What do coaches look for in a college recruiting video?
Creating a winning skills or highlight video is essential to be taken seriously in today’s college recruiting. Not all videos are created equal and often times the difference between a good and bad video can be the difference between a scholarship and walk-on position. College coaches do not simply ask your high school coach for film as they did in years past. In this highly competitive recruiting game, coaches expect players to have professional tapes showcasing exactly what they need to see in order to evaluate an athlete.
Keep it simple.
The first key to making a successful recruiting video is to keep it basic. Coaches get thousands of videos every year and they stop watching in the first twenty seconds if the video isn’t well qualified. Whether it is a highlight video or a skills video it needs to follow a few basic principles: Make sure to get the highest quality footage, clearly identify yourself on each play and don’t give a coach a reason to throw it away.
Make sure your recruiting video is good quality.
Nothing ruins a potentially great recruiting video more than poorly captured footage. If it is difficult to watch, then it is nearly impossible to evaluate and a coach turns it off. Make sure all of your video is shot using a tripod and is framed properly. When in doubt, zoom out. Professional editors can always zoom in on key plays.
Leave out the music and distracting sound effects.
Adding music to your recruiting video may seem like a good way to show a coach your personality, but nothing could be further from the truth. One major reason coaches stop watching a recruiting video is if there is inappropriate music or distracting sounds. This video will be used to evaluate you as an athlete, and person. Inappropriate language will most definitely get a coach to turn it off and they will probably remove you from there recruiting list. Let your video speak for itself: the best sound is no sound.
Make sure the coaches can find you!
It seems basic but if a coach can’t clearly identify you, they can’t evaluate you. Identifying yourself on a video goes beyond giving a coach your jersey color and number. Pausing the footage at the start of each play and utilizing spot shadow to identify yourself will allow coaches to clearly identify you. Avoid any distracting transitions; remember, just the basics.
Recruiting videos serve one purpose and that is to get coaches attention. Coaches will want to get to know you and learn more about you if your video captures their attention. A good recruiting video can be the start to a successful recruiting process and college career. Don’t take chances with such an important step; make sure you have a game plan for a great recruiting video.
