Blocking college coaches

they won't even remember who you are... don't worry about it, do whatcha gotta do

If you're not interested anymore, just tell them. They'd rather have a text saying your not interested then trying to keep contacting you.

80-90% of the people they contact won't end up going to school there. So don't worry, your not special, and it won't hurt their feelings.

Maybe I am just an old geezer, but I think a polite text saying you are not interested in State U is professional.

Stop being a wuss wrote:

If you're not interested anymore, just tell them. They'd rather have a text saying your not interested then trying to keep contacting you.

80-90% of the people they contact won't end up going to school there. So don't worry, your not special, and it won't hurt their feelings.

This. How hard is it to send them an email or a text saying, "Thank you very much for your offer. Unfortunately, I am not interested at this time. I will contact you if my situation changes. Regards, 'your name'

lollerama wrote:

Stop being a wuss wrote:

If you're not interested anymore, just tell them. They'd rather have a text saying your not interested then trying to keep contacting you.

80-90% of the people they contact won't end up going to school there. So don't worry, your not special, and it won't hurt their feelings.

This. How hard is it to send them an email or a text saying, "Thank you very much for your offer. Unfortunately, I am not interested at this time. I will contact you if my situation changes. Regards, 'your name'

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.

NCAA DI P5 Recruiting Coordinator wrote:

lollerama wrote:

This. How hard is it to send them an email or a text saying, "Thank you very much for your offer. Unfortunately, I am not interested at this time. I will contact you if my situation changes. Regards, 'your name'

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.

I'd like to add something too: you (original poster) may decide on being a grad-student assistant coach at one of these schools. Don't burn any bridges, and keep it professional and to the point.

Shot blocker wrote:

So my parents made me fill out a bunch of recruiting questionaires last summer and all these coaches keep contacting me. I respond to them and then realize I’m not interested in their school or program at all I then block their number without explaining anything. How rude/unprofessional is this? Will they remember this if I see them at meets in the future? I mean it’s not like I visited the schools or anything. Mostly just exchanging text messages

This is a problem?

NCAA DI P5 Recruiting Coordinator wrote:

lollerama wrote:

This. How hard is it to send them an email or a text saying, "Thank you very much for your offer. Unfortunately, I am not interested at this time. I will contact you if my situation changes. Regards, 'your name'

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.

It doesn't matter one bit what these people think of you. They become your competitors. An opposing coach hating your guts, which BTW won't happen because they won't remember you, will have zero effect on your life. The running world is small, but utterly meaningless once you leave it. Which you will the day after your last track meet senior year.

Luv2Run wrote:

Maybe I am just an old geezer, but I think a polite text saying you are not interested in State U is professional.

And polite, which might just be a rare commodity these days. You never know when you might reconnect with a person in the future. Manners should not be dismissed as being old fashioned.

Shot blocker wrote:

So my parents made me fill out a bunch of recruiting questionaires last summer and all these coaches keep contacting me. I respond to them and then realize I’m not interested in their school or program at all I then block their number without explaining anything. How rude/unprofessional is this? Will they remember this if I see them at meets in the future? I mean it’s not like I visited the schools or anything. Mostly just exchanging text messages

While most coaches will move on and forget about you, what you're doing is pretty rude, unprofessional, and less effective than just telling then you're uninterested. If you don't say anything some may keep contacting you. If you respond politely that you have no interest in that school, they'll archive you in their database and move on, while keeping respect for you. Better not to burn bridges.

Real World Facts wrote:

NCAA DI P5 Recruiting Coordinator wrote:

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.

It doesn't matter one bit what these people think of you. They become your competitors. An opposing coach hating your guts, which BTW won't happen because they won't remember you, will have zero effect on your life. The running world is small, but utterly meaningless once you leave it. Which you will the day after your last track meet senior year.

This person clearly isn't a college coach. And clearly isn't in the real world. I'm not saying you HAVE to politely tell them you're not interested or your life will be ruined. But for the very minimal effort...the payoff could well be worth it. I remember every good prospect that "ghosted" me after we had a lengthy recruiting process going. I remember them for being immature and unprofessional. Not the end of the world for a 17 year old kid...they have time to grow up. And not the end of the world for coaches you never really had an extensive conversation going with. But the ones that take this brief moment to do so make a VERY good impression (and I DEFINITELY remember them) & shows they likely have the character to go far in this world. Four to five years is a short time...

