College basketball is an extremely popular sport in the United States. This makes it hard to reach coaches and find scholarships. Get an edge by proactively sending your resume out to coaches early in your high school career. Here is how you write a resume if you are a basketball player.
Lead off your basketball resume with an introduction about your history and skills as a basketball player. You will also want to talk about your academic accomplishments. This is where you should sell yourself as a great fit for the program. Tell them why you deserve to be a scholarship athlete. Include your academic information as well; coaches look for complete student athletes, not just athletes who will play a sport for them.
Coaches Want to Know Your Statistics
Physical and measurable statistics are one of the most important aspects of building a superior resume. Coaches are looking for big, athletic players. Highlight your ability by displaying your vertical jump, broad jump, 5–10–5 shuttle, and maximum bench and squat. Don’t forget to include your height and weight. If you have exceptional height (6 feet 6 inches and higher), you should include that in your e-mail subject line. For more information on what to include in your e-mail subject line, see the How to Write a Great E-mail Subject section.
Other stats to include are points per game, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, three-point field-goal percentage, rebounds per game, assists per game, steals per game, and blocks per game. It isn’t necessary to include all of the previously mentioned stats, just pick which ones are applicable to your position or style of play.
In basketball, evaluation periods allow coaches to scout multiple athletes at the same time via Amateur Athletic Union tournaments and showcase events. Just like camps that schools hold, coaches scout athletes they are already familiar with—so get your resume out there as soon as possible. Tell coaches what showcases you will be playing in; let them know what Amateur Athletic Union teams you play for and what your schedule is and the location of the event. Make it as easy as possible for them to evaluate you in person.
Get a Coach’s Attention With a Highlight Video
Video is the best way to entice coaches to come evaluate you in person. Making a great video involves more than just putting your scoring plays on the video. Show some defense. Put some good shots of you boxing out and rebounding or some great assists to teammates. There is more to basketball than just scoring. Anyone can put together 20–25 clips of them making baskets. The best videos are a compilation of offensive and defensive plays.