The generic advice for emailing college coaches applies to lacrosse — be specific, include film, personalize the message. But lacrosse has a recruiting ecosystem built around the showcase circuit, and that changes what belongs in your first email. Club affiliation carries more weight than in most sports. Coaches recruit by watching athletes at specific events, then cross-referencing those names against the emails sitting in their inbox. If your email doesn't reference the showcases your athlete has played in — or is about to play in — it's missing the context coaches use to connect a name to a player they've already evaluated.
If you've read our guide to how to email a college coach, you have the framework. This article gives you the lacrosse-specific version: what details coaches expect to see, how men's and women's outreach differs, and how the NCAA contact calendar shapes when your email will actually get a response.
What lacrosse coaches want to see in a first email
Lacrosse coaches make a quick read/skip decision based on a handful of signals. The email needs to deliver all of them without requiring the coach to dig.
Graduation year and position:
State these immediately. For men's lacrosse, specify attack, midfield, defense, FOGO (face-off get-off specialist), or goalie. For women's, specify attack, midfield, draw control specialist, defense, or goalie. A vague "lacrosse player" label tells the coach nothing.
Club team name and level:
This is the single most important credibility signal in lacrosse recruiting. Playing for a nationally recognized club program — one that competes at NLF, Adrenaline, or Showtime events — tells a D1 coach your athlete has been evaluated in high-level competition. The club name belongs in the subject line, not buried in the body.
Key showcase results:
Reference specific events by name and year. Coaches track which athletes they've seen at showcases and use email follow-ups to confirm interest. "I competed at the NLF Fall Invitational in October" gives a coach something to check against their own notes.
Film link:
A direct link to Hudl or a YouTube highlight. No login required, no extra clicks.
Academic profile:
GPA (weighted and unweighted), test scores if available, intended major. Lacrosse is not a full-scholarship sport at most levels, so academic merit aid matters. Coaches want to know your athlete can be admitted.
One genuine reason for interest:
A single sentence about why this program specifically. A coaching philosophy, a recent season result, an academic department. Mass emails are obvious and get treated accordingly.
Lacrosse-specific details that separate your email from generic ones
The details below are what lacrosse coaches look for that generic email templates miss entirely.
Club program context:
Name the club and the competitive tier. There's a meaningful difference between a local rec-league travel team and a club that sends athletes to national showcase events. Coaches know the club landscape — your club name is shorthand for the level of competition your athlete faces daily.
Position-specific stats for men's lacrosse:
Attack and midfield: goals, assists, points per game. Defense: caused turnovers, ground balls per game. FOGO: faceoff win percentage, ground balls. Goalie: save percentage, goals against average. Include ground balls for every position — it signals effort and field awareness.
Position-specific stats for women's lacrosse:
Attack: goals, assists, free position shooting percentage. Midfield: goals, ground balls, caused turnovers. Draw control specialist: draw control wins and win percentage. Defense: caused turnovers, ground balls. Goalie: save percentage, goals against average. Draw controls are a tracked and valued stat across multiple positions in women's lacrosse — include them if your athlete takes draws.
Showcase appearances:
List them by name. Showtime Lacrosse events, Adrenaline Challenge, NLF Fall Invitational, NLF Opening Weekend — these are the events D1 coaches attend and scout. Upcoming showcases are equally important. A coach who's interested will make a point of watching your athlete at the next event.
Physical measurables:
Height, weight, and dominant hand. Measurables carry less weight in lacrosse than in football, but coaches still want them — especially for positions where size matters (defense, goalie, FOGO).
Email templates for men's and women's lacrosse
Both templates follow the same structure but include position-appropriate details.
Subject line format: [Name] | [Grad Year] | [Position] | [Club Team] | [State]
Example (men's): Ryan Torres | 2027 | Midfield | Crabs Lacrosse | MD
Example (women's): Ava Chen | 2027 | Attack | M&D Lacrosse | MD
Men's lacrosse template:
Coach [Last Name],
My name is [First Last], a [graduation year] [position] playing for [Club Team]. I'm [height], [weight], [dominant hand]-handed, and based in [City, State].
I'm reaching out because [one specific, genuine reason — their offensive system, a recent tournament run, an academic program, a coach's background].
Athletic profile:
- [Position-specific stats: goals/assists, ground balls, caused turnovers, faceoff %, or save %]
- Club: [Club name and competitive level]
- Showcases: [List 2-3 recent showcase events attended]
- Upcoming events: [Next showcase or tournament where coach could watch]
Academics:
- GPA: [weighted/unweighted]
- SAT/ACT: [score, if available]
- NCAA ID: [number, if registered]
Film: [Direct Hudl or YouTube link]
My club coach is [Name] and can be reached at [email/phone].
Thank you for your time, Coach.
