We talk a lot about the importance of phone or video calls that prospective student-athletes will have to have during the recruiting process. Those calls are crucial and can be one of the main reasons why a coach offers you a scholarship or not. As you probably already know, you should always aim to schedule such a call as soon as possible, so that coaches see you are interested and that you are on top of things. Now, once a call has been scheduled, what are some of the things that you should do in that call and what are some that you should avoid at all cost?
Things you should do:
- Show the coach that you have done your research: Before starting your call with a coach, you should at least have gone to the university’s website and checked out the team’s page as well. You should be aware of where the school is located, where the athletes on the team are from, and who the coach is and where he or she has maybe coached before. Those are just some examples of things you can research before, but you should at least know some basic information about the school and team before starting your call!
- Show interest: The most important thing in your phone calls with coaches is to show them how much you want to be a part of their team. So try to make sure that you are showing enthusiasm throughout the call and listen carefully to everything that the coach has to say!
- Be polite: This one should be a no-brainer, but nevertheless it is a mistake that a lot of athletes make. Try to be as polite as possible and make sure you end each call by thanking the coach for taking the time to talk to you. Also, you should never use bad language throughout the call or be disrespectful towards the coach or to the American culture in any way.
- Ask good questions: Again, coaches like athletes who show interest and asking questions is a good way to show that.
- Listen to what the coach has to say: This also should be self-explanatory, but surprisingly a lot of prospective student-athletes still have a hard time doing this. So try to pay maximum attention and listen carefully to everything that the coach has to say.
- Try to look presentable: Treat this like a job interview and show up dressed properly. You don’t have to wear a suit and tie, but wearing a nice polo shirt or button up shirt should be the way to go!
Things you should not do:
- Act distracted: You should always show up to a call with a coach fully prepared and be in a quiet room with no distractions. Don’t use your phone during the call and if other people are around, do not talk to them or let yourself be distracted by them during the call.
- Be arrogant: Don’t talk too much about yourself unless the coach asks you. And whenever you do, be humble and treat the coach and his or her team with respect. Don’t ever treat the team or school as if it is beneath you or that the level is not up to your standards.
- Ask about scholarship: Scholarship is typically not a conversation for the initial phone call with a coach. It is normally discussed later on once the coach has determined that you are a good fit for the team. And it looks very bad to ask about it in a first phone call, because it leaves coaches thinking that you are not really interested in his or her team, but that you are simply looking for the biggest possible scholarship.
Those are just a few pieces of advice for your first phone call with coaches. However, there are plenty of other things that coaches will expect from you. Like we always say, you should treat this like a job interview and try to be perfect in everything you do. Being mediocre in this first phone call could potentially jeopardize your chances of receiving a scholarships offer from that coach, so give 100% and really do your best to impress the coach!