Baseball Coaching Info

The Recruiting Video

Recruiting videos are one of the best ways your players can get exposure to collegiate coaches. Many college programs cannot afford to send a coach to see every potential student/athlete across the country, and they rely, somewhat, on the initiative of the high school players and coaches themselves. By taking the initiative, the players are showing the college coach they are interested in the program and willing take the first step in the recruiting process. The video also gives the recruiting coach a profile of the players’ talents.

For a small cost, there are individuals who make recruiting videos for a living and do a great job packaging and editing a quality product. They can put in graphics and do a neat job editing the material, but, speaking from a college coach’s point of view, recruiters are looking at the ability of the player and don’t care about fancy film work.

If your players plan on saving some money by making their own videos, there are some key elements that should be included in the footage.

Introduction

As a lead in, have the player introduce her/himself and share a little personal information (i.e. grade, height, playing position, GPA, study interests, etc.). This portion should last no longer than 30 seconds, but is important so the recruiter can put a face with a name.

Skills

Choose several of the skills necessary for playing the game at the college level and include clips of the player using them in the video. Do not include skills that the player is totally incapable of performing. The skills portion of the video should move quickly and last 7-10 minutes.

Game Film

• Copy 15-20 minutes of unedited game footage on the end of the skills portion.
• Choose footage that is the highest caliber of play.
• Indicate who the player is by number, position, or other distinguishing characteristics.

Distribution

Make at least 5 copies and include the player’s resume and an introduction letter with the video. Encourage the players to send a video to any schools they are interested in. Sending a lot of videos can get costly, but players can buy blank tapes in bulk and purchase the shorter tapes (30-40 minutes), which are cheaper. Finally, some collegiate coaches will keep the videos unless you specifically request a return, so tell your player’s to make their desires known, or they might not see their tapes again.

Start this process early (during the player’s junior season in high school). Take the time to help your players out, and remind them this is an investment in their college education.