Your Guide to Texting College Coaches
Wondering how to text a college coach? If you’re waiting for communication from a coach, make sure to check your text messages too. College coaches can send unlimited texts to recruits starting either June 15 after an athlete’s sophomore year or September 1 of their junior year (check your sport in the NCAA recruiting calendar).
Texting college coaches is convenient – and a more casual way to interact with college coaches. But they’re still important communications with a potential future coach – so it’s important to keep in mind the best practices in how to text and respond to a college coach.
Quick Links
NCAA rules on texting college coaches
The NCAA recruiting rules state that coaches can only correspond with recruits through a private means of communication. For example, coaches aren’t allowed to post on your Facebook or Twitter feed or engage with you in online discussion forums. That makes texts and emails great forms of digital communication since they are private.
For most sports, D1 and D2 coaches can engage in digital forms of communication (like texting!) starting June 15 after your sophomore year of high school or September 1 of your junior year.
Is it okay to text college coaches?
Even though you’ve progressed far enough in your recruiting to get to this point, you are still a recruit, and the coach is still evaluating you. When it comes to what to text a college coach, or if you’re not sure a text is appropriate, ask your current coach or parents to give a read before you send it.
How does texting work in recruiting?
Usually, texting will start further along in the recruiting process, after the first or second email, and often after your first call with the coach. Here’s a look at the communication flow:
- Send an intro email telling the coaching staff a little bit about you and why you’re interested in their program.
- Set up your first phone call to establish a connection.
- Have first phone call with the coach to get to know one another, ask any questions you may have and answer their quesitons.
- Exchange numbers and ask if it’s okay to text. Texting can be an easy and quick way to communicate with the coach.
- Text coach with updates when necessary, like inviting them to a big tournament, sharing an athletic or academic accomplishment or letting them know your summer sports camp plans.
How to text a college Coach
If you’re receiving text messages from college coaches, it probably means you are well-established on their recruiting list! Texting college coaches is more casual than talking on the phone or sending an email. But believe it or not, texting etiquette is a thing.
Texting guidelines for student-athletes:
- Address a coach’s first or last name. For example, “Hi Coach Smith,” or “Hello Coach Lisa!”.
- Sign your coach text message with your full name. Coaches receive tons of texts from recruits and might not always save their contacts. Make it easy for them to recognize your number!
- Don’t text a coach if you haven’t asked for permission to text. Sometimes, a coach will initiate sending a text first. If not, be sure to ask if it would be alright to text them for updates either in an email or phone call.
- Don’t send coach text messages between 11p.m. and 8a.m. in their time zone. Even if a coach texts you at midnight, wait until the next morning to respond.
- Keep it professional. It’s ok to let your personality show, but you shouldn’t text a college coach like you text a friend. Your focus on texting college coaches should be to develop a personal relationship, show interest in their program and share notable updates.
If you’ve already established a texting relationship, continue to share regular updates via text to keep your name top of mind.
What to say when texting college coaches
Showing your character in texts is more important than stats. The coach is going to look up your stats or ask questions if they want to know. Focus on showing the coach you are interested in their school and care about playing for them.
When texting college coaches, start out your text with something about the coach or the coach’s team. Show the coach you’ve done your research and then say something about you. A few ways to kick off your text to a coach:
- Congratulate them on a recent win
- Tell them you were impressed by a recent stat you just saw about their program
- Explain that you’re looking forward to watching the team this season
- Thank the coach for looking at your highlight video, coming to see you compete, etc.
Close out your text with something about you. Remember, you’re trying to see if you’d be a good fit for their program and that includes how well you get along with the coaches! You can tell them about a big win, or invite them to watch you compete. Here are a few text examples:
Before you send that text, go through this checklist
While you may be used to firing off texts to your friends, it pays to take a second or third look over your text to a college coach. Download our texting checklist to double check before you hit the send button.
Conclusion
Just like with other types of coach communications, your texts need to be professional, positive, well-thought out and show the coach that you’re interested in their program. Of course, texting should not be your first method of communicating with a coach. Remember, always begin your relationship with a college program by first calling or emailing the coaching staff to introduce yourself. Check out our guides to calling and emailing coaches to help you get started.