For volleyball recruits, knowing what to say in a text to a college coach and when is scary and a little overwhelming! I remember a player I was working with who’s draft email to a college coach had “BTW” and “LMK” in the body of the email and I had to let her know that players should keep emails more formal and not like you are texting.
But, the truth is you shouldn’t text a college coach like you text your friends either!
I want to provide you with some good reasons to text college coaches, the etiquette involved and times when you should NOT text coaches.
Some general guidelines when texting with college coaches:
THE DO’S…
DO always get permission (via email or phone call) to text a college coach for any reason before doing so.
DO text a college coach ONLY if they have texted you first to introduce themselves and/or with a question. If this is out of the blue and you have never emailed them or communicated with them before, they probably got your cell number from a data base like University Athlete and that’s OK.
DO text a college coach to set up a phone call, if you have been emailing before and they asked you in an email to text them about setting up a call.
DO text a college coach if you have a phone call scheduled. Text them 30 minutes prior to the phone call to remind them you are looking forward to speaking with them in 30 minutes.
DO always sign your texts to a college coach with your full name. They receive texts from many players and probably don’t input all of the player’s names into their contacts, so they won’t recognize your number.
DO text a college coach the day you are arriving on a visit and let them know you made it to the campus and city. Ask them before the visit if you can touch base via text, if you have not already been texting with them.
DO text a college coach thanking them for a phone call or for the visit to campus (if you have texted them in the past)….AND ALSO be sure to send a nice email to this same coach and CC the rest of the coaches, so they ALL know you are a gracious and thankful player that follows through.
DO address a college coach when texting as “Hi Coach Smith,” or “Hey Coach Tina!” using “Coach” and their first or last name.
DO be the last one texting in the back and forth texting string with a college coach. Always be the last one who answered or texted to acknowledge receipt of their text. It shows care and responsibility.
DO keep texts upbeat in tone, but short and to the point with college coaches as a way to communicate easily.
THE DON’TS…
DON’T text a college coach out of the blue (if you get their cell phone somehow) with no prior emailing or contact. Always, always, always email a coach and their staff first before another form of communication.
DON’T text a college coach, if you have been emailing back and forth and you are moving through the recruiting process, BUT you have never been given permission or asked if you can text them.
DON’T text a college coach with any abbreviations (like LMK, LOL, BTW etc.) and stay away from emojis. Keep it professional, even though it’s texting, as you can’t go wrong with a professional approach.
DON’T get into long conversations via text with a college coach or get emotional or personal in any way. Again, keep it professional throughout the recruiting process. Ask for a phone call or virtual meeting to talk further about their program and the possible fit to get to know them better instead of a lot of texting.
DON’T talk to your teammates about texting with a college coach in the recruiting process, unless they are asking you for advice. Keep it between you, your parents and your coaches as part of your recruiting process.
DON’T text a college coach during the tournament day when you are competing. If a college coach asks you to text them with how the day went, wait until you’re done playing. You should be 100% focused on playing well and winning, if you are texting with a coach, it shows a lack of focus by you. I’ve had some coaches ask players to text them what court they are on, but I don’t like that or think it’s necessary. The coach can look it up! I like the player to email or text the coach the day before (assuming they have already been texting) with the court number and schedule to be proactive and have another reason to contact the coach.
DON’T text a college coach before 8:00AM or after 9:00PM in their timezone. This is good etiquette and shows consideration of their time.
In general, talking on the phone and texting with college coaches are the next step after you have established communication via email. Also, that you have determined they need your position in your grad year. If this has not been established, then you won’t be moving forward with phone calls and texting. As always, please feel free to contact me with questions via email (dianne@proactivevolley.com) or message me on Instagram or FaceBook @proactivevolley.
I hope you have found this information helpful as you work through the college volleyball recruiting process. HERE is checklist to help you! Stay strong and stay positive…you got this!