Tag: contacting coaches

College Coxing Q&A Recruiting Rowing Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By

So I’ve noticed that most recruiting questionnaires ask for your coach’s phone/email. What do college coaches who are talking to your high school coach ask about? I’m not nervous about it cause my coach and I have always had a good relationship, I was just curious.

If you’re a rower: erg scores, boatings, attitude, personality, personal qualities, work ethic, grades, coachability, etc.

If you’re a coxswain: everything I said about rowers (minus erg scores) plus leadership ability, practice management, communication skills, possibly audio, etc.

Basically they’re trying to figure out if you’re a good fit based on your overall attitude, level of commitment, and desire to push yourself. The biggest thing for them is finding people who are ready and willing to go to that next level and really throw themselves into a team environment and doing what is necessary for the good of the team. Having a good work ethic and the ability to be coached is crucial, as is being someone who will put the team and university in the best possible light. All of that stuff they assume your coach knows, so they’ll typically ask them for input and use that as part of their decision as to whether or not to move forward with you.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By

If you didn’t know too much about a school but they sent you a generic “email us back, we saw your recruitment profile (even though mine is super ambiguous)” type email, what would you suggest doing? I’m really scared to respond.

There’s literally no reason to be scared to respond, let alone really scared.

Does the school have the major you want to pursue? Is it a school you’re interested in? Is it in a good location that you wouldn’t mind living in for the next four years? Does their team look like one you would be interested in being a part of? Do some research on them first and if you can say, with reasonable confidence, yes to all those questions after learning more about the school and rowing program, I’d send them a quick email. You don’t have to say much or be super detailed, just say something along the lines of “I received an email from (whoever it came from) after they’d viewed my recruitment profile and I wanted to follow up by seeing if you could tell me more about the team.” Finish it off by saying something like you’re looking forward to hearing more about the team, say thank you, sign it, and send it.

If you’re not interested in the school or that particular program, you don’t have to respond. I remember getting a thing from a school that I wasn’t really interested in because of the location and I didn’t know how to respond and essentially say “yea … no” in a polite way so I think I ended up saying I appreciated them reaching out but the university didn’t have the major I was planning on pursuing (which to my credit they didn’t) so it wasn’t currently one I was considering. They replied, said no problem, good luck, and that was that. But like I said though, don’t feel obligated to reply if it’s not a school you’re interested in. They’re not going to care. It’s better to establish that ahead of time instead of going through the whole process and then finally saying a few months down the road “yea, I’m not interested”. That just wastes everyone’s time, yours included.

You might want to update your profile or add in some more details. Coaches do look at them and the more info you give them, the better of an idea they can get as to whether or not you might be a good fit for their program.

College High School Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By

How much contact is too much contact for juniors? Are we allowed to pop in and visit quickly whilst touring? Or no personal contact at all?

I would at least email them first to say you’re coming to tour the campus and to see if they’re available, but meeting with them isn’t usually a big deal. It’s considered an unofficial visit but if you’re already going to be on campus it’s definitely worth seeing if you can meet up with them to save yourself an additional trip later on. Plus your parents will most likely be with you so they can ask the coach any questions they have too. I wouldn’t just go straight to their office with no prior warning though because that’s a little … weird, especially if you haven’t had much contact or interaction prior to that. I don’t think the NCAA has a definition of “too much contact”, at least from your end, but you should be able to use your common sense to determine how much is too much.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By

Hey there, so I know you get so many recruiting questions and you’re probably sick of them, but do you know how much college coaches look internationally to recruit? I live in New Zealand and it’s my dream to row for a US college, but how do I go about making myself known to them? Do they travel to our nationals (Maadi Cup etc) or is it my job to get my name out there? Thank you so much!!

College coaches definitely look internationally when recruiting. I’m fairly sure a large number of Ohio State’s team this year (that won the NCAA D1 championship) were international recruits, as were most of Harvard’s eights. The only person in their 1V that was from the USA was the coxswain who was from just outside Boston. So yes, if you’re a good rower with good grades, good erg scores, good race results, etc. coaches will look at you regardless of where you’re from.

