College Bound Soccer Players Four Week Recruiting Plan — Part 2: Emailing College Coaches
The college recruiting process during the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic has been on a virtual standstill, along with the wonderful game of soccer’s moratorium — and time is a critical issue for both collegiate coaches as well as college-bound players.
Read: Your Four Week Recruiting Plan — Part 1: Building Your Top 20 List
This is Part 2 of the step-by-step guide from America’s top scouting platform ScoutingZone on how to emerge from the Coronavirus with a clear plan that can work.
“The golden ticket to driving college coaches to your sideline is through emailing.”
Tara Parker, co-founder ScountingZone
Brooke Kentera and Tara Parker are the co-founders of ScoutingZone, the cutting-edge mobile app that has changed the college recruiting game. Official Scouting Partner of US Club Soccer, ENPL, US Youth Soccer, Surf Cup Sports, and countless other organizations, ScoutingZone is the only app that colleges actually pay for.
“As we all navigate these uncertain times, we wanted to do our part in ensuring college-bound players can keep their recruiting journey on track,” said Tara Parker. “We have put together a detailed 4-Week Recruiting Plan for players to follow — this is a four-step plan, you can do one step every week.”
“In times like this, when you are unable to connect with coaches on the field, it’s super important that you are still pressing forward with recruiting and connecting with coaches off the field,” said Kentera. “Remember, college coaches have a lot more time to spend in front of their computers at the moment… now is a great time to get in front of them!”
Read: BEST ADVICE EVER ON CREATING A GREAT SOCCER HIGHLIGHT VIDEO on what makes a great Soccer Recruiting Highlight Video: The Worst Mistakes & Best Tips
Youth Soccer Players’ Recruiting Plan Step # 2: Emailing College Coaches
Your week 2 objective is to start connecting with college coaches that are on your Top 20 list.
Email. Email. Email.
Remember, they are hunkered down too and welcome recruits reaching out to them.
This “downtime” is a HUGE opportunity to make an impact.
Think about it… right before a big tournament coaches receive hundreds of emails. Today, probably only receiving a few per day. You can make an impact and stand out more by emailing today and they actually have the time to open all their emails now!
Brooke & Tara’s Advice on Emailing College Coaches:
- Email is personalized: When coaches receive an email from a recruit, they want to know that it is NOT a copy/paste to every coach across the country. There should be something personal to show genuine interest.
- Keep it brief, yet informative, authentic, AND personal.
- Tell them why you are interested in attending their college and being a part of their team!
- Players should write the email not the Parent: Coaches want to hear from you; not from your parents or via a database email system.
- Also, make sure your email address is professional (your name and grad year is the best if possible) (ex. NO: partygirl@hotmail.com YES: Aubrey.Jones2023@gmail.com)
- Include Your Upcoming Tournaments/Games: When things return to normal and we all get back on the field (yippee can’t wait!), you can include when/where you will be playing next and game details.
- Interested College Major: Many schools have very specialized majors so coaches will narrow their player search to those specific majors.
- GPA: Noting your GPA is always important… especially if it’s stellar! Most highly academic schools aren’t able to recruit a player lower than their school GPA standard (Ex: 3.6+).
- If you DO have a stellar GPA it can be advantageous to the soccer program because perhaps you would qualify for an academic scholarship instead of having to use the soccer scholarship money.
- SZ Profile Link: Always include your SZ Player Profile weblink. This your “soccer resume” and will give coaches a quick glance at your total player profile, awards & accolades, academics, and highlight video (you can include multiple videos in your SZ profile!!).
✔️ Your To-Do’s:
- Send one email to every college program within your Top 20 list.
- Create a folder within your email account labeled “recruiting emails” and save your sent emails there so that you can keep track and properly follow-up.
- Do you need help with compiling college coach emails? If you find yourself spending time searching for college coaches’ emails…you always have the option to upgrade your account to SZ OwnTheZone Package (just log in to your SZ Player Account and click: Join). You can track your Top College List and have access to college coach email addresses.
NEXT: Step 3 — SCOUTINGZONE’S FOUR WEEK COLLEGE RECRUITING PLAN – STEP 3 HIGHLIGHT VIDEO
