Questions to ask coaches and athletes

Recruiting visits, tryouts and a first meeting with a new coach all go better with a few real questions ready. These sets cover college coaches by sport, personal trainers, and conversations with players and fans.

70 sets · 1,588 questions · each with a note on why

A few to start with

Who did you grow up rooting for, and how did that happen?
Origin stories point at family, geography, or one relative who took them to games. Someone loyal to a team nowhere near where they grew up almost always has a story attached, and it is usually about a person rather than a team.
From: Questions to Ask About Baseball
How do you find out how I come across to the people I work with?
Honest answers involve interviews with colleagues or a structured feedback exercise, both of which need other people's time and your consent. A coach working only from your account will spend months coaching your version of your manager rather than the real one.
From: Questions to Ask a Leadership Coach
What shape do you play, and has that changed over the last couple of seasons?
A coach who describes the same system for three years is telling you what they believe. A coach who has changed it twice is either adapting to the players they get or still deciding, and either answer changes how confident you can be about where you would play.
From: Questions to Ask a College Soccer Coach
How do you get out of a bunker?
A technical question that invites teaching, which most golfers enjoy. It also reveals whether they practice the shot or avoid it.
From: Questions to Ask About Golf
Where do I sit on your depth chart right now, and who is ahead of me?
Coaches speak warmly to everyone they are recruiting, and this is the question that converts warmth into a number. A specific answer naming the players above you is honest; we see you as part of the future usually means several years on the bench.
From: Questions to Ask on a College Visit for Sports
What does a freshman have to do here to get on the floor?
The answer separates programs that play young players from programs that redshirt and develop them, and both are legitimate. Listen for whether the answer is about defense, about weight room numbers, or about learning the offense, since that is what your first year will actually be about.
From: Questions to Ask College Coaches: Basketball

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