How to Email College Coaches

One of the most asked questions we get is how to email a college coach. Sending an introductory email to a college coaches can get your foot in the door with a program you’re interested in and give a coach the opportunity to conduct their initial evaluation of you. However, emailing college coaches as a means to get discovered isn’t as effective as it was five years ago. Coaches are getting hundreds—if not thousands—of emails from recruits. Simply sending an email isn’t enough to get a coach’s attention. You need to create clear, concise emails with attention-grabbing subject lines to give yourself a chance at the coach opening your email, reading it and responding.

Before you start emailing college coaches, there are a few specific details you need to know first. Here’s a rundown of what we’ll be covering to help you better understand how to email college coaches:

How to email a college coach

Sending an email is one of the best ways to introduce yourself to a college coach. But reaching out to a coach you’ve never spoken to can be intimidating, and the problem is, many student-athletes struggle with what to say to college coaches. So, we’ve put together a few resources, including examples and templates, to help you feel more confident when emailing college coaches.

Here’s a quick rundown on how to write an email to a college coach:

• Craft a good subject line.
• Introduce yourself with the basic information college coaches want to know right away.
• Include eye-catching athletic and academic stats.
• Give an action item to the coach.
• State when you’ll follow up.

Crafting a subject line for college recruiting emails

When it comes to coach emails, the subject line is a critical piece. Without an eye-catching subject line, a coach won’t even open your perfectly crafted email. Before opening an email, college coaches want to know three things: who you are, where you’re from and how you can benefit their program. When crafting a subject line for college recruiting emails, be sure to include:

• Your graduation year
• Your sport position(s)
• Your location (city and state)
• A unique, or interesting fact about you. For example, do you have a lightning fast 40-yard dash time? Are you looking at an academic-focused school that will be impressed with your ACT score? If you compete in a sport in which club teams are really important, consider adding in your club team and/or the tournament you’ll be at next.

Subject line examples to use when emailing college coaches

Generic subject lines like “football recruit” or “looking to play for you” and even “talented high school football prospect” are going to blend into the background of the coach’s inbox. Including numbers and key stats about yourself, such as your graduation year and sport position, can really make an impact. Remember that the more personalized your subject line, the better chances you have for a coach to read your email – and better yet, respond!

Take a look at a few examples of well-crafted subject lines:

• 2023 Linebacker, 6’2” 220lbs, 4.6 40yd dash
• 2022 LH Pitcher, 90 MPH FB, 33 ACT
• 2024 from IL, 23.25-second 50 free
• 2025 Center-mid, Premier Academy, MLK Tourney schedule attached
• 2024 OPP, 9’8″ APP, Premier VB Academy, video attached

What to say when emailing a college coach

You’ve laid down the groundwork, now it’s time to write the email! When emailing college coaches, the goal is to respectfully introduce yourself, your skills and interest in being recruited. So, as you think about how to write an email to a college coach, visualize an inverted pyramid.

The top section of the email is where you need to grab the coach’s attention. This is a great time to show coaches that you’ve done research on their program in about 2-3 sentences. Use a recent stat about the team that interested you, or explain why you’d like to play for them.

The middle section of the email is perhaps the most important when it comes to emailing college coaches. This is where you give a little more information about yourself, including athletic and academic standouts, to tell coaches why you would be a good fit for their program. Include the following information in the middle section of your coach email:

• Your general information: Name, graduation year, location, high school and club name
  • Academics: GPA, test scores, if they would be important information for the coach you’re emailing.
  • Athletics: Sport specific stats and relevant measurables.
  • Contact information: your phone number and email, as well as the contact information for your high school, or club coaches

The bottom section of the email should be giving college coaches a specific next step, such as letting the coach know you will be giving them a call at a specific date and time or inviting them to come see you compete.

Whatever you do, avoid sending mass, generic emails out to all the coaches you want to contact when emailing college coaches. The coach will know if you took the time to personalize your email, and it will make a difference. Coaches want to recruit players who are genuinely interested in their program—most don’t have the time and resources to recruit an athlete who is not likely to commit to their school.

How to start an email to a college coach

Like your subject line, your opening paragraph needs to be attention-grabbing and personalized. The opening sentence, or two, should be different for every coach email you send – this is where your research comes into play! The information you gather about the school and sports program will dictate what you say to college coaches.

