Recruiting Tip: Highlight reels and unedited video are a must for college coaches!
As a college volleyball recruiting expert, I am asked about the importance of highlight reels when it comes to the recruiting process. You need to know how much video to provide, and how often to provide these updates! There is a lot of misinformation when it comes to video footage. Some families are under the impression that highlight videos are unnecessary, but this couldn’t be further from the truth! Your daughter will need edited and unedited video footage available for college coaches to review on a monthly basis. Regardless of your talent level, video footage is crucial!
Think about the recruiting process as a way to build a relationship with a coach and their program. To build this relationship, you will need to remain in close communication with the program. College coaches receive hundreds, if not thousands of emails on a weekly basis. In an effort to stand out from the competition, you will need to show progress every 4 weeks or so through video. A coach is going to make every effort to see your athlete play live before offering them a spot on their roster, but remaining in contact and showing your progress is a great way to show how dedicated your athlete is to getting recruited. Sharing more than one video in a month is overkill. Choose the most competitive matches of your tournament and create a highlight between 2 and 4 minutes long. You will also want to upload unedited footage onto YouTube, as coaches will request it over time.
When you create a highlight reel, you have 10 seconds to get the college coaches attention. Do not waste time on an introduction, or a slideshow of pictures and information. Just get straight to the point with the plays. Ideally you want all the video to come from one or two competitive matches on the same day. This may or may not be possible depending on the amount of playing time you receive, and how often you have contact with the ball. If you are not a starter, this is not the end of the world! Part of your updates will include the fact that you are working hard to earn a spot on the court. It may be a challenge to get video, but you can take video footage in practice during scrimmages as well. A college coach doesn’t care if you have footage from a tournament or practice. As long as you can show video of you competing, you will be fine.
The recruiting process doesn’t end with providing great video footage, but it will have a significant impact on the options available to your athlete. Take a look at one of My Recruiting Solutions highlight reels to see an example; or send an email to [email protected] to set up a free consultation for your family to better understand the recruiting process. Video is just one critical piece, creating a strategy and understanding the timeline are also major factors in your athletes success!
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