Things to consider when shooting your student athlete videos

PLAN or plan to fail. We have heard this since before we understood what it even meant. As adults with students, we know we have all said it in one form or another. It is no different when trying to get your son or daughter recruited for their sport of choice. Or, maybe its not a sport, but recruiting is part of the process. PLAN.

(For the sake of my own laziness, I am not going to say He/she, him/her, son/daughter. I will use on or the other as I see fit based on how my mind is working as i write this. Disclaimers aside, let go.)

Plan where to set up. Do you need to set up at all? Is your school filming all the game? Do you have access to these videos? What access do you have? Can you share access with your video editing company of choice? (UCME Sports Videos shameless plug). Do they shoot all games or home games only? Do they shoot skills based positions like goalie, or golfer or bowler or pitcher?

Maybe you are doing the filming yourself so you can control what is being seen. (not a bad idea) But be sure you are not too focused on just your son. Is he driving for a layup? Rebounding well? Be sure you have a wide enough angle to see how he is moving in relation to the rest of the team. What does he do off ball? He made a great 3 point shot, but how did he get open? Try to shoot the whole game. No need to shoot when he is not in of course, but shoot all of the game when he is in. Coaches need to see if he can play defense, why did he pass? How did he get open?

Try to set up higher than the court or field when it make sense. Forget trying to be at eye level, especially in Basketball. Get a tripod, (spend a little bit on a good one) don't use the old squeaky one you found at a garage sale for $5. You paid $150 for his shoes so he could run faster and jump higher, make sure your equipment allows you to show off his abilities without distracting or annoying the coach with shaky, bouncy, noisy video. Use a decent recording device. It doesn't mean you need to spend $2300 on the best pro quality equipment. (but if you have it use it!)

Your highlight video needs to show specific things. First and foremost is, "Who is the coach watching?" If after a couple plays your princess, Becky, isn't the obvious person to watch on the court, then maybe Janet is. And maybe Janet gets the phone call. Make sure your video identifies your player with an arrow, a circle, a highlighted area, anything that allows the coach to instantly know who to focus on. If they cant figure it out they will just stop watching.

Film from appropriate positions. If you are recording Football, Basketball or Soccer, or nearly any field sport and or larger indoor arena sport you will film from the stands or an elevated area that allows you a good view of the playing area. If you are filming volleyball, you will likely need to film from behind the service line. (does your school film?) This allows you to show sets, plays, digs, rotation and the other elements that make that team sport challenging and how your athlete moves on the court.

What about skill based positions like Goalie, Pitching, Golf or Bowling? Besides game play; when appropriate, you will need to show multiple angles of the athlete doing their thing from the front, sides and behind. Coaches need to see how they move through the pitch, when they release the ball, club speed, club selection and hip rotation; ball release, ball trajectory, follow through, etc.

Think of it this way. If a coach is coaching "it", a recruiter will want to see how your kid does "it". "It", is what makes the player recruit-able. "It" is why you filmed him in the first place. "It" will separate them from the rest. Chances are, if you are reading this, it is because you want to make sure "it" will be translated properly to the recruiting coaches. and that is what "IT" is all about.

Plan. Organize, consolidate, create and distribute. We will discuss distribution of your videos at a later time. This process will take some effort. If your athlete is good enough to be recruited then put in the effort to help make their work, worry, stress and effort pay off. "It" is an investment for both of you. And have fun doing it.

#videoproduction #videotools