Emailing college coaches is an art form, of sorts.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but the point remains: it takes a little know-how to correctly communicate with college coaches via email.

Don't worry, we're here to help. After you've decided to email a college coach, the first thing you have to do, of course, is look up the coach's email address. That's easy for CaptainU users, since we have most college coaches' email addresses in our database.

Once you've done that, you still have a long task ahead of you--namely, writing the darn thing. Here is some advice that might help you.

Sending Recruiting Emails - 4 Quick Pointers

• Be creative: And unique. And different. The most important thing in sending emails to college coaches--and really, throughout the entire sports recruiting process--is standing out. What's the point of sending a coach an email if he or she is just going to forget about you 5 seconds after reading it?


• Be personal: Let the coach know that your interest is genuine. Include some of your personal statistics, perhaps a tidbit or two about the college the coach works at. Recruiting profiles are great for this purpose: they allow you to store pictures, videos, and stats all in one convenient place.


• Be prompt: Respond right away to e-mails that coaches send you. When you receive an e-mail from a coach, hit reply and write a few paragraphs. It's not that hard, and it's important that you not let it sit unanswered for days on end.


• Be yourself: Coaches really want to get a sense of who you are. Have rapid-fire e-mail conversations with coaches and encourage them to have casual back-and-forths with you. Don't agonize over the wording of your e- mails, which should be informal, yet respectful.