"Hey High School Athletic Recruits" 

Here is some general important information in regards to starting your 
College Athletic search plan...

Coach communications guidelines vary according to the level of competition and by specific sport. The NCAA strictly regulates the recruiting process and dictates when and how college coaches can approach you. Communicating to the College Coach you are interested...so, what can you do and not do?

When will I start hearing from coaches?

You won’t see any official “recruiting materials” from NCAA Division I and II schools in the mail before the summer of your junior year. And that’s because coaches at these levels can’t send specific recruiting literature until then. 

Division III and NAIA coaches can sent recruiting materials at any time in high school.

That does not mean the recruiting process doesn’t start until junior year. Coaches can send you the following at any time in high school:

• Questionnaires
• Camp brochures
• General college information from the admissions department

Can I contact coaches at schools that I’m interested in?

YES, and you definitely should.

            Phone Calls

In most sports phone calls are limited and coaches can’t start making them until after your junior year (basketball and football and major exceptions and allow some calls during your junior year). Coaches are regulated, but there’s no limit on how many calls you can make to coaches as long as those calls are at your own expense. Take advantage of this 

Letters & Email

Communication with coaches by email or printed letters can certainly put you on their radar. Try not to send the same generic email/letter to each coach. Make the correspondence specific. Mention something about the college that you like...Personalized contact might just set you apart from others.

Also, make sure you close every email or letter with a professional signature. Include your name, address, email, cell number and recruiting link to whatever service you use or create yourself so the coaches can see who you really are not just as an athlete but as a individual.

What about text messages?

Kind of a sticky area...A new rule adopted by the NCAA allows recruit/coach communications via text message only for Division I men’s basketball recruits. 

Coach Communications Guidelines

It is very important as a student athlete and parent of a student athlete to become familiar with the rules and regulations in regards to NCAA guidelines when it comes to the recruiting game. The rules change and may adjust so it's important to understand the information. Some of my posts under COACHPOST1
may be slightly out of date being they were written sometime ago.
Below is a brief overview of NCAA rules for communications with college coaches. For in-depth recruiting rules download the most recent - here is a link to The NCAA publications, please take some time and become familiar with the rules. http://www.ncaapublications.com/ and http://www.ncaa.org/

 NCAA Division I

• Coaches start sending recruiting materials on September 1 of your junior year (except in men’s basketball and men’s hockey where coaches can begin sending printed materials on June 15 after your sophomore year). You can call coaches any time you want but in most sports they cannot call you until you are a junior (calls can start June 15 after your sophomore year if you’re a men’s basketball recruit).

NCAA Division II

• Coaches can start mailing recruiting material, calling you, and making off-campus contact on June 15 before your junior year in high school.

NCAA Division III

• Coaches can send printed materials and call at any time.

There are plenty of steps that you can take as a college recruit to make the process of earning an athletic scholarship easier. COACHPOST1 can help make sure that you do every little thing that you can to separate yourself from other recruits, which can help you earn an athletic scholarship.

Post your academic/athletic resume online. Providing easy and organized access to your highlight videos, statistics, and academic information makes a coach’s job much easier. College coaches need to know about you before they’ll spend the time scouting you in person.

Create a highlight/skills video. College coaches watch hours of video from recruits, so you need to make yours count. Learn exactly what coaches in your sport are looking for. Some coaches may want detailed skills videos and limited in-game footage. Others may only want to see your in-game skills.

Don’t send coaches unsolicited DVDs or expect to be seen on YouTube. 

Contact 50 to 100 realistic college athletic programs.There are more than 1,800 colleges with athletic programs, so when you’re a college recruit you’ve got plenty to choose from. Starting with a large pool of schools can help ensure that the perfect fit rises to the top when the recruiting process is over. It’s important to know that the majority of college athletic programs are not in Division I, so set your expectations accordingly. There are plenty of opportunities for scholarships for college at the Division II, Division III, or junior college level.

Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions of your lifetime

Do your research and make an educated decision when you pick a school, not only as an athletic recruit, but as a student. Do as much research as you can...Know your stuff?

Division I is moving closer to new structure for how its schools and conferences will operate in the future you can read further at www.ncaa.org