The Coronavirus is having a significant effect on many different aspects of life including the college recruiting process. High school soccer players unable to play on a field may be getting anxious about missed on-field recruiting opportunities.

Despite being unable to play, there are a number of steps you can take to improve your chances of getting recruited in the long run. To help anxious soccer players, Future 500 is going to be running a ‘Recruiting When Not On a Field’ content series. This week we are going to be talking about the best templates and tips for emailing college coaches while at home.

Using a great sample email to a college coach is important because emailing college coaches is a vital component of the college recruiting process. Coaches receive thousands of emails every year and because of this it is important to email coaches in a way that will help you to stand out and get a response. In a survey of NCAA coaches, 98% of respondents listed ‘Personal Emails’ as a preferred method of communication. College coaches have a limited amount of time to spend reading and responding to emails. They will go through their inbox and quickly determine which emails are worth their time. Impersonal emails and messages from recruiting services often get deleted, as do unprofessional, poorly crafted emails.

When you are emailing college coaches, write an email that you would like to receive yourself. If you don’t put any time into writing your email, don’t expect a college coach to put any time into reading it. Writing a high-quality, personalized email to each college coach is more labor-intensive than copy and pasting the same email to a ton of coaches. However, the extra time and effort that you spend when emailing college coaches will enable you to start productive conversations with the coaches at your Best Fit schools. Below is a sample email to a college coach to send when first reaching out.

Sample Email To College Coach: Introduction Email Template

For the following email examples, Zlatan Ibrahimović, a 2020 soccer recruit, will be emailing Coach Smith, Head Men’s Soccer Coach at ACA University in Pennsylvania. Zlatan already has a Highlight Video and Student-Athlete resume, so he wants to introduce himself to Coach Smith and inform him of his interest in ACA University. Let’s take a look at Zlatan’s well-written email:

Subject Line: Zlatan Ibrahimović | Forward | Class of 2020

Dear Coach Smith,

My name is Zlatan Ibrahimović and I am a 2020 Forward from Los Angeles, California. I play for the LA Galaxy Academy and attend LA Public School.

I am reaching out to let you know of my interest in ACA University and your program. Congratulations on making the NCAA tournament again last year and winning the Atlantic Conference for the second straight year. I watched a few of your games last season via Live Stream and really liked your system and style of play.

I have family on the east coast, so ACA’s location really appeals to me. Also, I enjoy Math/Science and would love to know more about your highly ranked Engineering Program.

Please take a look at my short highlight video and let me know if you think I would be a good fit for your team: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4faVkCbRG8

I have attached my Student Athlete Résumé to this email and I have filled out your Recruiting Questionnaire. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thank you,

Zlatan Ibrahimović
2020, Forward
Los Angeles, CA
823-999-9999

Zlatan’s email is excellent because:

• He made his Grad year and position very clear in the subject line and first sentence of the email.
• He did his research on ACA University and told Coach Smith about his own program. He showed his interest by pointing out ACA’s Engineering program, noting the soccer program’s recent success, and mentioning that he watched the team via Live Stream.
• He included his highlight video link and attached his Student-Athlete Resume to the email so that Coach Smith can quickly reference his athletic/academic info.
• He put his cell number, city, state, grad year, and position in the email signature.
• The email does not take longer than 30 seconds to read but yet still has all the necessary information.
• The tone of the email is formal, yet conversational.

 

If Zlatan does not hear back from the coach within 7-10 days, he can follow up with another email, such as the one below.

Sample Email To College Coach: Follow-up Email

Here is a good example of a follow up email that Zlatan can send to Coach Smith if he does not hear back from him after the first email:

Subject Line: Follow up – Zlatan Ibrahimović

Hi Coach Smith,

I hope you’ve been doing well. I just wanted to follow up on the email that I sent you last week. Did you have a chance to watch my highlight video? If not, here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4faVkCbNG8&t=181s

I would really appreciate your feedback as ACA University is one of my top schools. I have attached my Student-Athlete Résumé to this email and I have filled out your Recruiting Questionnaire. Please let me know if I can get you any more information.

Thank you,

Zlatan Ibrahimović
823-999-9999

This sample email to the college coach is much shorter than the first but it serves the purpose of:

• Reminding Coach Smith to watch Zlatan’s highlight video
• Reiterating that Zlatan is very interested in ACA University and would like feedback on the next steps of ACA’s recruiting process.
• Displaying that Zlatan is capable of writing a professional email and cares enough to follow up after not hearing back.

 

Just like in the previous sample email, Zlatan can follow up with the coach if he does not hear back in 7-10 days. These two email templates or examples will assist you in emailing college coaches in a personalized and professional manner which will help you stand out from the crowd and begin the recruiting journey with the schools on your targeted list.