Ready to email college coaches? Great! But before you do, let’s go over a few important pointers about how to structure your email so that you come across and present yourself in the best way. We all know first impressions matter, so make sure you don’t blow your chance of becoming a recruit and follow these easy steps on writing a well-put-together email to a college soccer coach. Don’t be intimated about sending an email, the coaches want to hear from you!
HOW TO MAKE YOUR EMAIL STAND OUT FOR COLLEGE SOCCER COACHES
College Soccer coaches are swamped with thousands of emails from players who are wanting to play for them. Because of this, you really have to make an effort to have your email stand out so the coach will be more likely to click and read.
SNAPPY HEADING – write your position, height, weight and one thing that you think will make you stand out from all the other recruits. You want to make your heading as desirable as you can so the coach will stop, read your heading and want to click into your email.
Remember, the whole point of your email is to get your information in front of a college coach so he can evaluate you to see if you are a potential recruit. To do this the college coaches need to click!!
HOW TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO A COLLEGE SOCCER COACH
You have successfully got the college coaches to click into your email! Now you have to tell them who you are and why they should be interested in recruiting you.
BIO INFORMATION & STATS – you want to start with the basics immediately so the coach knows who the email is from:
- First and last name
- Where you’re from
- High school you graduated from
- Your year of graduation
- Your position(s) with height and weight
- Your athletic and academic achievements which make you more desirable
HOW TO SELL YOURSELF AS A RECRUIT TO COLLEGE SOCCER COACHES
Firstly you want to demonstrate that you have checked out their soccer program and school and tell them the reasons why you really want to play for their school. You can also mention here if you have been following them on social media, like twitter, and say that you really like what they have been doing recently since you follow them on Twitter. This will show the coach that you’re not just mindlessly emailing them. You want to come across genuine in your email. Don’t just make something up, use a real tweet you remember or a game you watched.
TIP: College coaches have been doing this for a long time and can tell when something is made up. You don’t have to do this. Just highlight your best attributes and be polite. Manners go a long way!
SELLING YOURSELF AS A PLAYER – now you have the previous sections done, you should focus on going into more detail about yourself as a player. This is the part where you tell the college coach why you are a good fit for the program. Here you can include the following types of information:
- Game stats (best game, averages etc.)
- Weight-room stats (1-rep max, max weight lifts etc.)
- Athletic test scores (running times, 10-yard dash, bleep test etc.)
- SAT/ACT scores (if the school still requires this, check if they do first!)
- Club awards you have received (MVP, Championships etc.)
- Outstanding academic awards (coaches love players who are great in the classroom)
End this section with a link to your most recent soccer highlight video.
HOW TO END AN EMAIL TO A COLLEGE SOCCER COACH
Let’s finish on a high note! You want to end your email strong. So how should you do this? The best way is to end with your contact information. After all, the whole purpose is to get the coach interested so they will reply/contact you back. You can include the following:
- Your cell number (let them know if you are on WhatsApp, Telegram etc.)
- Your twitter handle (@JackBridge2024)
- Your parents contact number/email
- Your high school soccer coach email
- Your Club soccer coach email
TIP: You can also give them a list of dates when you are playing so they can come out to see you in person if they want.
Once you have included your contact information, inform the coach that you intend to follow up with them in a weeks time. This will show them that you are seriously interested in attending their program and what ever you do, do not forget to follow up! Schedule a reminder for this in your phone so you will get notified on the day. This will demonstrate to the coach that you can organize yourself and stick to what you say.
EMAIL TEMPLATE TO SEND TO COLLEGE SOCCER COACHES
Here is a template for you to use. ALWAYS personalize your email to each coach you contact. Coaches can tell if you’re just sending a generic ‘copy & paste’ email. It is advisable not to do this as it can hurt your chances of being recruited.
EMAIL TEMPLATE:
Hello Coach [insert the last name of the college coach you are contacting],
My name is [your full name] I am from [hometown/state]. I’m a [your position/height/weight], class of [graduate year] at [high school]. After following you on social media [you can say Twitter here if you are a Twitter follower] and doing some research on your school and program, I wanted to contact you about playing for you.
As a soccer player I have [list your athletic achievements that will make you stand out and show how great you are].
As a student-athlete I have [list any outstanding academic achievements you have made over your high school years and include your GPA and test scores].
What I really liked about the school was [write a short paragraph on what the research you did on the school and what it has that makes you interested in playing for the program].
After reading about your soccer program, what stood out to me the most was [write a short paragraph on what you like about the soccer program and why it makes you want to play for the team].
I think I would be a great fit to the program because [write a short paragraph about what you can bring to the program, what your strengths are, what your good at, how you can make a difference on and off the field].
Here is my most recent soccer highlight video: [Insert link]
You can reach me via this email and at the following contact numbers:
- My cell: [insert your number]
- [Mom/Dad] cell: [insert their number]
My coaches said that they would be happy to talk with you if you wanted to speak with them. Here are their contact numbers:
- High School Coach: [insert number]
- Club Soccer Coach: [insert number]
I appreciate you taking the time to read my email. I have attached my game schedule. If you have time, it would be great if you could come out and watch me in person. I will give you a call a week today on the [date and time you’re going to call] to talk to you more about my interest in attending [the schools name].
Thank you and I look forward to speaking with you soon Coach!
[Your name]