How to talk to a college coach on the phone

Before the call

1. Write down five questions. You will forget them otherwise, and reading from a list is completely normal.
2. Look at the roster. Know who plays your position and what year they are.
3. Know one specific thing about the program: a result, a style, a major you want.
4. Find a quiet room with signal. Not a car, not a locker room, not a tournament sideline.
5. Have a pen. You will be given information you want later, including names.

During the call

The coach is evaluating whether you can hold a conversation with an adult. That sounds trivial and it is a real part of what they are assessing, because they will be coaching you in front of a team for four years.

• Answer in full sentences. One word answers make a coach do all the work and leave a poor impression.
• Say the coach name at least once. It signals you know who you are talking to.
• Ask your questions. A recruit who asks nothing reads as uninterested or unprepared.
• Take notes, especially names of assistants and any dates mentioned.
• It is fine to say you do not know. Guessing at an answer about your own GPA or schedule is worse.

What a coach will ask you

Most first calls cover the same ground, and thinking about these beforehand is the difference between sounding thoughtful and sounding caught off guard.

• What are you looking for in a school, academically and athletically?
• What other programs are you talking to?
• What do you want to study?
• What are your grades and test scores?
• Tell me about your club team and your role on it.
• What are you working on in your game right now?

On the question about other schools, answer honestly. Coaches talk to each other, they are gauging whether you are realistic about level, and being caught inflating your list is worse than having a short one.

The parent question

The athlete should carry the call. Coaches frequently ask to speak with a parent toward the end, particularly once academics and cost come up, and that is the right moment for a parent to join.

What damages a recruit is a parent who answers questions directed at the player. A coach who cannot get a full sentence out of the athlete has learned something, and it is not recoverable in a later call.

When a coach calls at a bad time

It happens constantly, and handling it well is easy. Say plainly that you are in class or at practice, that you would like to talk properly, and propose a specific time. Then call at exactly that time.

Following through on a stated time is a small thing that coaches notice, because a meaningful share of recruits do not.

After the call

1. Send a short thank you email the same day, referencing one specific thing from the conversation.
2. Do anything you said you would do, such as sending film, a transcript, or a schedule, within a day.
3. Write down what you learned while it is fresh, because after five calls the programs blur together.
4. Update your target list based on what you heard about roster need at your position.

The thank you email is worth more than it looks. It puts your name back in the inbox on the same day the coach was thinking about you, and it demonstrates the follow through they are trying to assess.