I don’t know that much about international recruiting but to be honest, I don’t think you would go about the process any differently than someone from the States. You have the same amount of responsibility when it comes to getting your name out there as athletes here do. Contact the coaches of the schools you’re interested in, fill out the recruiting forms on the team’s page on the athletic department’s website, make a beRecruited page (or something similar) where you can post your stats and race results, and make sure your grades are  in order (the most important thing!).

Related: Letters of recommendation

I have to imagine that the assistant coach in charge of recruiting would travel to some of the larger regattas to see potential recruits but because of the time, cost, etc. my assumption is that they would only go if they really wanted you. If you live far away – like on the other side of the world, for example – one way you can help the coaches out is by having your coach take video of you (good video) during drills, pieces, steady state, etc. and emailing that to them after you’ve talked to them, indicated your interest, etc. Having letters of recommendation from your coach are also probably something you could/should consider doing.

Letters of Recommendation

College Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Letters of Recommendation

By

Following up on a question I got yesterday (linked below) and to answer a few other similar ones I’ve gotten recently, today’s post is going to be on letters of recommendation. They’re not usually required like they are with regular college apps but they can help you out during the recruiting process, especially if you’re a little late to the game.

Related: I’m going to be a senior and I’m really interested in getting recruited as a cox. I just finished my novice year and I did some rowing camps at universities. The coach at my 1st choice university was really impressed (she approached me at the end of camp and asked about my grades, college plans, etc.) but she told me I was a little late to the recruiting process. She encouraged me to ask my coach to write me recs to help. What are the guidelines for coach recs? When should they email the recs?

Letters from your coaches essentially follow the same format that ones from your teachers do. The goal is for them to write about their interactions with you, how they’ve watched you grow as a person and athlete during the time they’ve been coaching you, what you’ve brought to your team and what you can bring to your future teams, etc. “Letter” is just the general term too – the vast majority of these will be written and sent off via email, although you can go the snail mail route if you really want to.

There’s some common sense/common courtesy protocol that you should follow but it’s really up to you how you go about doing this. If you’re asking someone to write you a letter you kinda want to go out of your way to make the process as simple and straightforward for them as possible, that way all they have to do is write it and send it off. Plus, it makes you look good. Don’t be a total kiss-ass but don’t just assume that you don’t have/need to be a little more formal than usual just because of the nature of your relationship.

Here are some general tips and guidelines:

Who should write them

Varsity coaches are obviously the best choice because theoretically they’ve been with you the longest but if there’s another coach on the team who you have a good relationship with, have known for at least one year (spring and fall seasons if possible), and can attest to your character and abilities, by all means ask them if they’d be willing to help you out. You want to have the best people possible speaking on your behalf so while the 24 year old super chill assistant coach might be your bro off the water, if you haven’t had much interaction in terms of being coached by them at practice, I’d wouldn’t put them at the top of my list.

I had both of my coaches, who coached me for three years each, write letters for me. From what I was told, one wrote his letter based on my overall contribution to the team, my leadership skills, my success on and off the water, etc. and the other, who was a coxswain himself, wrote a little more specifically about me as a coxswain.

When and how to ask

Privately, obviously, not in the middle of practice or when there’s a million things happening. If they don’t already know that you’re considering rowing or coxing in college, fill them in because you never know what connections they may have than can help you out down the road. Tell them of your intentions, the schools you’re looking at, etc. and then say something along the lines about how you respect them and their opinions and it would mean a lot if they would be willing to write a letter of recommendation on your behalf. Most, if not all, coaches consider it to be an honor to be asked to write something like this so make sure you show your appreciation in return by saying “thank you” and that you’ll give them all the information they’ll need within the next day or two (and then actually get it to them in that time frame).

Put together a list of your accomplishments

Assemble your rowing resume and give it to your coach so they can see your results and accomplishments on paper instead of having to rack their brains to figure out how well you did in the JV 8+ at Stotes your sophomore year. It’s also a good idea to include your most recent report card (or your transcript if you can get a copy) and a copy of your SAT/ACT scores so they can see the kind of student you are in and use that to further promote you in terms of what you’ll bring to the university as well as to the crew team.

Remember, erg scores are great but your grades are what’s going to get you into college. Don’t be stupid and assume otherwise (and yes, that is a stupid assumption). You could also include a brief list of your other extra-curriculars so they can see what all you’re balancing in addition to crew but since you want the letter to mostly speak of your athletic background, try to keep it about rowing for the most part.

