How to Reach Out to a Coach

How to Reach Out to a Coach
 

One of topics that frequenlty comes up when I speak to young hockey players who are looking to be recruited for junior and college teams is about contacting coaches of teams they might want to play for. This has been covered in may articles that have been posted and sent out in newsletters, so I thought it might be helpful to post a series of email exchanges between a player and coach to better illustrate a good approach.

This email string was between a player from New Jersey who sat in on our ACHA Coach Roundtable in May and one of our panelists. The coach forwarded it to me because he was very excited about how the player approached him, the thoughtfulness of his messages and the follow up. 

A few things to keep in mind:

  • If the team has an online recruit questionnaire, fill it out and let the coach know you submitted it in an initial email. 
  • You're not being annoying by emailing a coach. Coaches want to hear from players, and it is part of their job to correspond with student-athletes who are interested in playing for them. Just don't overdo it with too much information in the first email. Tell the coach who you are, where you play, a little bit about yourself as a player, what you want to study (if you know) and why you're interested in the program. If you are playing in a location near the school you have written to it is a good idea to let the coach know and provide the schedule. More details can come out in follow-up emails.
  • You're not being annoying by following up, even if the coach hasn't responded. Again, don't do it every week and don't provide too much information. Remind the coach who you are and that you reached out before. Provide an update on your season. Maybe include some video from a good game (not a highlight video, but video of complete shifts from a full game). If you are playing in a location near the school you have written to it is a good idea to let the coach know and provide the schedule. Let the coach know if and when you might be planning a visit. Sending this kind of update email once a month should be fine. 
  • Tailor each message to a specific coach and school. Don't just copy and paste. Mention the coach and the program by name in the first email and provide a few details about the school and/or the hockey prorgam and what you know about either or both. 
  • Make sure each email is your best work. Proofread everything and write as if you are being graded on an assignement. Be courteous, polilite, professional and thankul.

Now, take a look at the email exchange below between a prospect and a coach as a guide. The first email as sent in May and the latest was sent just thir week. 

Hello Coach Cormier,  

I am writing to you for two reasons, first to say thank you. I was on the ACHA round table zoom call this past Monday 5/11. Thanks for taking the time to speak to us all, it was informative and helpful.  
 
Secondly, I was hoping to learn more about EKU and the hockey program. I am a high school junior this year and hoping to play club hockey in college. I'm sorting through my options as my senior year approaches. I'm not sure what I'd like to major in yet. As for the hockey part, right now I am not planning on playing juniors. I'll be coming straight from high school trying to make a college club team. 
 
This past season I played 16AA/AAA in the NJYHL and USPHL, and I also played for my high school team. For the coming hockey season (assuming the rinks open), I'll probably play U18AA which is pretty solid hockey here in NJ, and I expect to finish my high school playing career as a four year varsity player. I noticed on the EKU hockey site you have recruit skates and tours. I'd love to come out for a visit, and skate, whenever that becomes available.  
 
I have been looking around on the ACHA website and I notice it lists only 11 games, then on youtube there's games against ACHA D2 teams. So I'm sure I don't understand the divisions and schedule yet. It's not super important, but if there's some info or something I should read please let me know.
 
Thanks again, Coach. I appreciate your guidance and all you do for the hockey community.  It's nice to meet you albeit this way. 
 
Best of luck this season, and be well.
 
Player Name Here 
 
 
Hi Player Name,
 
Great to hear from you. Thank you for reaching out. It was an interesting Zoom conversation. I was really taken aback as to how many coaches spoke about their programs in a way that was about numbers both in terms of wins but also number of recruits they have. With the growth of club hockey, there is also a growth in programs with coaches not exactly treating players like people.
 
As you may have gathered on the phone, EKU Hockey is coming off our fourth winning seasons in 5 years in 2019-2020. While EKU continues not to be an NCAA varsity team (no athletic scholarships available, but we do offer SMART tuition rates… see link below), we are at least able to try to provide that same varsity experience to athletes in a program. We practice twice a week and with my access to a gym (two dryland sessions per week), classrooms, and exercise facilities, we also have full access to the same sport science training staff and facilities as our NCAA Division I athletes. With my sport management students needing experience administering and managing sport programs (my real job!), I also have a full slate of graduate students who market and sell our program.
 
We were in the ICHC two years ago. With conference play starting in December and January, I found it hard to get games in when two of our weekends were in Northern Indiana (cancelations). I also felt the league was biased towards the founding schools. We are being considered for the SEC which would mean warmer travel.  
 
