When it comes to the recruiting process, nothing can make a prospective athlete stand out more than a high-quality video that showcases the athlete’s skills. Coaches can see if the prospective athlete has the skills necessary to compete at the level they coach and whether that athlete can contribute to more wins in the future. But how should these videos be made? What should be showcased, and what needs to be left on the cutting room floor? In this article, I will discuss the elements essential to creating a video that coaches will watch and help you get a foot in the door to reach the next level. The simple fact is that these videos need to be short and to the point. Coaches will not be a fan of your athlete if they feel that their time is being wasted watching a video that does not give them the relevant information required to know your athlete. I hope that you will learn how to make sure your athlete presents themselves in the best possible way to achieve their dream of becoming college athlete at the end of this.

Step 1: Make Sure a Radar Gun is Visible

When making a recruiting video for a pitcher, a radar gun with readings must be present during the video session. Coaches want to know how hard a pitcher throws his fastball. The presence of radar guns discourages lying about an athlete’s velocity because the evidence is there for the coach to see.

Step 2: Have 1 Slow Motion Video of Athletes’ Mechanics 

A slow-motion video of the athlete’s mechanics from the side will show the coach how well the athletes are moving and indicate whether they have tremendous potential to grow into their bodies and become better pitchers or have maxed out their abilities.

Step 3: Include 5 Videos of Each Pitch Type

Whether the pitcher has only a Fastball and a Change-Up, or he includes sliders, curveballs, cutters, etc., include five videos of those pitches. This will give the prospective coach a good sample size of your arsenal and how will all of the pitches move. If you can combine good velocity with an array of pitches that move differently, you will have a good shot at getting recruited.

Step 4: Have Pitch Tracking Technology Available

While this step is not necessary, utilization of pitch tracking technology will benefit you as an enhancement to your video. The prospective coach will be a Trackman, or Rapsodo report will show the different movement types. A coach’s eye can tell you how your athlete’s arsenal works. You want to give the coach as much relevant information as possible so he can determine whether to recruit you.

Step 5: Utilize Ten Seconds to Provide Basic Information 

Use the final ten seconds of the video to post relevant information about the athlete. Information such as height, weight, Grade Point Average, ACT/SAT Scores, email addresses, and phone numbers. Make sure that this information is relayed to prospective coaches; that way they know who you are, are you a good student, and how they can contact you if interested.

Do Not Include: 

When making your video, keep it simple. The video does not need a soundtrack; no coach will be impressed by your choice of “In the End” by Linkin Park overlaid on top of your pitching. Keep transitions between pitches simple; quick swipes or fade-outs work best in my experience.

Conclusion:

The recruiting process can be tough to understand and stressful, but showing off the skills to prospective coaches can make the process easier. I have laid out the necessary steps to create a recruiting video that showcases your athlete’s skills in the best way possible. Once your video is made, and you feel like you have performed to the best of your abilities, the next step is to send it to the coaches at prospective schools. Once you have done that, the coach’s standards and needs determine your fate. Athletes should not be discouraged if their dream school does not contact them after seeing their video; usually, that means the school will not be the best fit anyway. Thousands of schools offer baseball, and we just need to be comfortable with our abilities and play to our best potential.

Here is a Finished Example

Recruiting Video