Building a quality highlight video these days is absolutely crucial. College coaches bring notes from recruiting tournaments back to their office to discuss with the rest of the staff. The next step is googling promising players and looking for a highlight video. A good video can get an athlete from having 1 coach from a specific program interested, to 2 or 3.
Parents and players should know how and when to accumulate film, what to include in a video, where to host the video, and how/when to send it.
Accumulating video – prior to attending team or individual recruiting showcases you should contact the event host to see how you can purchase game film. Typically they will direct you to the company that films the games or give you a chance to purchase video right on their company’s website. Note, if you buy video prior to an event, typically you get a discounted rate. You can still purchase video at the conclusion of the event, but the price may be a little higher than the pre-event package.
Building a video – highlights should include variety, fundamental play, effort plays, and show you competing against quality competition. Remember, highlight videos are teasers for coaches to become interested you and give them enough of a reason to come watch you play live. A highlight video should not be a cinematic adventure. Short and sweet my friends. 3 to 5 minutes max. Make sure to include all of your contact info, email, phone, coaches contact, etc. at the beginning and end of the film.
Hosting a video – there are some great, and not so great online recruiting platforms. Some of the better platforms I know of include lacrosserecruits, NCSA, and connectlax. These recruiting platforms give you an opportunity to create an online recruiting profile with important information. Most importantly it allows you to host your highlight videos and message college coaches. Bringing us to our last step, messaging coaches.
Sending your video – email is the best way to send your video. Sharing your video through social media doesn’t hurt you. However, college coaches don’t recruit off twitter. They recruit through email. I suggest emailing your highlight video link or lacrosse recruits profile to the schools your interested in. Strategically send your video throughout the year. The week or few days leading up to an event is a great time to send your video. Messaging college coaches on March 1st, the day before their first regular season game, is a big no-no.
For more tips on building, hosting, and sharing a great highlight video, feel free to give us a call at 516.750.6500 or email us at info@flglacrosse.com
