Unless you are one of the top prospects in the country, there is little chance a college coach is coming to watch your games. This is why a Recruiting Highlight Video is your main tool in the college recruiting process! It is the main way to get your name, your game, and your athletic abilities in front of college coaches. If you are on the fence about getting a highlight video, then see our list of Top 6 Reasons You Must Have A Highlight Video.
SO WHAT MAKES A GOOD HIGHLIGHT VIDEO?
A quality highlight video will showcase your athletic abilities, highlight your academic success, and introduce your game to coaches. The video should show your best, be easy to follow, and include a personal profile. The following is a list of the basic formatting and content that makes up a professional highlight video:
1. LENGTH
College coaches have their plate full. After receiving hundreds or thousands of highlight videos, they will only commit a short time for viewing. The video should run 3 to 5 minutes in length, which is effective to quickly show your best plays of the season and ensure the coaches watch to the end.
2. GAME PLAYS
This is your opportunity to shine! It is important to pick only your BEST plays from each game of the season to showcase your highest playing potential. College coaches know you are cherry picking the plays you put in front of them. If you include any plays that don’t showcase your highest ability then a coach may assume you don’t have anything more to offer. Don’t try to fill time with mediocre plays. Remember, the highlight video should not be too long.
3. VIDEO QUALITY
Don’t let anyone talk you into paying high fees to get an HD video recording of your games. Coaches don’t care if your video is broadcast quality, and most cameras capture HD nowadays to sufficiently get footage. As long as your video is steady and clear enough to see players’ numbers and game plays then you are good. Your best option is your team’s game film. It is already filmed at the ideal angle to show the field and follow the play. You can typically get a copy from your coach. If you have family members film the game then follow these basic guidelines…
1. Keep it steady! A tripod is the best to achieve steady video.
2. Horizontal, not vertical. The influx of camera phones and iPads for capturing video has created a lot of improperly captured vertical video. Turn the phone or iPad on its side so you get video that is wide screen just like the t.v. or computer it will be watched on. There is nothing more annoying than black bars on the side of the screen!
3. Keep the shot wide enough to show plenty of the field and the game play going on. Don’t just zoom in directly on you because it leaves out important play information going on around you. For instance, in soccer coaches will want to see the play right before you get a ball as well as the outcome of the play after you act on it. A good rule of thumb is to keep the shot wide enough to capture 1/3 of the field at all times. Sometimes it will need to be wider than this (i.e. kickoff return, deep ball, etc).
4. PLAYER HIGHLIGHT
The beginning of each play must include something to highlight the player. Generally, this is done with a spot shadow, arrow, circle, etc. This makes it easy for college coaches to identify you right away and follow you through the play.
5. PLAYER PROFILE
A profile includes all player related information and statistics including player information, season records, athletic stats, academic profile with GPA, SAT/ACT scores, and one or two player pictures to put a face to the name and number.
FORMAT
You should have your final highlight video formatted for online viewing and posted to youtube or other sports relevant recruiting sites. This allows you to quickly email your video link to coaches so they can easily watch them with a quick click. Having your highlight video online also lets you get seen by a wider audience, which could include potential recruiters.
FULL GAME
You should always have a full game tape ready. The highlight video is a short way to “show off” your skills. If college coaches like your highlights then they may want to see a full game tape to see how you perform. The full game tape gives a more accurate evaluation of how the recruit plays the entire game. They can determine a player’s athletic ability, their effort on every play, and more.
