For a recent Sports Illustrated study, a top high school basketball recruit saved every piece of printed material he received from colleges that chased him. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers:

2,161 pieces of recruiting mail stuffed into the athlete’s mailbox

135 pounds of mail received throughout the recruiting process

2.4 pounds of mail sent on average by an interested college program

9.3 percent of recruiting material that was personalized to the athlete

18 percent of letters opened by the athlete

0 number of recruiting pieces sent by the program where the athlete eventually signed

Now reverse this process. Think about how much mail college coaches receive from interested high school athletes. The takeaway: make your letters to the coach personal, and state specifically what you like about the school and program. Coaches will notice when you’ve put forth extra effort to learn about their programs.