What should your email address be? You may never have thought about it, but your email address can make a difference in your recruitment. It’s often the first thing a coach or recruiter sees from you—via a message from you in his Inbox—so make a good impression from the start.
Your email address should be [email protected]—or whatever email service you prefer [I personally like Gmail; go to gmail.com to set up your free email account]. Just use your first and last names. If [for example] [email protected] is not available, try your first and last names with your jersey number, as in [email protected] If you compete in a sport that doesn’t use jersey numbers, pick your favorite number or go with the number seven, since seven is often perceived as a lucky number.
You want your first and last names in your email address, because you are branding yourself. Remember, college coaches are dealing with hundreds of recruits and emails, and it is easier to remember a person’s name and email address if they are the same. It also makes you look more professional. You want coaches to remember your first and last names, not a goofy email address you set up in fifth grade.
Certain email addresses should be avoided at all costs. If you are a point guard or a wide receiver, [email protected] is not good. Funny, yes, but inappropriate and a turnoff. You do not want a college coach associating your name with the word “butterfingers.”
Also, if your email is [email protected], how will the Duke University coach feel when he gets your email saying you want to be a Blue Devil? Obviously, you’ll be hurting your chances by associating yourself with a rival school.
Bonus tip: when setting up your email address, don’t make it all lower case, like [email protected] Capitalize the first letters of your first and last names to make your name stand out more, as in [email protected] Little details make a difference, both on and off the field.
Personal branding is important. If you don’t do it, who will?
Jared Montz, a former pro soccer player and collegiate national champion, is the founder of CollegeRecruitingWebsite.com. His company works with competitive high school athletes in all sports; builds them personal websites, like YourName.com; and teaches them how to promote and network themselves confidently to college coaches using CollegeRecruitingWebsite.com.
Find out more, watch College Recruiting TV and download a free copy of Montz’s College Recruiting Handbook at CollegeRecruitingWebsite.com. You can also connect with him at Facebook.com/JaredMontz.