Emails sucks. They aren't personal and the coach can't get much of a read on you from them. Also, some adults suck at internet.
If you really want to be on this team, then you're going to have to meet the coach. You HAVE to at least call him, and when you call him, set up a meeting with him.
Emailing is no good.
6 weeks ago, that seems like it was during conference time when coaches are inundated with travel and getting the kids ready for the moneymaker.
It could be that you're in his "ill get around to" folder or buried in his inbox.
Send him an email every two days until he responds to let him know you're serious. Ask him to set up some time to chat over the phone. Tell him his team did well at conference/regionals/nationals (whichever they did best at) to show him you've done your homework. Cater to his ego.
Emails are too easy to ignore. Especially for the head coach of a strong DI program. He probably gets numerous emails on a regular basis from mediocre kids who want to walk on. And he just ignores them because he has no real incentive to reply. You seem to think that you are under-trained and have a lot of potential. But he has no reason to take that bait, because he probably hears it all the time from walk-on wannabes, and because he can easily find someone who is already running faster than you. Potential is nice, but results are what really count.
Basically what I'm saying is: You have to get his attention with something other than an email. Go find him during your summer orientation. He'll have a harder time ignoring you if you're standing right in front of him with those big, longing Bambi eyes. And if he still ignores you or says 'no', then you need to be persistent if you really want to be on the team.
I wanted to walk-on at the DI school I attended, so I found the coach at the track one day and introduced myself in person. He let me walk on. I ended up not really being able to hang, but that doesn't mean you can't do better than I did. A lot of my failure had to do with lack of commitment, laziness, and injury. Get in shape this summer by running a lot of miles. You don't necessarily need to get sharp. Just build a strong base so you can handle early season workouts. And remember, being a student athlete in college is no joke. It's a lot of work and will require sacrifice. Be prepared for that. And be prepared for the fact that you will probably be the low man on the totem pole. Don't expect lots of praise and attention.
I haven't read all the posts, but the people saying to email the coach again are off. CALL him and talk to him. Leave a message if he doesn't pick up. Calling > Email. Only use email if you are already on talking terms with the coach. Same as with dating, you wouldn't email a girl to ask her on a date. You would either ask in person or over the phone.
One of the last priorities on my list but treasure the successes. Takes a very special kid. You've got to be the type that's genuinely appreciative for a practice jersey. The time trial means more than contacting me beforehand.
If running means that much to you then find a school that matches your ability. Your passion can take you to a position of leadership and excellence.
People keep suggesting to continue to pepper the coach with emails, maybe even corner him unexpectedly in person...but "I kinda like running" is right, chances are you're one of 15, 30, maybe 40 kids who are dime a dozen scenarios to him based on his experience. Badgering him won't neccesarily give you a leg up, in fact you may just come off as a nuisance who can't take the hint.
1-2 emails could slip through the cracks, esp. around NCAAs so maybe a couple of emails carbon copying an assistant coach, a phone call/vm, and at most a pre-arranged visit are about as far as I'd go. Explain your intentions/PRs/background but keep it concise. You're either going to get some sort of direction and response out of that, or you're just trying for blood out of a turnip.
I find it hard to believe that a track coach (if that is his full time job) is so busy that he can't even answer an email. He may not want to, but it seems that if you are paying $30+k a year to go to a school, you should expect the decency of a reply from someone whose salary you (at least in part) help pay for.
Why don't you just tell us the details of everything. You are way too general in your prompt. Share some times and the school you want to go to. If we know your times and the school you're trying to go to, then we can give you more than BS answers. Who knows, maybe one of us are recent alumns or even still at that program...
go to a different school wrote:
I find it hard to believe that a track coach (if that is his full time job) is so busy that he can't even answer an email. He may not want to, but it seems that if you are paying $30+k a year to go to a school, you should expect the decency of a reply from someone whose salary you (at least in part) help pay for.
You have no idea how university faculty operate. Professors and even coaches don't owe anything to anyone unless you are actually a student in their class- and even then it's limited to "office hours" which might be 2hrs on the weekends. You have to understand that the coach is busy with other things like training schedules/coaching seminars/recruiting/dealing with AD/uniforms/etc, etc...sure he might have the time to e-mail back, but does he want the hassle? NO. Same with professors, (I know, my father is one) when they get e-mails/phone calls from some kids that want to be grad. assistants but aren't qualified, the prof doesn't even bother responding. He doesn't have to.
Go to Adams State College... the college is inexpensive... you can train with the team and earn your spot as everyone else does... and you will have one of the best coaches helping you out.
quote]Air up there wrote:
Go to Adams State College... the college is inexpensive... you can train with the team and earn your spot as everyone else does... and you will have one of the best coaches helping you out.[/quote]
I agree!
what school?? wrote:
WHAT SCHOOL ARE WE TALKING ABOUT HERE?