The ACHA website isn’t always the best indication on team records as some schools may not turn in their game sheets (we were 12-8-1 and at one point listed at 1-8-1). We do play a lot of Club D2 teams on our schedule as they are close by, which was another thing missing in our discussion on Monday, the top half of ACHA D3 teams are better than the lower half of the ACHA D2.  
 
We went through an amazing building process from 2013 to 16. With many of those kids graduating in 2018, it has been back to a rebuild. I think we are on the right track, with many kids with similar playing backgrounds as you coming aboard this season.
 
As for myself, I am a three-time provincial champion ice hockey coach in Canada, a holder of the Canadian Hockey Association Advanced I Coaching Certificate and a Masters Degree in Coaching Studies from Central Michigan University. While pursuing my Ph.D. at the University of New Mexico, I guided the UNM Ice Wolves in 2006 to an 18-6-2 record and a Southwest Showdown Tournament Championship in Dallas, Texas. Prior to UNM, I was fortunate to be involved in one of them miraculous moments as a Coach winning provincial and Atlantic Canadian regional championships with the Pownal Midget AAA Red Devils in 2004. I spent some time  in Saskatchewan, my resume includes a Queen City League Championship with the Regina Bantam AA Hawks in 2002 and League and Provincial Championships with the Notre Dame Bantam AA Hounds in 1999 (tried to recruit some kid named Sid Crosby to Wilcox, SK... he went to Shattuck). My first experience as a coach came as a young assistant winning a provincial championship leading to an appearance in the Air Canada Cup Midget Championships with the Charlottetown Midget AAA Abbies in 1997. I have also coached Midget AAA hockey in Saskatchewan (Curtis McElhinney, goaltender for the Tampa Bay Lighning played for us that year) and in the Central Junior A Hockey League in Ottawa, Canada and Men's and Women's NCAA Division III tennis at Nichols College (Massachusetts).
 
As you can see by the video below, we draw real good crowds at our games!
 
We just appeared in a campus newspaper story…
 
As stated, we do offer students SMART tuition rates…
 
If you ever come to visit, don’t be afraid to bring your gear. Since we are not NCAA, we usually allow kids on the ice at practice to see where you fit. Always like to know where students might see themselves academically so I can set up a professor in your field as well. If you or your parents have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I am really looking forward to meeting you.
 
Warmest Regards
 
“Coach Joel”
 

 

Thanks, Coach.

This is all very helpful and exciting. Cool vid. 
 
I will stay in touch, hopefully things get back to normal and I'll be able to visit at some point soon. My dad is an airline pilot for United, I've thought of aviation as a major which I know EKU has. But the point is we fly for free so I can get out there easier than maybe some people, thanks for the offer to bring my gear. I'd really like that.
 
Again, thanks. And good luck with the SEC approval, that's awesome. 
 
Player XXXXX
 
 
Hi Player Name,
 
Just wanted to follow up after the summer.
 
Unique times… we haven’t made any big announcements but if you are looking for hockey results, we are likely mostly going to be training for the first part of this Fall semester (unless something drastic changes).
 
Wanted to pass on good news. We are now indirectly reporting to the athletics department. We will have the same access to Division I training facilities and athletic trainers. We also have an Adidas deal. Things are looking up!
 
I have cc’ed Nick Rintalla on here. Nick is on our team and in our aviation program. In case you had any questions, feel free to touch base with him.
 
Let me know if you have any questions.
 
Stay safe!
 
Coach Joel
 

 

Hey Coach, 

Thanks very much for taking the time to email me.  I began filling out the application for EKU.  With all the covid rescheduling, I'll be finally taking the ACT and SAT tests in September.
 
As for your hockey program's advancements, that's awesome. I would love to come out and attend a practice skate if you get ice in the Fall, or if there's a camp or something that the players do maybe I can find my way there. My season here is already ramping up and I think I would have to be careful about traveling and then having to quarantine myself, but whatever, I'll work something out.  I would really like to see the school of course.
 
I did a guided virtual campus tour and one of the prospective families asked the guide if there was something unique or different that people wouldn't expect about EKU, and she mentioned the hockey team! That students go and have fun, and that most wouldn't expect hockey to be a big deal in KY. It was cool that she even mentioned it. I didn't say it was something I was interested in at all, it was all just unprompted. 
 
Coach, thanks again. I appreciate how hard you're working to run the program.  I will reach out to Nick if I have questions on some things, so thanks for that.
 
Talk with you soon.
 
Thanks,
XXXXX