Creating a Sports Recruiting Video

Creating a Video for College Coaches
Creating an informative, professional-looking sports recruiting video can be a very productive tool in an athlete's recruitment. Having a short video that illustrates an athlete’s abilities and skills makes it more likely for a coach to give the athlete an honest look. There are two ways to go about obtaining a video. The first is to hire a professional company to piece together a film from game tapes you send them. This process typically results in a quality film but is not cheap. The other option is to create your own video using free software such as Windows MovieMaker or Apple's I-Video. Both programs are quite powerful and easy to use. Click the links above for info on how to use them. Before you start working on your video take a look at these tips.

1. Use quality footage. No one wants to watch a video that is shaky and constantly out of focus
2. Keep the tape short. I recommend 3-5 minutes. Some people say under 10. Regardless, understand coaches are busy, especially during the season. You have a better chance of them watching a 5 minute video then a whole game.
3. If available, digital video cameras are the best option as they record your games into a digital format(mpeg, .avi....) making cutting the tape simpler. Digital formats also hold there quality when copying unlike VHS.
4. Don't get too fancy. It's not a video making contest. Avoid fancy transitions or music. Coaches are typically athletes more so than movie directors.
5. Consider including drill work in your video. Some sports lend to videoing drills better such as baseball or softball but other sports may want to include drills to emphasize the athletes drive to get better.
6. Include a splash screen with the athlete's name, school, year, stats, schedule, and any other info you might deem useful to college coach.
7. Use VAD to send your video and other information to college coaches.