Writing Follow-Up Emails

Reprinted with permission from the team at Athlos College Coaching, a golf recruiting service based out of Northern California.
Written by Joe Accordino & Brad Marek, founders of Athlos.

As you might guess, writing one email to a college coach is not enough – not nearly enough! Do not be discouraged by a lack of response to that intro email. Most coaches receive dozens, if not one hundred, emails per day. Your job is to keep following up until you’ve been able to form a relationship with the coach. To do so, you’ll need to master the art of the follow-up email.

1. START OVER
   When writing a follow-up, here’s the golden rule: Assume coaches don’t remember you. This should be your mentality even if you’ve had short email conversations with them in the past. Again, coaches get so many emails and it’s likely been weeks or months since you last wrote to them. So, reintroduce yourself! Basic information is always a great way to start: name, high school, graduating class & GPA
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2. NEWS
   In addition to your reintroduction, there are a few standard items you can always include in a follow-up email. The first is to describe a recent tournament. If you have played multiple tournaments since you last emailed, share information about all of them. Second, tell them about your practice! Coaches love to hear about your process and your progress. These are people who have devoted their lives to the game of golf (editor's note: or any other sport). Don’t be afraid to get technical. Finally, tell them about your upcoming tournaments. If a coach is interested, they’ll follow the results online. And if they’re really interested, they may try to come watch in person.
   
   
3. REPEAT
   Repeat your best stuff. If you’re a great student, remind them of your GPA. If you had a standout performance at a big tournament a couple months ago, remind them. Repetition over time is key.
   
   
4. SHORT
   Keep these short! If your follow-up email is as long as this newsletter, cut out a few paragraphs. This isn’t an essay for your English class.
   
   
5. TAKE ACTION NOW
   Do NOT wait until you play great to send a follow-up email. So many student- athletes make the mistake of thinking you need to win a tournament to update a coach. Coaches understand that you’re learning and improving throughout your junior career. Tell them about the tournaments that didn’t go quite as well – as long as you can share what you learned from the experience.
   
   

When it comes to communicating with coaches, it’s not just about the quality of your emails. It’s about quantity, too. So, get comfortable writing and sending emails. If your dream is to play college golf (editor's note: or any other sport), follow-up emails are in your future.

Have a look at some of the other articles in our Friday Scholarship Guide or check out what the guys at Athlos College Coaching have to offer for your future golf varsity career.