7 Steps to Creating a Winning Highlight Video

7 Steps to Create a Winning Highlight Video

April 4th, 2013 - by Kerry Brown

Having a good recruiting video is extremely important for athletes who hope to earn a scholarships.College coaches don’t have the time or money to travel and see hundreds of recruits in person. That’s why a highlight video is one of the most important parts of your online resume.It takes just a few minutes for a well-made recruiting video to show coaches what a high school recruit can do on the field or the court.But for your highlight video to be effective, you need to know specifically what coaches are looking for.

Keep it relatively short. A five-minute recruiting video is probably long enough to convey your skills.A highlight video is supposed to be like a preview for movie, it should a coach your very best skills with no bells a whistles. First impressions are very important with coaches and most coaches can tell in the first 10 plays wether or not you are the type of recruit they are looking for.
Start with a bang. Put your best highlights first. Coaches may not have time to watch the entire highlight video, so make sure they see you at your best. First impressions are important. You need to grab a coaches attention as soon as possible, what are you showing them that other recruits aren’t?
Post your video with your online resume. Don’t send coaches unsolicited DVDs or expect to be seen on YouTube. When a highlight video is posted on a trusted recruiting site like NCSA, that video will be seen by college coaches. Make sure you are staying proactive and reaching out to college coaches. Include your online resume and highlight video in your introduction emails to college coaches. Make sure the coach has to do as little work as possible to make their initial evaluation of you. If it is all in one email and just one easy click they will be more willing to watch it.
Know what coaches are looking for. Different sports require different approaches. For example, baseball and softball coaches aren’t looking for game footage, but rely heavily on clips that show your specific skills. Highlight videos for sports like basketball, hockey and football are the opposite and should have plenty of in-game footage. (Note: Video guidelines are listed for each sport on the NCSA website.)
Show a wide range of skills. Use clips that show you’re a well-rounded athlete. For example, if you’re a basketball recruit don’t just have highlights of you burying jump shots. Also include clips of you dribbling in transition, playing tough defense, or establishing good rebounding position. While making sure that you have a wide range of skills coaches do want to see, make sure you also aren’t including skills coaches do not want to see. For example middle hitters in volleyball don’t send a coach two minutes of you serve receiving.
Video quality is important. Try to make sure your highlights are clear and that you are easy to see. Beyond just having high quality video it is important for athletes to make sure to use spot shadowing in their video. Coaches need to know who you are on the field or on the court beyond just knowing your number. Use an arrow or a spot shadow on you before the start of every highlight.
Simplicity can go a long way. Start the video with a short intro with your name, school and contact information, but don’t get too fancy. There’s no need for background music or nifty graphics.