Write a brief summary of your plans and goals

This should be at least half a page but no longer than one page. All you’re doing is giving your coaches some insight into what you’re planning to do in the future and how rowing plays a part in that. Include what you’re hoping to major in, what you’d like to do with that (if you know), why you want to row in college, if you have U23 plans, etc. This could also be laid out during a conversation with your coach but some might not have time to do that so writing it out is easier. I did both with my coaches – one I wrote everything out for and the other I had a conversation with after practice.

Give them a timeline of when this needs to be completed by

Coaches are busy people too and most have jobs and lives outside of rowing. It’s very easy for stuff like this to get lost in the fray so for your own piece of mind and for their own organizational purposes, let them know the date that you’d like to have these done by. I asked my coaches if they could have everything done within two weeks from the date that I gave them my stuff and they were great about sticking to that (mostly because I think they knew how important it was to me). If you give them everything today (August 7th) I think it’s pretty reasonable to ask for everything to be completed by August 21st. That’ll give them two weeks to sit down, think of what to write, look over your accomplishments, reminisce about the good times, put together a thoughtful letter, and get it sent out. Any longer than two weeks and you run the risk of it being forgotten about or lost in the shuffle.

Compile the contact info of the coaches/schools you’re talking to

This will give them a chance to do some research on the program and get an idea for how you’d fit in there. As far as contact info goes, include the coach’s name, phone number, and email. Make sure you’re including the coach who’s listed as the recruiting coordinator, not just the head coach since the assistant who handles the recruiting will likely be the one you’ll interact with the most. Most times when you email the head coach they’ll glance at it but just end up forwarding to the coach who’s actually in charge of recruiting.

The other thing to remember is that these letters are confidential between your coach and the coach who reads them. If you feel the need to double check what they say about you to make sure they said something good maybe you should consider choosing someone else to write your letter. You can ask them what they said but a) that’s almost sorta kinda inappropriate and b) they don’t necessarily have to tell you. That’s why it’s important to choose someone ahead of time that you know can and will say positive things about you.

After mine were sent out my coaches asked if I wanted to know what they said and since we had a pretty good relationship I said they could tell me if they wanted but I trusted that they said good stuff. They gave me a general overview (which is how I know that one spoke about me as a coxswain and the other wrote about my contributions to the team, leadership skills, etc.) and that was that.

College Q&A Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By

I’m going to be a senior and I’m really interested in getting recruited as a cox. I just finished my novice year and I did some rowing camps at universities. The coach at my 1st choice university was really impressed (she approached me at the end of camp and asked about my grades, college plans, etc.) but she told me I was a little late to the recruiting process. She encouraged me to ask my coach to write me recs to help. What are the guidelines for coach recs? When should they email the recs?

As far as I know there aren’t any guidelines they have to follow in terms of how it’s laid out unless there is a specific form that the college coach(es) give you to have them fill out. Some do that and some don’t. Basically all they’re doing is saying who they are, the nature of your relationships (coach-athlete, etc.) how long they’ve known and/or coached you, and then just talking about how awesome you are, what you’ve brought to the team, why you’re an asset and what makes you one, what they think you can contribute to a college team, how well you get along with and lead others, etc.

In terms of when to email them, I would do it as soon as possible but probably no later than the first week or two of September. I’d also email the coaches of the schools you’re planning to apply to and saying you’re interested in joining the team (if you haven’t already) and to expect a letter of recommendation or two from your coaches to arrive within the next week, two weeks, whenever. That way they’re not getting letters from coaches about potential coxswains they’ve never met or heard from before. I’d give your coach a deadline too and say that you’d like to have them sent out by this date since that’s when you told the college coaches to expect them. Otherwise you run the risk of them starting it, forgetting it, and then not remembering it until you mention something in November.

College Q&A Recruiting

Question of the Day

By

I’m a junior starting to look into the recruiting process. What would a good first email to a coach be formatted as? What should I include? How long should it be?

I think the emails I wrote to coaches were fairly short and to the point. I had already narrowed down the schools I wanted to apply to so I don’t think I emailed more than four or five coaches at most. I definitely recommend getting an idea of the schools you want to go to first and the program you want to study instead of blindly emailing places that have decent rowing programs but potentially only so-so academics. Being able to say that you’re interested in this school and this program let’s the coach(es) know that you’ve done your research and are actually interested in the university as well, not just the crew team.