If you’re looking at academically-focused schools, lead with how impressed you are by their academic record, or mention specific players who have recently won honor awards. If you’re sending emails to college coaches with a winning record, point out that you’d love to be part of such a successful legacy. Here are a few examples of how to start an email to a college coach:

How much information do I need to include in my email to college coaches?

For an introductory coach email, you don’t need to include your whole history. A good rule of thumb, when emailing college coaches, is to keep messages short and to the point. Tease a few key stats that you think that coach would be interested in knowing. Are you the ideal height and weight for your position? Include that. Do you have an outstanding GPA and test scores and you’re emailing an academically-focused coach? Include that.

At the end of your emails to college coaches, there is an important item you don’t want to forget to include. It’s a small piece (at the bottom section of the inverted pyramid), but extremely important!

• Tell the coach what you’ll be doing next. If you’re planning on following up the email with a call, let them know to expect a call from you in the next few days. If you’d like to visit their campus, tell them you will give them a call to schedule a time to connect. You don’t need to use generic language like, “If you’re interested, feel free to call, email or text me.” If the coach is interested, they will contact you. Instead, tell them the next step you’re going to take, and then what they need to do in response.
• Add the contact information for your current coaches. This includes your high school or club coach, personal trainers, and anyone else that you have worked with for your sport. Whoever you put down as a reference, be sure to let them know ahead of time so they can be prepared to speak on your behalf.
• Provide a link to your NCSA recruiting profile where the coach can find your highlight video, all your stats and your personal statement.

Template for emailing college coaches

When it comes to coach emails, it can be easy to fall into the trap of copy-paste-send (especially when you’re contacting a lot of schools!). But athletes who do this have lower chances of getting their email seen. It’s important to provide coaches with the information they want to see but you must do your own research and personalize each email to the school and coach you’re addressing if you want your email to get noticed.

Use this template as a guide for sending introductory emails to college coaches:

6 sample emails to college coaches

Below, you’ll find 6 sample letters from athletes to coaches. These examples will help give athletes a better understanding of the various recruiting topics they need to cover when writing emails to college coaches.

• Athletic-focused
• Academic-focused
• Walking on
• Visits
• Follow up to camp invites
• Follow up to request to complete a recruiting questionnaire

Sample recruiting email to college coach: Athletic-focused

When to send: Student-athletes who have a strong athletic background and competitive stats should send this type of introduction email to college coaches to highlight how they can make an impact on the team’s performance.

What to include: Key athletic stats, measurables and awards; highlight video, skills video and/or game footage; schedule for upcoming competitions.

Example:

Sample email to college coach: Academic-focused

When to send: Student-athletes who have a strong academic background or are looking to attend a high-academic school with a competitive admissions program should send this type of introduction email to college coaches to highlight their academic interests.

What to include: Key academic information, including GPA, test scores and notable academic honors; Interested area of study or major.

Example:

How to email a college coach about walking on

When to send: For many programs, walk-on spots can be just as competitive as scholarship spots. Student-athletes who are not being recruited by a school and do not have a scholarship offer from the coach, but have interest in being a walk-on should send this type of introduction email to college coaches.

What to include: Why you want to be a walk-on recruit for their program; include your highlight or skills video, game footage, key athletic and academic stats.

Example:

How to email a college coach about a visit

When to send: Student-athletes who are in the process of being recruited by a school and is interested in visiting campus should send this type of email to college coaches. Wait to bring up a campus visit until after you’ve had an initial phone conversation with the coach and can get a better idea about where you stand on their recruiting list and know whether it’s a good fit for you.

What to include: Available dates to visit campus, who will be attending and what you’d like to accomplish.

Example:

Follow up email to camp invite

When to send: Student-athletes who receive an invitation to a camp should send a follow up letter as soon as possible. Let the coach know you received the invite and whether you will be attending.

What to include: Call out that you received the invite and whether you will attend. If you are attending, let the coach know what you’re looking forward to most about the camp.

Example:

Follow up email to recruiting questionnaire request

When to send: Student-athletes who receive a recruiting questionnaire request from a college coach should send a follow up email to the coach promptly. Always let the coach know you received the request and have completed, or will be completing the questionnaire.

What to include: Call out that you received the request to fill out the questionnaire and when you completed it; Include links to your highlight video and recruiting profile and game schedule.

Example:

The best time to email college coaches

Athletes and parents often ask, what is the best time to email college coaches? Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer that will fit every coach’s preference. So, when it comes to emailing coaches, athletes need to think like a coach. Keep these three things in mind before hitting send.

