re-ignite the conversation.
The best way to follow up is to make sure you have something new to offer them. And follow up by replying to the first email you sent, so that they can see the full context of the conversation and you can demonstrate ongoing interest.
Example:
Hey Coach!
I wanted to let you know that I added a few more moments to my Trace iD, it now includes a few more set pieces and attacking transitions. You can see those new moments by clicking here: (insert your Trace iD URL here)
Thank you,
Christina
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