[Full Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
Women's lacrosse template:
Coach [Last Name],
My name is [First Last], a [graduation year] [position] playing for [Club Team]. I'm [height], [weight], [dominant hand]-handed, and based in [City, State].
I'm reaching out because [one specific, genuine reason for interest in this program].
Athletic profile:
- [Position-specific stats: goals/assists, draw controls, free position shooting %, ground balls, caused turnovers, or save %]
- Club: [Club name and competitive level]
- Showcases: [List 2-3 recent showcase events attended]
- Upcoming events: [Next showcase or tournament where coach could watch]
Academics:
- GPA: [weighted/unweighted]
- SAT/ACT: [score, if available]
- NCAA ID: [number, if registered]
Film: [Direct Hudl or YouTube link]
My club coach is [Name] and can be reached at [email/phone].
Thank you for your time, Coach.
[Full Name]
[Phone Number]
[Email Address]
The key difference between the two: women's lacrosse has draw controls and free position shooting percentage as tracked stats that coaches actively evaluate. Men's lacrosse includes faceoff percentage for FOGOs and emphasizes ground balls more heavily across all positions. Both templates include the club coach's contact information — lacrosse coaches call club coaches regularly to verify talent and get character assessments.
The NCAA contact calendar governs when coaches can respond to you, not when you can reach out. Athletes can email coaches at any time. Understanding the calendar helps you set expectations about what happens after you hit send.
D1 lacrosse:
Coaches cannot initiate contact with recruits until September 1 of the athlete's junior year. Before that date, coaches can receive and read your emails — they just cannot respond proactively. This is why sophomore-year emails matter more than families realize. A coach who watches your athlete at a summer showcase and then finds a well-crafted email already sitting in their inbox has a head start when September 1 arrives. Many D1 coaches build their recruiting boards during sophomore year based on showcase evaluations and the emails they've already received.
D2 lacrosse:
Coaches can initiate contact starting June 15 after the athlete's sophomore year — earlier than D1. The same principle applies: emails sent before that date are read, even if the coach can't respond yet.
D3 lacrosse:
D3 has essentially no recruiting contact restrictions. Coaches can communicate with athletes at any time. This means D3 coaches may respond to your first email within days, regardless of your athlete's grade level.
The practical takeaway: start sending emails during sophomore year, even to D1 programs. Coaches read them. They file them. They cross-reference them against showcase scouting notes. The email won't get a response until the contact window opens, but it's doing work the moment it lands. For a complete breakdown of when each phase of lacrosse recruiting happens, see the lacrosse recruiting timeline.
Follow-up strategy after your first email
A single email is a starting point. The follow-up cadence is what builds a recruiting relationship.
Wait two to three weeks, then follow up with new information. Reference your original email and bring something the coach hasn't seen: a recent showcase result, updated season stats, new film, or an improved test score. "I wanted to follow up on my email from [date]. Since then, I competed at the NLF Fall Invitational and posted 6 goals and 4 assists across three games" gives the coach a reason to re-engage.
Reference upcoming showcases where the coach could see your athlete. This is the strongest follow-up tool in lacrosse. Coaches build travel schedules around showcase events. If your athlete will be at an event the coach plans to attend, say so explicitly. It converts a passive email into an in-person scouting opportunity.
Track your outreach in a spreadsheet. Log every program contacted, the date of each email, who you emailed, and any response. This prevents duplicate emails to the same coach and reveals patterns over time.
Read the response patterns. A D1 coach who responds quickly after September 1 of junior year is signaling genuine interest — that's a program worth prioritizing. Silence from D1 after multiple well-crafted follow-ups across several months is also a signal. It may mean the division targeting is too high, the position doesn't match what the program needs, or the film doesn't demonstrate what they're looking for. Recalibrating toward D2 or D3 programs in junior year gives your athlete time to build relationships at the right level. For more on interpreting what coaches are really saying — and not saying — see our guide to reading college coach signals.
D3 coaches may respond at any time. Because D3 has no contact restrictions, a D3 coach who doesn't respond after two or three follow-ups is giving you a clearer answer than a D1 coach under the same circumstances. D1 silence could be a contact rule issue. D3 silence is just silence.
The bottom line
Lacrosse recruiting runs through the showcase circuit, and your email needs to reflect that. Club affiliation, showcase appearances, position-specific stats, and a direct film link — these are the elements that survive a coach's 30-second scan. The athletes who get responses are the ones who make it easy for a coach to connect a name in their inbox to a player they've watched on a showcase field.
Start emailing during sophomore year, even though D1 coaches can't respond until September 1 of junior year. Follow up with new information, not empty check-ins. Track everything. And adjust your target list when the response patterns tell you to.
For the general principles behind coach communication that apply across every sport, our complete guide to emailing a college coach has the full framework. The lacrosse recruiting timeline maps out when each phase of the process happens by division. And when coaches do start responding, understanding what their signals mean will help you distinguish real interest from polite non-answers.