FINALLY! LOCAL COLLEGE BASEBALL!!! AFTER TWO YEARS OF PLANNING, THE HOMESTEAD RANCHERS BEGIN PLAY IN THE SUMMER 2010.  AS A CHARTER FRANCHISE IN THE WINDY CITY COLLEGIATE BASEBALL LEAGUE, THE RANCHERS WILL HOST 14 GAMES THIS SUMMER AND WILL MAINTAIN RELATIONSHIPS WITH THREE MAJOR LEAGUE ORGANIZATIONS AS WELL AS OVER 60 COLLEGE COACHES/PROGRAMS. JUST CLICK ON "DUKE" BELOW TO VISIT THE RANCHERS NEW WEB SITE! 

One of the best ways to get the attention of college coaches is to email them. The problem is most recruits don’t know exactly how to go about doing that. From my own experience, I’ve whittled contacting coaches down to an effective formula. Here are some tips on how to email college coaches for maximum results:

• Have a legitimate sounding email. It looks better to be emailing a coach with an email address that has all or part of your name in it. The goal is to be professional here, and it isn’t too professional if a coach is receiving an email from “kick_ass_badass@hotmail.com”. Don’t hesitate to create a free email account on Yahoo! or Hotmail with your firstname_lastname@website as an email specifically for your recruiting emails. It will help you keep track of all your contacts.
• The subject line. You want the coach to open your email. Simply putting “read this” at the subject line probably won’t do it. Provide a little bit of your information in the subject line. For example, write something like “Mitch Thompson, LHP Prospect from Rockford, IL”. I’ve found that providing your name, your position (you should put down any position that you play, multiple positions look better to a coach), and your location.
• Pack that email with recipients.  search for “athletic directory” on Google. This will give you many, many schools at all levels with coaches you can email. Upon finding the coaches’ emails on your page of interest, copy and paste them into the recipients section. Make sure to go after assistant coaches too; they’re more likely to check their inbox. I would often send out emails to 100 coaches at a time. They really don’t care if there’s a lot of other recipients listed because they do the same thing when emailing their recruits.
• Introduce yourself.  Don’t jump straight into a pitch about why you’re the next million-dollar bonus babyr. Remember, this coach probably still has no idea who you are. Repeating the information from the subject line is a good start: “Hey Coach, my name is Mitch Thompson and I’m a 6’2”, 200 pound LHP from Boylan High School in Rockford, IL, class of 2009.”
• List some of your athletic credentials. Start with some of your athletic feats. How many years have you been a starter? Do you have any honors such as all-league, team captain, etc.? Any other statistical claims (i.e. led the team in steals last season) as well as a 60 time (if it makes you look good) should be included as well, but don’t be so quick to list the results of every single showcase skill out there. Some mystery can be a good thing...
• Move on to academics. You’ve got to be honest here. Coaches want to know how you’re performing in the classroom, and they have to know at some point, so it’s best to not have any surprises. List your GPA (weighted if possible), test scores (ACT, SAT) and any other relevant academic info you can put in there, such as honor roll, AP/IB classes, etc. You have to present yourself as a kid who can appeal to the admissions office as well. Coaches want the whole package.
• Leadership. Any other way you can demonstrate your leadership and character (i.e. volunteering, Boy Scouts, involvement with church) will make you more appealing to a coach and an admissions office. Again, coaches want the whole package.
• Link any other resources you have available. This is why I recommend setting up a free profile with AcademyELITE. You can post all your stats, info, pictures and even some highlights. That way, if your email interests a coach, he can visit your profile to find out even more about you. Say something along the lines of “For more information about me, here is my AcademyELITE  profile: (link here).
• Don’t make it an essay. That’s why it’s good to have a AE profile. You don’t want to write several pages about how awesome you are. Just a paragraph with a few key points about why you would be a good fit for their program, a place to find out more about you, and ways to contact you (include phone numbers, cell phone especially).

  Thank them for their time. College coaches are busy guys. While they should be interested in finding out more about potential recruits, they didn’t have to read your email, so thank them for doing so.

  • Tell them how to contact you. When emailing coaches,  provide  name, address, phone numbers, and email address (again). Make it as easy as possible for them to contact you.
  • Follow up. If a coach requests additional information, a copy of your transcript, and/or video, don’t hesitate to send it, even if you’re not too interested in the school.