WISCO
Why would you go to Adams State? Some people actually want to go to a good academic college.
I have a feeling the posters on here could give you much better advice if we knew the range of your PRs...
Are we talking like high 15s or slower than 16:30 for 5k? I am familiar with a Big 10 program which allows walk-ons to train with the team for 1 season but requires them to be able to break 15:00 5k by sophmore year, otherwise they are off.
two other options:
1) pick a different school - why would you want to run for a coach/school that doesn't want you?
2) or if you really like this school (acedemically) train on your own - you don't have to be on a team to train and if you do improve (and can show it in results to the coach by entering meets and competing unattached) you'll get your chance.
Ralphy wrote:
Yours is a nice story, toro. Unfortunately this is not the case at the vast majority of D1s. Even at schools which are slightly above mid-majors coaches hesitate to let runners walk-on.
The OP says the coach qualified many to NCAAs so I think this post is mostly right:
kmess wrote:It's not like high school. Just because you're on the same team doesn't necessarily mean you'll ever do anything with those national qualifiers. At some schools the walk-ons and even conference level guys practice at a different time of day with a different coach than the XC top 7 or the track national qualifiers. Even if you're okay with that now, what happens when you've been grinding it out for 3 or 4 years without competing, with no attention, maybe with injuries from training too hard as you try to dazzle the coaches and earn a spot at a meet?
hes right. trust me i was in this situation and had to leave the school after only a yr and a half.
From the sheepish prompt you've given, I'll bet the email you sent the coach was even weaker.
This isn't rocket science. Be honest and upfront. State your purpose and be business like...
"My name is X (insert name), and I am an admitted student matriculating in the fall at X-University (insert name). I was an all-league distance runner in highschool. I broke 10min for two miles (insert PR) and was all-state in XC (insert place# at states). I want to continue running in college and I think i can improve greatly. I have begun my summer training and I would like to speak with you about try-outs for the team at X-university. My home phone number is (xxx)-xxx-xxxx (insert phone number). I look forward to hearing from you. Sincerely, X (insert your name)"
Then follow up with a very brief follow-up phone message that says: "Hi My name is (X) and I wrote you an email about fall tryouts, my number is (xxx)-xxx-xxxx please feel free to contact me at any time as I have voice mail- I'm really looking forward to hearing from you and running in the fall." (click)
PS- Coaches respect honesty and assertiveness. You've already been accepted to the college, so the hard part is over. And if this isn't a National Championship team, I can't think of many coaches who don't want people that don't cost them scholarships or have to be recruited and are academically eligible by regular matriculating standards...
Stop being a sissy- and ask her out already!
As P-Diddy would say "act as if you've been here before!"
if you really want to walk on, keep after him. sometimes coaches use this as a test to see how determined you are. someone who doesn't follow up after one call probably wouldn't have made it anyway. keep after him/her until you get an answer - what do you have to lose?
Right. By "be persistent" I didn't necessarily mean to badger the coach with repeated calls, office visits, hanging around the track during practice, etc. But you can be persistent in other ways if you're really determined to be a part of the team.
If the coach won't let you walk on, you can train on your own and run in meets unattached (there are usually registration fees for unattached runners, but the coach might waive them for you if it's a home meet or something). Maybe you can "friend" a couple guys from the team on Facebook and ask them what kind of training they're doing. Some of them might not give you the time of day, but if you're cool about it I'll bet at least one guy on the team will be willing to talk to you about what kind of training they're doing week to week, or month to month. So train on your own and enter a few meets during the XC and track seasons. Then the coach will know you're serious, and if you can lower your PRs you might be able to convince him to let you walk on next year.
My experience in the late 80s was similar to Toro, albeit without the same dramatic outcome. I was a 1:59, 4:28, 9:40 guy senior year in a small state off low mileage, but those times were big improvements over my junior year times that were submitted with college applications. I struggled with the DI v DIII decision, but decided that the best of both worlds was a small DI school that was a top academic institution. I went to visit the school in the spring (7 hr drive, coincidently) and dropped in on the coach. He was nice, but noted that he had 7 other freshman coming in that were substantially better than me and a few others in the same range. I already had a non-athletic scholarship, and told him that I just needed to know where the training schedule would be posted and that I would like to stop by the equipment room and get a clean jockstrap once in a while. Other than that, I would stay out of his hair. Since I had only run 35 miles a week in high school, he told me to prepare for 80 to 110 during base building, and 65 to 80 during most of the rest of the year. He invited me to come to XC camp at some random cabins near campus, and said that I could run the JV home meets and see what happened. Long story short, the increase in mileage and competition resulted in freshman times of 1:54, 4:00 (1500) and 15:23 (5000), four years of varsity running, track scholarship junior and senior years, and senior year captain. This school was no Oregon, but I guess my experience stands for the proposition that you need to get directly to the coach, and you need to be asking very little of the coach until you prove yourself worthy of his attention.