You’re probably thinking, “I’ve written my first email to the coach. What else is there to talk about?” PLENTY! How to keep in touch with college baseball coaches to stay on their radar is one of the most important tasks you, as a baseball recruit, must maintain to keep the coach interested!
When my son, Ben, made the decision that he wanted to play ball in college, he knew he had to switch gears. He soon realized that commitment was the key to achieving this goal—commitment to school, the game and, most important, to himself. Not every high school baseball player has the luxury and talent to be recruited by a college coach by just playing the game. Most ball players have to get themselves recruited by being consistent in their efforts to keep the coach engaged.
After Ben wrote his first introduction letter, his follow-up letters to the same coaches were all centered on his travel season schedule. I helped Ben create a recruiting calendar (Yes, mom and dad, it’s ok for you to help your son in his recruiting process. A “team effort” is critical for successful results!). We used post-its in four different colors, because game dates, college choices and events changed all the time, so it made it easy to swap them around when necessary.
As soon as we received the travel schedule, Ben had a great reason to contact the coach for a second time. Here’s how we broke things down:
YELLOW – Travel Games
PINK – College camps/clinics or Showcases
BLUE – Send 1st follow-up email to the coach
ORANGE – Send 2nd follow-up email to the coach
The BLUE post-its were placed one month in advance of the game or showcase he was planning to attend. Ben copied and pasted his travel schedule right into the body of his email, letting coaches know when he’d be playing in their area.
The ORANGE post-its were placed one week prior to the game or showcase, reminding the coach once more that he would be coming, and asked if the coach or a member of his staff could be there to watch him play.
After every showcase or camp, Ben would also send a short email thanking the coach for his time and for the opportunity. It all adds up to communication toward potential opportunities, and you are the one to make those opportunities happen!
One more great tip! If anything significant changes in your favor, sharing the update with the coach is another great way to stay connected! For instance, after Ben’s summer travel season ended, we re-filmed his skills video and created a highlight video of his summer games, giving the coach another opportunity to see how much he improved over the summer.
