Athlete Nomination Worksheet: Simple Form to Organize Your Recommendations

Why You Need a Worksheet System

Writing strong recommendations requires specific details. Generic praise like "great teammate" or "hard worker" fails to convince anyone. You need concrete examples, measurable growth, and memorable moments.

The problem is you coach dozens of athletes across multiple seasons. Your brain cannot store specific details about every player. You need an external system that captures this information systematically.

A worksheet does three things. First, it forces you to gather complete information before writing. Second, it creates consistency across all your recommendations. Third, it saves you time by organizing your thoughts upfront rather than staring at a blank page wondering what to say.

According to the College Board, the most effective recommendation letters include specific anecdotes that illustrate character and growth. Your worksheet ensures you have these details ready.

The Essential Worksheet Template

This template covers everything you need for comprehensive recommendations. Copy it, customize it, and use it every time an athlete requests a letter or you nominate someone for an award.

How to Fill It Out Effectively

The worksheet is useless if you fill it with vague generalizations. Here is how to complete each section with specific, useful information.

Be Concrete in Every Answer

Weak worksheet entry: "Good leader, works hard, positive attitude."

Strong worksheet entry: "Organized voluntary team workouts three mornings per week during offseason. Stayed after practice to help freshman learn plays without being asked. Maintained positive energy after being moved from starting to reserve role."

Every answer should include specific actions, dates, or measurable details. If you cannot be specific, you do not know the athlete well enough to write a strong recommendation.

Focus on Stories, Not Summaries

The most powerful sections are the character examples. Do not write "showed great sportsmanship." Instead write "After we lost championship game on controversial call, was first to shake hands with opposing team and thank officials. Set tone for rest of team to handle defeat with grace."

Stories stick in readers' minds. Summaries disappear instantly.

Document Growth Over Time

The growth section matters enormously. Colleges and scholarship committees want to see development, not just static achievement. Compare the athlete at season start versus season end. What improved? How did they respond to coaching? This progression demonstrates coachability and potential.

When to Complete the Worksheet

Timing determines quality. You have three options for when to fill out this worksheet.

Turning Your Worksheet Into a Letter

Once your worksheet is complete, writing the actual recommendation becomes straightforward. Here is the basic structure.

Opening paragraph: State your relationship to the athlete, how long you have coached them, and your overall assessment using your one-sentence summary from the worksheet.

Athletic contribution paragraph: Use information from your Athletic Profile and Team Impact sections. Include specific statistics or achievements.

Character paragraph: This is your most important section. Use all your character examples from the worksheet. Tell the stories with specific details.

Growth paragraph: Pull from your Growth and Development section. Show how the athlete improved and responded to coaching.

Closing paragraph: Use your three adjectives and explain why you recommend this athlete without reservation.

Your worksheet contains all the raw material. You just need to convert bullet points into complete sentences and organize them into this structure.

Adapting the Worksheet for Different Purposes

The same worksheet works for multiple situations with minor adjustments.

For Award Nominations

When nominating athletes for sportsmanship awards, academic honors, or team recognition, the Character and Team Impact sections become most important. Emphasize those areas and minimize athletic statistics unless the award specifically recognizes performance.

For Scholarship Applications

Scholarship applications often have specific criteria. Review the scholarship requirements, then highlight worksheet sections that match those criteria. If the scholarship prioritizes community service, expand the Outside Activities section. If it focuses on overcoming adversity, emphasize your Challenge and Adversity examples.

For College Coaches

When writing to college coaches, flip the emphasis. Athletic Profile and Statistics become primary. Character and Leadership remain important but secondary. College coaches want to know if this athlete can contribute to their program athletically while being a positive team member.

Sample Completed Worksheet

Here is what a well-completed worksheet looks like for reference.

Creating a Filing System

Worksheets are valuable only if you can find them when needed. Create a simple filing system.

Keep a folder labeled Athlete Recommendations on your computer or in a filing cabinet. Within that folder, create subfolders by graduation year. Store completed worksheets by athlete last name.

When an athlete requests a recommendation two years after graduation, you open their file and have everything you need immediately. No scrambling to remember details from seasons ago.

If you want physical products for recognition ceremonies, quality trophies and medals & awards help celebrate the achievements documented in your worksheets.

Getting Athletes to Help You

Athletes can complete portions of the worksheet themselves. When someone requests a recommendation, give them a blank worksheet and ask them to fill out these sections: Future Goals, Outside Activities, and their perspective on their Growth Areas.

This serves two purposes. First, it provides information you might not know. Second, it shows you which athletes take the process seriously. An athlete who returns a thoughtfully completed worksheet gets a better recommendation than one who returns it blank or with minimal effort.

Their input also helps you see how they view themselves, which can inform your letter. If they identify challenges you forgot about or growth you did not notice, you gain valuable perspective.