By Adrienne Treado
All college coaches are allowed to send written recruiting materials, including hand written letters and personal emails, beginning September 1st of a student-athlete’s Junior year. Division I coaches are permitted to call student-athletes once a week beginning July 1 after Junior year, and Division II coaches may call beginning June 15 after Junior year. This means that if you have completed your Junior year of high school, college coaches are currently allowed to call you directly.
Did you know that regardless of how old you are, all student-athletes can call college coaches any time? There are no NCAA restrictions on student-athletes contacting college coaches by phone. If a college coach gives you their phone number, do not waste any time and take advantage of the coach’s invitation by initiating dialogue.
Before you call the coach, visit the college or university’s website to learn some facts about the team. Does the institution offer your desired major? What are the graduation rates? What was the team’s record last year? How many seniors will be graduating?
Make a list of all the colleges/universities you have been in contact with and rank them in order starting with your favorite (based on what you know at this point) down to your least favorite. Start by calling the coach at your least favorite college/university. You will probably be nervous when you talk to this coach however, by talking to a coach at your least favorite college/university, you will gain confidence for when you contact the coaches who are higher on your priority list.
Most likely, if you are calling a coach, you will get his or her voicemail. Practice leaving a message beforehand. You can even call yourself and leave a practice voicemail on your cell phone. If you do get a hold of a coach, make sure you take notes on the conversation. Also, keep a list of your top five questions to ask and make sure that these questions can not be answered by looking on the Web site. One of the purposes of a phone conversation is to learn more about that college/university and their lacrosse program, and to get answers to questions that you really want to know. You should also prepare to answer questions from a coach. Some sample questions they may ask you are: “How was your lacrosse season?”, “What other colleges are you looking at?” and “What do you consider to be your strengths/weaknesses?”
It does not matter if you are a Freshman, Sophomore, Junior or Senior; if you want to play college lacrosse it is time to start calling coaches! Do not be nervous; coaches like student-athletes who take initiative and are proactive in the recruiting process. Good luck!
