Good examples of skill videos for college recruitment

[Hot Stove League]

I might be overthinking this a bit, I just want to do a good job

[Hot Stove League]

Coming down this weekend, but looks like a possible rainout. I better start working on the video, as the back up plan. Still looking for new video ideas or samples, anyone want to share?

[Hot Stove League]

Thanks JustBob for sharing the video. Great job, I am sure she is getting a lot of looks.

[hit4power]

FWIW, ours got DD on the radar screen of several smaller schools who, otherwise, would never have found her or come to see her play.

1) Agree on no music
2) Keep it short - we put a summary of her best stuff (couple of swings, couple of fielding plays) right at the front before her little introductory speech. We figured most coaches could watch that and either move on or stay tuned.
3) Hitting - we showed two bunts, one up third base, one up first. Then we showed some swings off tee, then went to front toss. One coach commented that she liked seeing the tee work as she could slow it down on her PC and really analyze the swing. Some people advise hitting off a machine - I don't think it matters as long as you've got someone who can do decent front toss. One piece of advice we were given that I think is good is to keep picking up the batted balls (and any missed fielding balls) so no one sees twenty balls scattered around the infield and shallow outfield. Anything she crushes, leave it out there.
4) Ours plays 3B so we showed throws to first and throws to second while fielding a mix of balls hit to both sides and hit both hard and slow. Also showed bunt defense. Total of maybe 10-12 plays. We didn't edit the fielding much - there's one shot where she doesn't field a hard shot cleanly but finishes the play nicely. Got a coach comment that she liked seeing how DD handled that situation.
5) We did not show any base running - unless you are selling DD's speed, don't think you need to.
6) We closed with a text screen including name, phone, email, GPA and SAT
7) We paid to have a pro come and shoot it. I directed the action, choosing the camera angles, etc, but it was worth it to have someone with first class gear, and most importantly, good editing capabilities. Once we had the final edit, he burned the DVD's and did the YouTube upload. I recommend the DVD's - coaches can play them in slo-mo, and stop action on their PC's and the resolution is better than just watching YouTube.
8) Best thing we did was have the raw footage reviewed by DD's hitting coach and TB coach to get an unbiased perspective on the best shots to include. They both (especially the hitting coach) noticed things I would have never seen. I also had them review the final product and made a point of asking them whether or not they thought it would help or hurt DD.

Lastly, I think the videos are more important if you are aiming at the smaller schools. The big schools get too many to really do much with (I'm told) and they have the budgets to come watch whomever they want.

[watchtonsofsoftball]

Heres some tips from my experience...
Stay away from production crap, slow motion, picture in picture, etc. College coaches laugh at this stuff and are turned off (have had a few say they stop watching as soon as that comes on)
The closer the better. Hitting should be from the side and front if possible to see swing mechanics. Keep it short 3-5 mins MAX. Whatever your kid is BEST at feature FIRST! Fielding show all the angles and proper fundamentals. Obviously what to do depends on position. Aside from that, no real reason to see a sample, if a kid is good, keeps it simple, you will have a successful video. Find someone who has done softball videos before and knows what they are doing. Oh one more thing. If your kid is uncomfortable in front of the camera nix the introduction and just show her info to start the video. Nothing worse than a video where a kid looks uncomfortable and saying um to many times or talking to fast, or sucking in air. I've seen it all. Just get to the damn video already!
College coaches are no different then any other human being, they have short attention spans. However you send your video get creative. They get alot of them every day.

[rbi]

Video's are nice, DVD's are cool, constant emails are important, game situations are great, grades are crucial, and phone calls to coachs are GOLDEN! Get the cell # and pick up the phone!


Not everyone can play for a "top" TB team but, EVERYONE can do all the above.

Not everyone is a "blue chipper" but, EVERYONE if the above is done well, will find a home..

[Paco]

Here is a link to my daughter's video. It is pretty typical of what our organization produces. Our head coach does them and they typically show 8-10 plays (hits, balls fielded) from multiple camera angles. I think the video is over 9 minutes – which is a bit long I think. You’re probably better off being around the 5-7 minute window. As has already been mentioned, don't get fancy with music, picture-in-picture or slow motion.

Her video is not perfect, but it gave the college coaches enough for them to make a better decision about coming out to see her play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=q2nqcxmPjsQ

PS Yes, I know height is spelled wrong at the end of the video. I didn't have the heart to point it out - he works so hard on them.

[ump5761]

This is a bit old, but helped my dd in her bid to go D1.

http://youtu.be/Q1HiEV4khAc

[DDG]

Break it up into 3 or 4 separate videos, one for each subject (hitting, one for each defensive position, and possibly an interview and base running if your highlighting that ability specifically). This will allow coaches to click on each skill to get a feel for what they are looking at.

We have received positive feedback from several coaches about this approach. They can get a feel for a kid’s form and ability in each of the main areas in under a minute. No guessing where in the video will the hitting (or fielding, or whatever) show up.

Most important, keep it simple. Picture a coach sitting on a plane, watching the latest batch of disks. They plug in a disk. Music starts blaring from their speakers. They immediately hit the eject button to stop the noise.

Also, do a search of some of the top 18 Gold teams’ websites. Many will have links to their player’s videos.

[Hot Stove League]

Thanks everyone for the PM's and the suggestions on videos. I will get my DD's video done before and during the high school season. Unfortunately, while searching YouTube, I've seen more bad videos than good. One thing I have learned, if your daughter is not ready skills wise, don't make a skills video. You don't want to assist the college coach in eliminating your daughter. There were many videos that were shared with me that looked good. I also found some by doing YouTube searches, I’ll share a couple that I think were done well and were different. I will share more as I find them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylOs_sPVoLg

http://youtu.be/_ZL6mrg1-mw