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The Ins and Outs of Contacting a College Coach
By Recruit
09/16/2004

There can be a lot of confusion about contacting college coaches, especially if you are new to the recruiting game. And, if you're a senior high school athlete reading this article - and you haven't talked to a college coach yet - it is even more important to understand the rules regarding how and when you can talk to a college coach who might be interested in recruiting you.

Here at Recruit, we get dozens of questions every day on this subject from athletes, parents and coaches. Is it OK for an athlete to call a coach? When can a coach call an athlete? Are there any rules to be aware of when you are hoping to be recruited by a college coach?

To help simplify this, here are a few simple tips to guide your future interaction with college coaches:

ˇ A college coach can only call or visit you after July of your junior year in high school. There are other contact periods that happen a few months earlier than this in football and basketball, but the "July rule" is pretty good in terms of a bench-mark. That means a coach can not place an outbound call to you, nor can he initiate a visit to your home or school specifically to talk to you about playing a sport at his or her college, until the summer before your senior year. Remember, this deals only with outbound communication from a coach.

ˇ You can call or meet with a coach at any point in your high school career. That's right, you can call a coach whenever you want. The key here is that you are the one initiating contact with the coach and not the other way around. If you want to call a coach or visit a campus and set up a meeting with the coach, you may do so as often as you wish.

ˇ You can take as many campus visits as you would like when considering a sports scholarship offer. Again, the key here is that you are the one initiating the visit. What about those five "official" visits that you often hear about big-time athletes making to schools when they are seniors? Those are visits that the school pays for. A prospective student-athlete can only take five official visits that are paid for by schools during his or her high school career.

With these rules in mind, the advice that the experts here at Recruit would give you would be to contact as many coaches as you can during high school, as often as you like. We like to see our athletes take control of the process and try to "interview" and evaluate coaches that may express interest in them rather than waiting and waiting and waiting for a coach to finally call them. Be proactive about the process! Take control!

If you're a senior who has not yet heard from a college coach, it is imperative that you begin taking positive steps towards getting in contact with coaches as soon as possible. In other words, now!

If you have any other questions about contacting coaches, or about how to go through the recruiting process, please look at the information we have for you here at recruitzone.com, or contact us at 1-888-284-9227. We'll be happy to answer any questions you might have.