How to Write a Letter of Introduction to a College Coach

College coaches' mailboxes are stuffed daily with impersonal athlete information summaries from recruiting companies and form letters from prospective students. This practice even extends to emails and text messaging. The vast majority of the prospective student letters and emails received are form letters and mass emails sent indiscriminately to every college coach a particular company has in its database. Most of these communications are routinely disregarded. What does get noticed is a formal, personal and personalized letter from a prospective student.

Things You'll Need

  • Formal stationery paper
  • Stationery envelope
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Instructions

    • 1
      Learn about the program you want to become a part of.

      Research the college, the coach and the sports program thoroughly. Almost all university and college programs have a website where you can review the team roster, past and present statistics and names and profiles of the coaching staff. Become familiar with the program you are seeking to join.

    • 2

      Ask your high school coach and any other coaches or personal instructors you work with for permission to include their names and contact information in the letter. Double-check their telephone numbers and email addresses for accuracy.

    • 3

      Review and update any information you have online with sports recruiting websites such as Be Recruited and The Baseball Factory. Double-check the web address and any necessary instructions for the coach to locate your profile, such as a site ID number or the name you registered under.

    • 4

      Write the letter. Tell the coach who you are, what type of player you are and why you would be a good fit for his team. Summarize your athletic skills with sports-specific statistics. Identify what major you plan to study, if you know, and how you plan to successfully be a student and an athlete. Emphasize strongly any examples of your time-management skills, work ethic and character. End your letter by asking for a telephone call or face-to-face appointment.

    • 5

      Reread the letter to identify any errors. Double-check all of addressee's information, including her first and last names and her full and proper title. Sign the letter in ink.

    • 6

      Center your name, address and telephone number across the top of the second page. Skipping down an inch or two, write the names, full titles and all methods of contact (school phone, cellphone, email) for your coach references. Separated by another blank space, list the online recruiting website you are enrolled in, their complete web addresses, and all information necessary for the coach to locate you in that particular database.