Letter vs. Email

Question: Is It Better to Send Coaches An Email About Yourself or Send Them A Handwritten Letter/Packet In The Mail?

Answer: Because it is very difficult to guarantee that emails will get to their destination and, more importantly, be read*, I always recommend players start by sending a coach a packet via snail mail with a resume and a letter of introduction and a transcript. My book, Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level, has examples of how to write a letter and how to create a resume or profile as well as other information on this part of the process.

The letter can be written on a computer; it does not have to be hand-written. However, it should be personalized for every coach you write. After you've sent the letters via snail mail, then it's good to follow them up with an email referencing the snail mail packet. Depending on what year you are graduating---e.g., whether you're a sophomore or junior or senior---you may want to follow up at some point with a phone call to the coach.

As I discuss in my book and in my one-on-one work with players and their families, the secret to being recruited is finding your own individual target zone. This means finding the schools and teams where you will have an impact and where the coach believes you can make a difference!

*I surveyed a number of college coaches in 2019, and I found out that while some coaches may only get 25-50 emails a week, many coaches--especially those at Div. I college--may get as many as 200-300, particularly during the summer. It's easier to stand out and possibly be noticed if you send a letter with a stamp on it because it's a pretty safe bet that no coaches are getting 200 snail mail letters every week!