Also, BTW, a brief response will probably save you time in the long run...us coaches are paid to be persistent with recruits. 75% of us will stop contacting you once you tell us to stop. And those that don't? Then block these idiots :).

Being classy and sending a polite, brief "thanks but no thanks" text, email, voice mail, or (if you do want them to remember you) hand written snail mail takes so little time that not doing it speaks volumes about your immaturity and lack of character.

Man (or woman) up and the the high road.

This is great advice for many reasons. There may be future athletes at your school who may not get recruited by those schools if you are rude to them. Also, you may want to go into coaching and positive networking goes a long way to increasing your chances of successfully landing GA or other coaching spots. The adult thing to do is let them know that you're not interested so they can move on. Remember, you reached out to them first. Leaving people with a favorable impression of yourself is well worth your time, assuming you're not just trolling.

[/quote]

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.[/quote]

You are right - I'm not a college coach. I work in the real world with actual adults reporting to me and others reporting to them. Short of sending child porn to a college coach how someone may have dealt with unwanted texts from strangers means less than nothing to me when hiring or evaluating job candidates.

Tell me why an interaction with a college track recruiting coordinator bears any resemblance to anything that happens after college? There is no network, it's 4 and done. It's not like they are going to ask for a reference for an accounting job.

You are the one who isn't in the real world. Nobody cares about your grudges and butt hurt feelings from being ghosted because you have zero potential impact on their lives.

When I was in high school, I agreed to let my high school coach inform college coaches that I was open to being recruited. I got a call from a couple coaches (one is actually one of the premier DII programs now). I told the college coach that I was not interested in his school because the academics sucked. He then proceeded to call my coach and yell at him for recommending uninterested runners.

YMMV.

NCAA DI P5 Recruiting Coordinator wrote:

lollerama wrote:

This. How hard is it to send them an email or a text saying, "Thank you very much for your offer. Unfortunately, I am not interested at this time. I will contact you if my situation changes. Regards, 'your name'

It will reflect much better on you, your coach & your school if you respond just like the above poster mentioned. Yeah, many of these coaches won't remember you...but some will. And you never know where you're going to cross paths with these people again in the future...the running world is a small one. And making a positive, professional impression, even if you're turning them down, goes a long way later in life. Trust me.

+1

The coach you reject may move on to a school that you like and remember how full of yourself it seemed at the time. No bridge burning.

"Real" is subjective. One persons real doesn't mean as much to another person etc. Trust me when I tell you that one thing that sticks out is when somebody chooses to ignore simple pleasantries. It's not about being "butt hurt" or any other modern pejorative, it's just about being tactful and courteous. As someone else wrote, it will usually save you time and possible agony in the long run and doesn't cost you anything, but maybe a couple minutes of time. You claim there is no network, but I can tell you that decades after my 4 and done, I've experienced networking, or lack thereof, in the most unexpected places for the most unexpected jobs. As a coach, I've had many opportunities to positively impact athletes' lives in areas outside of athletics. It's one of the perks of the profession, IMHO. What I'm saying to young people is: don't limit your potential opportunities or needlessly burn any bridges. You just never know what the end result will become.

.[/quote]

You are right - I'm not a college coach. I work in the real world with actual adults reporting to me and others reporting to them. Short of sending child porn to a college coach how someone may have dealt with unwanted texts from strangers means less than nothing to me when hiring or evaluating job candidates.

Tell me why an interaction with a college track recruiting coordinator bears any resemblance to anything that happens after college? There is no network, it's 4 and done. It's not like they are going to ask for a reference for an accounting job.

You are the one who isn't in the real world. Nobody cares about your grudges and butt hurt feelings from being ghosted because you have zero potential impact on their lives.[/quote]

Zante wrote:

they won't even remember who you are... don't worry about it, do whatcha gotta do

This

Ghosting texts is not rude. Anyone who communicates regularly by email or text gets it. If they don’t, they are dinosaurs and I wouldn’t worry about it.

Total non-issue.