Recruiting Mail

I want to talk a little bit about recruiting mail, what it means, the different types, and how a university probably heard about you causing them to send it.

When you begin getting mail from schools it will probably arrive in your head coach's school mail box. It's not uncommon for high school coaches to check their mailboxes very INFREQUENTLY so after you get the first stack of letters from your coach...you may want to check with him on a weekly basis to see if you have gotten anymore.

The first type of letters you are likely to receive will be "form letters" that schools send out to hundreds of prospects. You will recognize these letters by their lack of hand written signatures or hand written notes. Most likely a graduate assistant or recruiting assistant at that school has gotten your name from an all county, all state, or recruiting service list that they subscribe to. They really don't know who you are despite what the form letter may say, but you have somehow made their list and they are now trying to find out more about you.

Another type of mail you will receive in the beginning of the recruiting process is a prospect questionnaire. This is how a school gets your contact information (home address, phone number, etc...) after you fill these out and mail them back...you will start getting letters mailed directly to your home. YOU SHOULD FILL ALL QUESTIONNAIRES OUT AND MAIL THEM BACK.

There is a section on every questionnaire that asks what your top 5 schools are. I suggest that you always list the school that is sending you the questionnaire as #1. Every school has an ego, and if you mail the form back in and you rank them very low or don't list them at all...they may assume you have no interest in them, and they may end contact with you at that point. Your goal is to get as many scholarship offers as you can, and god forbid you list 5 schools that never offer only to alienate the one that would have. DON'T BURN ANY BRIDGES. Play the game to your advantage even if it means stroking the ego of a program you have no interest in. You never know which programs will offer and which ones won't.

When filling out these questionnaires make sure to be honest, but there is nothing wrong with adding an inch to your height (if you're an inch under what they like) and maybe 10 pounds to your weight if you're a little lighter then they like. I'm not telling you to be a liar and really stretch the truth a mile...just an inch or so. Odds are you'll grow at least an inch before you graduate, and put on at least 10 pounds. If you don't think colleges do this themselves then look at their official rosters....look at a player's height, weight, and 40 time...then compare those numbers to that player's NFL combine numbers. You might be amazed how much those players shrunk and how much slower they got when the NFL officially measured them! Hint...Hint

The next type of mail you may get will be hand signed or hand written letters, cards, or notes. It's a safe bet that the program sending these actually knows who you are, and they have a sincere interest in you. It's a good sign when you get these types of letters.

I suggest keeping a list of every school sending you mail. I also suggest that you call the coach from that school that recruits your area, and thank them for the letter. Touch base with them and let them know that you appreciate their interest, and look forward to learning more about their program. They may or may not know who you are when you call BUT you have made contact with them and put your name in their head AND you have let them know that you're interested in their program. You can call a coach whenever, and as often as you like BUT the coaches are limited to when and how often they can call you. You can look on the NCAA link to the right, and look up the "recruiting calender" to see when coaches are allowed to do what.

Whenever you talk to a coach...keep a few notes on your conversation so when they do call you a month or so down the road...you can look at your notes, and reference them during your conversation. A coach may be very impressed when he calls you and you ask him "How's your daughter doing? I know you were excited about her softball game last time we talked." The coach will think, "This kid really has an interest in us if he remembers what we talked about a month ago." Again...play the game to your advantage.

This covers the three main types of mail you will get during the recruiting process, and some tips on how to respond to them. If you have a question post a comment or email me at: RecruitingInsider.Mark@gmail.com