WHAT DOES THE FIRST CONTACT TO THE COACH SAY?
Academic qualifications, brief description on success and honors, familiar with the school’s academic programs and athletic conference and you have asked the coach to take some action.
 
When contacting coaches by email make sure you’re always adding the assistant coaches to the email.  Most, if not all schools, especially NCAA Division I, have the Head Assistant do the majority of the recruiting.  Smaller schools, will more likely have the head coach doing all the recruiting, but still attach the assistants.
 
The email/letter should have all your contact information listed.  It is a helpful tool to set up an email account just for recruiting purposes.  You should also have a reference page which should list your Blackhawks Coach and DOCs contact information...email address and phone number. 

Make sure you let the coach know of your interest in attending his/her school.  Ask the coach to send you any information about the programs Fall/Winter/Spring Clinics, Summer Camps, or any other soccer program activities that they might run.  Make sure you show interest in attending these events so that the coach knows that you are serious about his/her school.

Keep your email/letter to the point and make sure that you have written the email, not your parents.  Check and double check for spelling of the coaches’ names and school.  Personalize the email/letter as much as possible using the coach’s name ie; Dear Coach Oyen (U of A).  Make sure you check that there haven’t been any coaching changes because you do not want to address your email to the wrong coach.

Remember, college coaches receive hundreds of emails a week from potential recruits.  If you do not get a response, do not give up!  Also, if you are a Freshman or Sophomore, the coach cannot contact you.  This whole process will take time and will take a lot of work from you...be prepared to do the work.  The most persistent and proactive, usually is the one who gets what they want.

If you are playing in any showcase events this Fall, especially National League, FWRL or Thanksgiving Tournaments, you should be sending out these emails now, informing the coach of your interest in their school and letting them know what tournaments you will be attending.  If you have your game schedule already, include that in your email regarding that particular event.

Here are two examples of introductory letters for your use: letter 1, letter 2