Junior year marks the beginning of a whole new world for a competitive tennis player. When September 1st rolls around, every athlete is fighting for a spot and a chance to prove their worth. College coaches become the most important people in their lives, and nothing takes precedence over finding the perfect school.
This process of finding a player’s perfect match is supposed to be this uplifting and clarifying experience. Athletes walk in happy and full of enthusiasm, but more often than not, they walk out wishing they had never even began the journey. How does a kid go from being bright and exuberant to dejected and demoralized? Many will say the athlete couldn’t handle rejection or just wasn’t tough enough, but is that really true?
From a player’s perspective, this could not be more incorrect. Junior athletes can handle rejection, its not being told anything that hurts the most. When a recruit sends an email, they are not just writing to look for opportunity; they are putting every ounce of their aspirations into an electronic letter. They are equating their self-worth the reaction of the coach and nothing can be more painful than getting no response at all.
A player is looking for guidance, hope, and opportunity when they write to a coach, so when the coach simply overlooks them, the player can’t help but let their mind wander. That lack of response escalates in a player’s mind and they suddenly begin to question their game, personality, potential, and worth. They begin to think of hypothetical reasons for no response and before they know it, they are scared to write to anyone else. They do not feel wanted and do not know what else to do and as a result, they lose other opportunities because they are no longer reaching out to coaches. A player goes from sending hopeful emails, to never reaching out to coaches in a matter of weeks. But how can all of this be avoided? How can we keep players from falling down this rabbit hole?
The solution is a simple reply. If a coach just takes a few minutes to respond, a player will have a concrete way of judging himself or herself. They are not coming up with hypothetical situations; rather they have something to base their value off of. Even if a coach is uninterested, if they simply reply with honesty, the athlete will be able to grow. Just knowing what the coach is thinking is all that a player wants.
All in all, it’s not the rejection that devastates players; it’s the lack of information. It’s the guessing. It’s the not knowing what to improve. A simple reply can change a player’s recruiting experience and at the end of the day will help them greatly in finding that perfect school.