Updated 3/15/2020
With the rapid rise of COVID-19 around the United States, college sports have come to a screeching halt. Winter and Spring NCAA activities have been canceled, and the NCAA instituted an emergency "dead period" through April 15th (for NCAA DI and DII schools). During this time, coaches are not allowed to have any in-person contact with prospective student athletes off campus or do any in-person scouting.
This does not mean that college coaches will stop planning and finding other ways to connect with prospective student-athletes. Neither should you!
There are a few things high school athletes can do during this time to maximize the current situation. Connecting with college coaches via email is at the top of the list.
Here are five reasons why you should be leveraging email to communicate with college coaches over the next few weeks:
1- Better Chances of Your Emails Being Viewed
Local and federal authorities are urging "social distancing". Between that and NCAA activities being canceled, coaches will have more time on their computers, which means more time to review your emails and connect electronically. In fact, many coaches have told us this is exactly how they will be using this "down time". Now could be a unique time to build a connection that otherwise may have taken repeated emails and follow-ups.
Free Guide: How To Email a College Coach
Download our free guide & checklist for sending the perfect email to college coaches.
2- More Time for Watching Your Video
While the emergency NCAA restriction bans in-person scouting, coaches can still watch video of you playing. If you have a highlight video, or any footage of you playing, now is the time to fire it up and include it in your email. With the increased down time, coaches may have more time to give an in-depth watch to prospective-recruit videos and offer feedback.
3- Updating Coaches On Your Schedule
As of right now, spring high school seasons, club seasons, and tournaments are either on hold or cancelled. Whether you have an existing relationship with a coach, or you were hoping a coach would see you play in an upcoming tournament, it is vital to proactively communicate about your schedule. A coach won't expect you to have answers about when your next tournament will resume, but it is important to be proactive about updating them (and letting them know when you expect to update again).
4- Plan Ahead for Your Summer
With all NCAA events and high school events postponed and potentially canceled for this spring, now is a great time to plan ahead for your summer schedule. College coaches use summer ID Camps and Showcase Camps to identify players. Use your email communication to let coaches know which camps you’ll be attending (you can view EXACT's summer camp schedules here). .
5- Show That You Are Still Engaged
Showing college coaches that you are still engaged, still finding ways to train and still finding ways to better yourself can separate you from the pack. If you have an existing relationship with a coach, update them on at-home training exercises you'll be doing, a new hobby you've taken up, or any other activity you are doing to be productive. Show them your work ethic and resilience!
We don't know how long this will last, but eventually things will return to some level of normalcy. Use this down-time to get ahead, so when things do return to normal, you are ahead of the curve.
Here are a links to other articles on how to make highlight videos for baseball and soccer!
Baseball: https://exactsports.com/blog/how-to-make-a-baseball-highlight-video/2020/03/11/
Soccer: https://exactsports.com/blog/how-to-make-a-soccer-highlight-video/2020/01/08/