Waiting to hear back from college coaches is one of the most challenging parts of the recruiting process. You meticulously crafted the perfect email and confidently pressed send. But days and weeks go by and you hear nothing back. You send a couple follow-ups but still, no response. What happened? 

Here are four reasons why you aren’t hearing from college coaches—and what you can do to get a response.

You need to expand your horizons.

We get it. You’ve dreamed of playing Michigan football your entire life. You bleed maize and blue. But if you’ve reached out to the U of M several times with no response, you need to move on. There’s no time to dally in the recruiting process. As you review your options, visit college websites and compare yourself to the athletes on the roster. Would you be able to compete for a spot? And remember that It’s not just about performance on the field. Your GPA and ACT/SAT scores need to align with the student average.

You’re copy and pasting introductory emails

Sending mass emails is a surefire way to end up in a college coach’s trash folder. To give yourself a better chance of getting a response, you need to personalize the email and convince the coach you have serious interest in their program and their school. Make sure to include key information like stats, position, schedule, GPA, test scores and coach references. Casting a wide net is important, but there are no shortcuts in the recruiting process. 

You haven’t updated your highlight video in a while

Think of your recruiting profile as your online athletic resume. In this scenario, your highlight clips basically function as work samples. Without a video, there’s a high chance you’ll blend into the key stats and measurements of similar recruits. And low quality or out-of-date footage isn’t much better. At NCSA, we recommend that student-athletes refresh their highlight videos every six months. 

Keep in mind—your highlights might be impressive, but coaches are also evaluating your teammates and opponents. They want to see you deliver in important games against high-level varsity competition. That JV footage from two years just won’t cut it. 

Coaches aren’t allowed to respond yet

You’re 100% committed to your recruiting process and following all the steps. You’ve got a solid list of target schools you feel qualified for and a brand-new highlight video. You’re sending perfectly worded emails to coaches, but you still aren’t hearing back. Why?

It might just be too early for the coach to contact you. Per NCAA rules, most D1 and D2 coaches aren’t allowed to directly communicate with recruits until September 1 of their junior year. This means coaches are getting your well-crafted emails and Twitter DMs—they just can’t respond. However, athletes are allowed to contact college coaches at any time. When they do, the college coach can speak with them. In many cases, college coaches will reach out to a recruit’s high school or club coach to schedule a time for the athlete to call. Loop in your current coach to see how they can help you get recruited.