how to make a soccer recruiting video
Making a soccer recruiting video can be seen as a daunting task. You may have a ton of game footage, but you're unsure about what to include, how to structure it, or even how to edit a highlight video. Even if you've created one, how can you be sure it's giving you the best chance to make a great first impression on a coach? After all, college coaches receive thousands of emails every year from players across the globe who seek an opportunity to play collegiate soccer. How can you ensure that the soccer recruiting video you've made will help attract their interest?
This article not only provides different ways to create a soccer recruiting video but also offers tips and tricks to ensure your first impression is a memorable one.
How to Make a Soccer Recruiting Video
Download/Find Editing Software: You can use various video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, Canva, iMovie, or DaVinci Resolve to create a cohesive soccer recruiting video.
Creating an Intro: Doesn’t need to be anything crazy just make sure it highlights key information about yourself.
Create an Intro: Your intro is improtant as it gives critical information to the coach watching your video about your position, graduating class, grades, club team, and accolades. All this information is important as college coaches typically have certain criteria they are looking for when recruiting players. If your intro meets that criteria they have become that much more interested in your recruiting video before even watching you touch a ball.
Highlighting Yourself: This can be done with a circle or arrow before each clip. I prefer to have a distinct circle.
Find Your Highlights: Review recent game footage and analyze your actions. What you focus on may vary depending on your position. For instance, if you are a forward, your actions will revolve around creating goal-scoring opportunities, while as a center, your highlight video should emphasize your defending abilities and range of passing. Identify 3 to 4 categories that are important for your position before reviewing your recent games. This way, you can look for specific moments during the review process and avoid including an excessive number of random actions in your video.
Trim and Upload to Video Editing Software: Once you've identified the moments from your recent games, trim them to showcase specific actions. Upload all the footage into one of the aforementioned video editing software applications. Now, with your game footage in hand, you can start organizing it into categories within the editing software.
Highlight Yourself: With your clips in the editing software, go through each clip and make sure to highlight yourself appropriately. Before the start of each clip, use an arrow or circle to emphasize yourself. College coaches won't necessarily know who they're looking for, so highlighting yourself helps them identify you before the action begins. What's crucial is not the specific way you mark the highlights but that you mark them effectively.
Segmenting: Break up your recruiting video to clearly show what coaches should be looking for.
Rearrange the Videos to Match the Segment Titles: Once you have all the clips you want to share in your video editing software and have highlighted yourself in each one, it's time to rearrange the video to create clear video segments. These segments could be labeled as "Goals," "Dribbling," "Defending," and "Breaking Lines," among others. The segments should offer coaches insights into what they can expect in each clip. When creating your highlight video, it's advisable to start with your strongest segment rather than saving it for the end. To grab the coach's attention right from the start, place your two best highlights at the beginning of the video.
Final Edits: After highlighting yourself and arranging the clips in a cohesive order, it's time for final clean-ups and edits. This is the stage to shorten your video if it exceeds 5 minutes, trim highlights that extend beyond the relevant action, and ensure your markings are accurate before each clip. If there are any blurry clips, consider removing them to maintain the video's quality and brevity.
Once you've completed all these steps, you should have a highlight video that you feel confident sharing with coaches. It's crucial to address all the details before sending out the final product. As mentioned before, coaches receive numerous videos, and the more professional and easily identifiable your recruiting video is, the less likely a coach is to click off the video prematurely.
Creating a soccer recruiting video is undoubtedly challenging and requires substantial effort. If you have the game footage and a basic guide but still feel uncomfortable creating your own recruiting video, there are resources available, such as Tekkers Media on YouTube, which provides a video guide on creating a soccer recruiting highlight video using Premiere Pro.
Tips for Your Video:
Select Moments That Highlight Your Position: Ensure that your video includes clips that showcase the aspects of your position that matter most to coaches. Tailor your highlights to what a coach would expect to see from a player in your role. Segment your highlight recruiting video into categories that correspond to different elements of your game.
Forward: Goals, Assists, 1v1 Dribbling, Link-Up Play, Box Running
Wingers: Goals, Assists, 1v1 Dribbling, Link-Up Play, Crossing
Attacking Midfielder: Goals, Assists, Dribbling, Breaking Lines, Link Play, Switching Point of Attack
Defensive Midfielder: Breaking Lines, Long Balls, Link Play, Switching Point of Attack, Defending, Retaining Possession
Central Defender: Defending, Recovery Runs, Aerial Duels, Range of Passing, Breaking Lines, Retaining Possession
Outside Backs: Defending, 1v1 Dribbling, Crossing, Overlapping/Underlapping with wide players, Range of Passing
Goalkeeper: Saves, Reactions, Distribution
While this list is not exhaustive, it can serve as a starting point for determining what to highlight in your recruiting video. Demonstrating that you are a complete player can make your recruiting video more appealing to college coaches.
Don't Make a Coach Download Your Film: College coaches have limited time for reviewing recruits, so make it easy for them. Instead of making coaches download your video, upload your game footage to YouTube or a streaming service and provide a hyperlink in your email. A coach should be able to watch your highlight tape with a single click. While not all coaches may have the same preferences regarding downloads, it's best to remove any barriers that might discourage them from viewing your video.
Ideal Timeframe: Aim for a highlight video that falls within the 3-5-minute range. A video shorter than 3 minutes might not adequately showcase your skills, while one longer than 5 minutes could lead to a coach losing interest. With careful selection, you can effectively convey your abilities within this timeframe.
Placement of Highlights: Engage the coach early in the process by including your best highlights at the beginning of the video. You want to capture the coach's attention immediately and maintain it throughout the video. After the initial impactful highlights, organize the rest of your recruiting video into segments that highlight different aspects of your game.