Anyways, I introduced myself, said where I was from, the team I rowed for, and that I was interested in the university and potentially joining the team as a coxswain. I emailed them after I’d already made plans to visit the schools so I said that I would be taking a tour of the university and the exercise science department on this day at this time and would there be any chance that we could meet, either at the boathouse or their office, to talk about the program. Two of the schools I wasn’t able to meet with because they weren’t going to be there when I visited (I think it was during spring break but I can’t remember) and two others I did meet with (Syracuse and Virginia). From there I said that I’d attached my rowing resume for them to look at and I hoped to talk with them soon, sincerely, me.

Example:

Dear Coach (last name),

My name is (your name) and I row/cox for (team name) in (city/state). I’m interested in attending (university name) to study (name of your potential major) and am looking to join the crew team while I am there. I plan on visiting (university name/abbreviation) on (date) to attend their prospective student information session and take a tour the campus and (name of your major/program) department. Would it be possible to meet up at either the boathouse or your office to talk more about the program?

Attached you’ll find my rowing resume with my relevant information and results from the past (#) years. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks!
(Your name)

Simple, straightforward, and to the point.

With regards to doing unofficial visits like this, the only time you’re not allowed to visit is during the NCAA’s dead period, which is when coaches aren’t allowed to have face-to-face contact with any prospective student-athletes or their parents. You can still communicate through email and phone calls though.

Check out these posts too, they might help you out down the line.

What questions to ask coaches during the recruiting process

What NOT to ask coaches during the recruiting process

Waiting for responses from coaches

Getting the attention of coaches

Making a beRecruited account

Rowing scholarships

How to stand out when on an official visit

The “recruiting” and “contacting coaches” tags

College Q&A Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

Question of the Day

By

Do you know anything about NCAA rules and talking to coaches when you’re already on a team but trying to transfer? Specifically from a women’s program to a men’s program…

Your best bet is to get in touch with the athletic department of the university you’re looking to transfer to, specifically the compliance department, and ask them any questions you have. They’ll be able to tell you specifically what rules do and don’t apply to you and what you should do going forward. There’s also plenty of information on the “want to transfer” part of the NCAA’s website.

I did some research and found the NCAA’s Transfer Guide, which I recommend you read because there’s a lot of good information in there that might end up being helpful, regardless if you go with the men or stick with women. Here’s what it says about talking to coaches (at the bottom of page 9).

“Generally, if you are enrolled as a full-time student at an NCAA or National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) four-year school and you want to transfer to a different NCAA school to play, your current school’s athletics director must give written permission-to-contact to the new coach or member of the athletics staff before you or your parents can talk with one of them. That is called having a permission-to-contact letter.

You may write to any NCAA school saying that you are interested in transferring, but the new coach must not discuss transfer opportunities with you unless he or she has received written permission-to-contact from your current school.

If your current school does not give you written permission-to-contact, another school cannot contact you and encourage you to transfer. This does not preclude you from transferring; however, if the new school is in Division I or II, you cannot receive an athletics scholarship until you have attended the new school for one academic year.

Also, if your current school officials deny your request to permit another institution to contact you about transferring, they must tell you in writing that you have a right to appeal the decision. In that instance, a panel of individuals from your current school who are not involved in athletics will conduct a hearing to decide the issue.”

I would start doing all of this as early as possible. Now would probably be a good time to call the compliance department and talk to them since the summer is, for the most part, relatively chaos-free.

College Q&A Recruiting Rowing

Question of the Day

By

Hi, I was just wondering when you would suggest talking to college coaches? Like, 6 months before you start college? A year? 2 years? I’m a bit lost! Thanks! 🙂

You should start looking at schools when you’re a junior, reaching out probably mid-year to the ones you’re interested in (start by filling out the recruiting questionnaires on the team’s website and follow up with an email introducing yourself), and then beginning to send them regular updates on your progress, race results, etc. starting that spring. Then over the summer if they’re interested in you they’ll reach out to set up an official visit for that fall.

For more on recruiting, check out the “recruiting” tag.

What questions should you ask coaches during the recruiting process?

College Recruiting Teammates & Coaches

What questions should you ask coaches during the recruiting process?

