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Players and their families are sometimes unsure of how contact with college coaches works. Last month, we ran a roundtable article where a panel of coaches commented on how and when players should reach out to college tennis coaches.

Today we hear more coaches weigh in on the following questions...

Q) When should I contact a college tennis coach? What are the best ways of doing so? Is there any interesting anecdote from the past that sticks out in your mind?

Eric Toth, head coach, Xavier Men and Women

With the ability for coaches to now contact prospects via telephone at the start of the junior year, I believe recruiting has sped up for everyone - prospects and coaches, alike. With that said, I believe coaches will be putting together their lists of who they will pursue a little earlier now. I'm sure there are some schools who have already been recruiting this way. Reaching out to a coach with an email during the summer between the sophomore and junior year, complete with all of the correct contact information, would probably be the proper timing to get the attention of coaches and schools you would like to investigate further.

My main expectation in communication and recruiting is that it is done between the prospect and the coach. A parent making initial contact with a coach is always a huge turn off for me. This course of action really makes a poor first impression of the prospect. Communication with the parents becomes more important later in the process once a solid relationship has been established. Parents are also involved on unofficial or official visits.

Bobby Bayliss, former coach, Notre Dame Men

More and more I believe that "earlier is better than later." Coaches are encumbered by NCAA regulations which limit how soon they are allowed to initiate contact with prospects. Even though coaches may not be able to return a prospect's call or initiate one, we are always happy to hear from a prospect concerning his/her interest in our school and program. Coaches are allowed to talk with a prospect at any time as long as the prospect calls the coach. Additionally, a prospect can speak with coaches at any time while on campus.

Even if I had not begun to make plans for an upcoming recruiting class, I was always looking at names in the draw when I attended tournaments. Frequently I stopped to watch a younger player because he had taken the time to contact me - even though I had not seriously begun to consider players from his class yet. It is always a good idea to plant that seed with the coach. Because Notre Dame is less than a two-hour's drive from Kalamazoo, we were fortunate that many prospects took the time to drive over and look at the campus when they were playing as first-years in the 16-and-under age group. That initial contact made it much easier for all concerned going forward. I can think of a number of former players who joined with others for an unofficial tour of Notre Dame while they were in Kalamazoo for the Nationals. Before visiting, they had no interest in our school, but because they had "tagged along," they became very interested and later joined our team.