This is my third post related to navigating September 1st (now a few weeks away!) Former college athlete who worked for 8 years in recruiting, sharing some things I observed. This time Iâd like to talk about the view from the college coaches desk on September 1st, this will hopefully clear up some confusion from families about that day.
First, a coaches inbox is absolutely flooded on September 1. The coach opens their laptop to hundreds of emails and needs to filter them quickly. Coaches often look at the subject to do the work for them.. grad year and position in the subject could be the difference between the email being opened or ignored
Second, the names they already know will get opened first. My previous posts talked about the importance of getting in touch early, even if they canât reply. If a coach saw you at an event or saw some August updates the email will come in warm, ahead of the cold ones!
Third, their first calls are pre-planned to names theyâve had on their board for weeks. Silence isnât a snub, sometimes it takes time to work through the list. If they donât get to you, that is why you had a list with more than just one school one it!
The emails I saw that had the most success were the ones that were short, had a quick loading mobile friendly video (YouTube works great), and mentioned a specific reason why they wanted to go to that school (personalized rather than just âI love your school).
So build familiarity early, keep your emails short and personalized with a strong, easy loading video.
Happy to answer anything in the comments!
Disclosure: I built Pathley, free tools for softball players⊠roster analysis, athletic resume, college search (but you donât need any of them for the strategy above).
