What coaches want you to know about your highlight videos

I said that this post would be about what coaches are looking for in a highlight video. And maybe even a little bit of what they ARE NOT looking for. So here goes...

Let's start by looking at a D-1 Coaches schedule. First, unlike D-III, a coach in D-1 can be and is present at very practice. It's a year round position. In D-1, Coaches build practice plans around the team they have, the play style they have and expect development in these plans to be visible and measurable. They do the measuring, and adjusting and traveling. A D-1 football coach is a roughly 100 hour per week work schedule during season. (only 168 hours in a week, leaving 9.7 per day for sleep and everything else).

Now imagine it's the "off season" and they have to now evaluate what is left. Who graduated, who did they recruit, who committed, who are they looking at? Then think about how they find these players.

They don't travel like they used to. In some cases maybe they just don't need to. Look at the Roster at Syracuse University Lacrosse (SU). Granted their football and basketball recruiting budget is likely far greater than their Lax budget, but what you see is a lot of kids from the local area or region. Lots of kids within a 1 hour car ride. Sure, part of it is because of localized talent pools, but be realistic here. A coach and his staff can only see so many kids in a summer club season. Luckily, they are only recruiting for a handful of positions each year as they graduate kids out, but they are looking at 14 year olds now! Sophomores and Juniors and a small number of Sr's that may have been late bloomers, that crushed it over a summer. But many were not seen because of play time in front of them. At the D-1 level 10's of thousands of kids are looking for a spot. Hundreds of programs need to fill spots each season and the Coach has to manage all of it. Are you sure he will see you play? How will they ever see you? How odes a kid form California end up at Johns Hopkins?

Now, to the point of our discussion. What do they want to see in a highlight video? Video! Not Beta or VHS (some of you reading this have never even heard of those things.) The point is, you will need to provide the coach of your "choice-school" a link, a USB drive or a DVD to be seen. Reality? send a link. Period. We are in a time of instant gratification. Send a link of highlights, not the whole game either.

What follows is the list of essentials when it comes to submitting a highlight reel.

1. Keep to 7 minutes max. (ish) (5 or less is better)

Why 7? I don't know. That's what coaches are saying. 5 to 7. It can be shorter, Also keep it updated. Meaning, as the summer progresses, or from season to season you will have better plays, improved skills, you will have grown, you will want them to see your development. Maybe you lost a lot of weight and are much faster. Maybe you learned a new move and you scored 20 more points because of it. Get your videos updated and keep them updated.

2. Best plays first

The assistant coach will be weeding through these. He will look at the length of the video. and if after the first 5 plays (30- 60 second or so) if he hasn't been impressed, your "best-for-last" plays will never be seen. Put your top 5 plays, moves, skills- whatever your sport- up front.

3. Stats page

Build a stats page. Tell them your 40 yard time, your squat max, a max bench-press, height, weight and so on. If it's relevant put it up front so they know what you are like.

4. Be sure you show games/plays against similar talent.

Why? Because a coach can see a star play against smaller younger kids. I have seen kids videos that show them crushing it on a defense against smaller slower kids of the same age, but clearly not at the same skill level. When I see video where Johnny has 8 great plays in one game against one team, then the next 15 plays are from 15 different games it becomes apparent that his best moves are against lesser talent. It doesn't mean don't show these games. But don't make your star athlete look like a bully. Now, if Johnny is a phenom, you will be wanting him to play against similar talent as well. Right? Or his skills will suffer for it.

5. Lose the music. Lose the fluff

I don't know who said it but I heard a recruiting coach say flat out. "If I hear 'The Eye of The Tiger' one more time... " Seriously, while it makes it more enjoyable for us to watch, it just distracts a coach. Maybe they hate your music choice. maybe they love it. Who cares? They have a mute button and so do you. Have your highlight creator leave out the music or upload one without and share that with the coaches. Lose the huddles, the crazy transitions, the end zone dance. They don't care and they don't have the time. Just say no replays and don't slow every play down. A coach recognizes a great move. If you have some crazy spectacular shot through the legs and it can't be see with out slow motion, then follow the full speed play with a slow motion play. But don't make it a habit. To a coach, its not honest. If the play is in slow motion he has no clue to your real speed, How fast did you make that move? Is the other team really slow? Be honest. Let's face it, do you want to perform in front of a coach with totally different expectations than what he has already seen? I have seen some great videos. Flashy stat cards, swirling graphics, little sparks on contact, cool music, all of that stuff. Its entertaining but it comes at a cost to you financially and the coach doesn't have the time, or desire, to see it. When you see the responses from coaches on this kids play, you realize that, while it was entertaining, he really wasn't the elite athlete his video tried to depict. The coach can see what you and I can't. This is no place to baffle them with B.S. The ultimate cost could be much, much greater.

6. Be sure they know who to watch.

I have mentioned this before. Don't make a video for your team mates. Make sure the coach knows who to watch on each play. Use circles or arrows etc.

7. Jersey color, singlet, helmet, whatever your sport, their is a uniform and or a number. Make sure you tell them up front, who you are. I created a video the other day that had a a player make a great shot. He was hidden from view for nearly the entire clip because a ref was standing in the way of the camera. It was the only play with no arrow or circle. But you knew who it was because when he stepped into view - for that 1 second - to catch the ball and shoot, we were able to freeze the frame and you could see his jersey number and i was able to zoom in on him in to verify the player was the athlete in all the other clips.

8. Give them what they want.

A football coach cares more about a deep squat than a volleyball coach does. Volleyball should be shot from the service line end of the court, while football and field sports shot from the stands. Understand your game and learn what they want to see and give them that. The highlights are not to impress friends with your ability to create neat videos, it's to get recruited.

9. Use the best equipment you can afford.

Make sure you supply the editing company the best quality film possible. If its hard for you to see the play, then it will be hard for a coach. (See number 8.) Also, go ahead and make the highlight video yourself. Then hire someone with the right equipment. Just because you have a phone or camera and a new laptop does not mean you have what it takes to create the videos. First, you need the time. Second, the right software, Third, you need to go through the film to mark it up. Then you need to learn the software to find out the machine you have doesn't process graphics right.... Just find someone to take your footage of plays and let them save you the time and money and aggravation it takes to do this very important part of the process. You will have to save your money at the "showcase" events where you must buy the event sponsored video. Then they charge you again to break down your kids plays. (But they don't take those plays and add them to your own footage.)

10. Show your drive, determination and ability to handle being beat.

Did you miss a shot? Did you get checked into the boards in a glorious collision that sent your stick flying? Whatever it is, show it and how you got right back up and made a great play. Did you recover and stop a shot, or recover the puck? In lacrosse kids get beat by a dodge all the time. Or they lose possession from a stick check. If you slam your stick down and stomp off, no one wants you. If you grab the stick and ride until you get it back or make a great trail-check on a shot that prevents a goal, show it.

I just created a video where a kid was beaten by a dodge, on the crease. He turned and immediately checked the kids stick and the shot trickled past the cage harmlessly and the ball was turned over. Had he stopped when he was beat, it would have been a goal. As a coach, what would you rather see?Perfection that you know doesn't exist, or a kid who gets beat and keeps fighting?

At the end of the day, coaches are busy. They need a reason to talk to you. More likely, they need a reason NOT to talk to you. But if you are not sending out your video often and early and are not following up with emails and calls per the NCAA guidelines, then you may be able to take the summer off. Because no will know you exist. Great players will be seen. But more likely, seen online before being seen in person. If a high school coach gives a referral to a recruiter, the recruiter will ask at least 1 question. Where can I see him play? If you don't have a video ready to send, someone else will.

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