GETTING STARTED

  SAT or ACT test scores (Dr. Naima SAT Scholarship available to non US Citizens)

• GPA: Each college require a minimum GPA 
• High School Transcripts
  • Need Core classes: 

  1.English2. Mathematics3. Science course (Biology, Physics, Chemistry)4.Social science5. Elective eg: Mathematics, History, Geography, English, Religious course 

• Letters of Recommendation
• Essay
• College Interview*
• Eligibility *

 First, it is very important to recognize the difference between Division I and Division III at the college level.  

For Division I, if the active recruiters are not already contacting you then it is most likely that your athletic talents are not at that competitive, athletic scholarship level. 

However, Division III is the largest division in college athletics and having small recruitment budgets and being without scholarships, these colleges may only learn about you if you tell them about yourself. 

 Once you have identified the type of college you would like to attend including the academic requirement and eligibility requirements, you can make a list of the things that are important to you as a potential freshman including:

• Location eg. New York vs Miami 
• Weather- Do these state has all 4 seasons eg. Pennsylvania (Let it SNOW) or Florida (Hurricane and HOT)
• Do they have your major/career field eg. Do they have engineer program or medicine program? 
• Diversity of the college, team or college eg. Majority white student’s vs mixed population vs high Caribbean population 
• Resources for international/minority students eg academic tutoring 
• Academic advisors to guide you to your majors 
• Cost to attend if not offered a full scholarship 
• Is the college accredited 
• Is this college and ALL girl eg Spellman or ALL boys eg. Morehouse 
• Do they provide assistance outside of tuition eg. Moving cost, funds for clothing, book allowances, stipends 
• Job opportunities on campus eg. Work as ana academic tutor, work in the IT department, work in the cafeteria or library etc. 

 Identify which colleges you are interested in, use their websites and REACT

• Research which conference they belong, team roster, academic programs eg majors provided 
• Evidence/Proof of your athletic abilities 
• Approach: After you have research the college and obtained videos of your athletic ability email addresses and phone number of coaches can be found online.
• Channel: There are 3 ways you contact coaches’ brief email (sample below), phone call and voicemail (ALWAYS leave a voicemail) and an attached academic and athletic résumé. 

 Frequently ask questions for incoming college students to coaches 

• Task/Strategy: How do you plan to rank programs and make a list of which colleges you  would like to attend:
  • Frequently ask questions for incoming college students to coaches 
• What would I need to do to earn a scholarship to your program?
• How many players are you recruiting at my position?
• What would I need to do to be evaluated by your staff?
• Who do I talk to about financial aid?
• When would be a good time to visit your campus?
• Does the coaching staff stress the importance of academics? All coaches understand the importance of academics, but how this question is answered will give you some insight on how important it is to each coach you talk with.
• What kind of academic support is available? Most colleges have academic counselors for athletes and many schools offer tutors for their players.
• Will my major be a problem with the athletic schedule? If you’ve decided on a major, the answer to this question might be an important factor in your college decision.
• What types of academic scholarships are available? Academic scholarships can really help athletes in the equivalency sports. Most coaching staffs are intimately familiar with the academic scholarships that might be available for qualified student-athletes.
• What is a typical day like for a player during the season? This is one of the best questions you can ask to decide if this program is right for you. If you have a chance, ask a current player this question also.
• How would you describe the team chemistry? Team chemistry is an important factor in your college experience and a team with good chemistry is generally successful.
• What are the off-season expectations for players? In college, training goes on all year long (including summers) and some coaches require the team to stay on campus during breaks.
• What are the current strengths and weaknesses of the team? This question should help you decide whether or not this program is a good fit for you. If your skills address a current weakness, you might be playing right away.

Questions you should NOT ask:

• How much scholarship money will you give me? Timing is everything. For example, if you were in a job interview, you wouldn’t walk into the first meeting and ask “So, how much money will I be making here?”. When it’s time to talk scholarship dollars, the coach will bring up the topic.
• Why do you need to talk to my current coach?? If you’re worried about a college coach talking to your current coach, you will have a difficult recruiting process no matter how good an athlete you are.
• Why haven’t you sent me the offer yet? I’m not sure why athletes ask this question, but they do. If a coach hasn’t sent an offer yet, they either aren’t ready to send it, or they aren’t going to send it.

This template does not guarantee responses from every college coach you reach out to. What it does guarantee though is that when it does land in the inbox of the college coach who’s been looking for an athlete like you, they’ll have everything they’ll need to know about you right there! i.e your email isn’t going into the trash bin! 

Instructions:

1. Input your personal info into the brackets, remove the brackets and highlighted text then copy and paste it to your email.

2. Feel free to add your own personal flavor to your recruitment email.

3. DO NOT mass email college coaches. Address each coach individually.

4. Don’t forget to actually attach the links and videos!

5. Share your results with me on Instagram @coachkristaforbes!

RECRUITMENT EMAIL

Subject Line:

Your Name | [Your Best Event] [PR] | [Your biggest athletic achievement] 

Body: 

Hi Coach [Insert Name Here] 

My name is [First name] [Last Name]. I’m a [year] and a [event Eg. Sprinter] from [high school] in [city], [state or country]. 

I do the [event 1], [event 2 (if applicable)] and [event 3 (if applicable)]. My PRs are [event 1 pr], [event 2 pr] and [event 3 pr] respectively. I’m [height] and [weight]. 

My SAT scores are [SAT Scores] with a [score] in reading and a [score] in math. (Feel free to add ACT scores in the same way if applicable. You can add both if you’d like.)

I’m really interested in your program. (This is where you can add that flavor and tell them exactly why.) 

Attached are my highlight videos (can be practice footage or competition footage) and links to where you can find my PRs online. (If it’s not online, it doesn’t exist. You need this link.)

If you’re available sometime this week, can we schedule time to talk about your program and what you’re looking for in a potential recruit?

I can be reached at this email address or at [phone number]. 

Looking forward to speaking with you, 

[Your Name]

There are 3 types of offer letter 

“Prince charming” – Looks good but there may be certain expectations that you will need to fulfil.

“Scary step mom” – An offer that may not be the best if you read between the lines. Also if you feel like you are being rushed to make a decisions.

“Golden egg”- This is the offer that is clear and the coach is open to all your questions.