• Is it season? Coaches are extremely busy in season with practices and games, but that doesn’t mean you can’t email college coaches during this time. Be mindful of their game schedule
• What time is practice? Ask coaches what time they practice during the week so you have a better idea of when they will be available to read your email.
• How late is too late? When it comes to communicating with college coaches, a good rule of thumb is to avoid sending any communications between 11p.m. and 6a.m in their time zone.

B.J. Dunne, head basketball coach at Gettysburg College, and his coaching staff aim to answer athlete emails in the morning or before their 4 p.m. practice. Hear more on the best time to email coaches below.

How to go about sending film to college coaches

When it comes to sending film to college coaches, follow these steps:

1. Upload the athlete’s highlight video to their NCSA Recruiting Profile and YouTube to increase exposure.
2. If this is the first time the athlete is reaching out to a coach, draft an introductory email with the recruit’s basic information, a description of why they are interested in the program and a link to their Recruiting Profile and highlight video.
3. If the recruit has already been in contact with the coaching staff, include a link to new highlight videos in an email about the athlete’s latest athletic achievements and a schedule of upcoming tournaments, showcases, etc.
4. The right person to send your video to will vary depending on the program and division level. Research the program to see if they have position-specific coaches or a recruiting coordinator and include them in the email, as well as the head coach. NCSA’s college coach search feature gives student-athletes access to coach contact information, including email addresses and phone numbers, from every school across the U.S. This resource helps student-athletes save time and focus their energy on contacting and building relationships with coaches.

Read more: How to get coaches to view your highlight video

Who to email besides the head coach

In some cases, emailing the head coach is in the athlete’s best interest. But depending on your sport and division level, you may have better luck contacting someone other than the head coach. Larger sports programs typically have multiple coaches and coordinators on staff, which can make it difficult for student-athletes to know who to email first.

If the program has a recruiting coordinator, start there. This is oftentimes the best person to send your introductory email to as they oversee all things recruiting for the program. If there is not a designated recruiting coordinator, look for a position coach or an assistant coach. No matter who you contact, be specific with your coach content and address their name.

Learn more about the different roles in coaching and how they might play a factor in your recruiting.

How to get college coach emails using NCSA’s Message Center

Another great tool to find and communicate with college coaches is the NCSA Message Center. Users can search NCSA database for the coach contact information of any college, directly through the app – which means less time searching the internet for coach email addresses and phone numbers. With the help of your Recruiting Coach, create and manage custom email templates and sort your incoming college coach emails by camp invites, requests and more. Imagine having all your coach emails organized and in one place.

Download the NCSA app in the App Store or on Google Play to get notifications when coaches message you.

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What to do before emailing college coaches

Feeling more confident in how to write an email to a college coach? Great! Before you hit send, there are a few things you’ll want to make sure you do. Remember, a good coach email can put you on their radar, but if you aren’t prepared for a coach to research you (or even better, respond!) then, you can quickly fall off their recruiting list.

Here are three things to do before you email college coaches:

• Clean up social media. If a coach is interested in learning more about you, they will look at your social media. Do a quick sweep of your social media accounts to make sure there is no content that a coach would find offensive. You should have already included your Twitter or Instagram handle in the signature of your coach email – and if not, they will search for you. Learn more about how to use social media for recruiting.
• Update your highlight video. Sending a highlight video link in your introductory email to college coaches is a great way to get a coach’s evaluation of your athletic skills. You’ll want to use your most recent highlight video so the coach can make an informed decision. Learn more about how to create a highlight video.
• Talk to your current coaches. At the end of your coach emails, it’s a good idea to list the contact information of your current coaches. Be sure to let them know before you email college coaches, so they can prepare to talk about your coachability, academics, and athletic skills. Also, talk with your current coaches about what your goals are for playing sports in college. Learn more about how to be coachable.

Before you send, edit, edit, edit

You’re so close to sending that email, but before you do, run spell check and re-read. A great way to catch strange wording or grammar errors is to read your email out loud. When you hear a phrase that sounds wrong, you’ll know you need to fix it. You can also cut and paste your email into Google Translate and listen for any errors.

Still not sure if the email is error free? Have your parents take a look to double check. Make sure that you have included all your contact information, your call to action and a link to your full recruiting profile

Congratulations—now you know how to email college coaches, from the research to the subject line, from address to the email body! But your work is not done yet.