By

Below is a (not at all comprehensive) list of some questions you could ask coaches when you talk with them throughout the recruiting process. Many of these are things I asked, wish I’d asked, or things you might not think to ask.

What is the practice schedule like? Times, for how long, number of times per day, how many days per week, etc.

How do you get to the boathouse/practice facility? Bus, carpool, walk, shuttle, etc.

Team dynamic, structure, hierarchy? Is there a student board, team elected or coach appointed captains, etc.

Athlete retention rate – do people stick around or quit after one season.

Do you work with our schedules or do we have to manage our classes around crew (instead of the other way around)?

How many hours a week can you expect to spend doing rowing related activities? Practice, travel, lifting, team study tables, outreach. and/or team activities, etc.

Do you like competing in the ____ conference and why?

Is the university looking to change conferences any time soon?

What does each season consist of, training wise?

From a coach’s perspective, what do you see me bringing to the team? Have a counter statement ready.

What is your relationship like with the professors? Frequent interaction, no interaction, on good terms, ever had any issues, etc.

Graduation rate of those on the team

What kind of academic support is available? Athletic adviser, mandated study tables, peer advisers, etc.

Do athletes have priority registration and if so, how far in advance of regular registration?

What’s the team GPA for the past semester/year?

How much class time is missed due to traveling?

Will my roommate be another rower/coxswain on the team?

Do rowers/coxswains tend to be housed in certain dorms or are they housed all over?

Is the opportunity available to earn a scholarship in the future if my performance merits it?

What are the factors that go into determining who gets a scholarship?

Would you consider your program more, less, or equally as demanding in comparison to other similar programs in this division, conference, etc.

How do you compare the program to out-of-conference competitors?

How do you determine lineups?

How do you use freshmen recruits in lineups comparison to freshmen walk ons who have rowing or coxing experience?

Has anyone transferred from your team to another university and team? What were their reasons for leaving, if you know?

What would your team say are your biggest attributes? Have a counter statement ready.

What would they say they like the least about you? Have a counter statement ready.

What is your coaching style and philosophy?

Would I still have the opportunity to study abroad? Has anyone done it, how does it effect team standing, are you welcomed back when you return, etc.

How much school support does the team receive?

What is the relationship like with the athletic department/athletic director? Does he/she make it a point to get to know all the teams, etc.

Have you had the chance to see me row or cox in person? Thoughts, opinions, etc.

How would I fit in with the team and what could you see my role being?

What are your expectations of your athletes, both on and off the water? This is an intentionally vague question.

How do you handle discipline if it’s a serious issue but not something that merits the university’s or athletic department’s involvement?

What are your short term and long term goals for the team?

Where do you place your coaching emphasis?

Who are the assistant coaches? What are they like, what are their specialties, what do they bring to the team, how do they interact with you/each other, etc.

What is the typical day like in the life of a University of ____ rower?

Are you planning on leaving soon (contract expires, looking for new opportunities, etc.) or will you be here for the foreseeable future?

What are the policies for missing or being late to practice due to academic or extracurricular club commitments?

How many credits are required to be on the team and/or maintain my scholarship?

Where do your rowers come from?

What is the biggest/proudest achievement, both on and off the water, during your tenure?

If I’m injured and on scholarship, what happens?

How do you determine whether or not to renew scholarships? What’s the criteria, etc.

What do you know about my major? Thoughts on how it might interfere, etc.

Can the application fee be waived for athletes? (At least one of mine was.)

What is the team/athletic department’s standing with the NCAA? Any team violations, etc.

What are the most popular majors amongst the members of the team?

How can rowing help me as a college student? Again, intentionally vague.

What kind of alumni support do you have?

Where do I stand amongst other recruits?

How many people are you actively pursuing and has anyone signed their NLI yet?

Can you have a part-time job or do work study at the same time as being a full-time student-athlete? How it’s worked for other rowers, do other rowers do it, what kind of jobs do they have/have they had, etc.

What are the next steps in the process?

Is there anything I can provide that would help you in the evaluation process?

When can we touch base again? There are NCAA rules so make sure you find out the specifics to avoiding being caught in a recruiting violation.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg but hopefully this gives you some stuff to think about before you meet with the college coaches. For more advice on recruiting, check out the “recruiting” tag.

Image via // @drveuros