The information below contains my experience about creating your own highlight reel and recruitment tips. I thought I would share with all since I’m asked about this constantly after having been through the process with my oldest son (D2 NCAA commitment) and currently in-process with my youngest freshman. Even though this information speaks about the sport of Lacrosse, it really is applicable to just about every collegiate sport.
Highlight videos and recruitment: If you are planning to play a sport post-HS, I would highly recommend to begin working on a highlight film in your freshman year and send it to coaches that may be attending summer tournaments that you will be playing in. To be suddenly ‘discovered’ is rare at a tournament event.
I recommend making ‘list’ of colleges you may be interested in from an ACADEMIC point of view. I had my kids narrow it down to 5 or 6 colleges. You don’t have to declare your major just yet but it’s good to have an idea of what you’re interested in (Business, Health/Medical field/Law, etc) Choosing a college is one of the most important decisions of your lifetime. Do your research and make an educated decision when you pick a school, not only as an athletic recruit, but as a student.
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/is a great starting place for checking out colleges. Big Future is a collection of information to research colleges It has information about the Majors available/Campus Life/Applying/Costs/Deadlines/GPA/SAT averages for those that applied and if Sports Scholarships are offered. (this is hidden, sort of, in ‘ Campus Life’, select ‘Sports’ tab) Scholarships come in all shapes and sizes, academic/athletic/dependent on many things such as GPA/SAT score, Type of school ( D1, D2 or D3 ), NAIA or NCAA, etc.
The next step is to prepare your highlight reel and send the Head Coach or Asst Coach an introduction letter (email) with the highlight reel embedded. In some cases the college with have the email address available on the website and in other cases you will need to contact them through the athletic forms on the college website. There is always a space on the athletic form to copy/paste your highlight reel link.
The introductory letter(email) should contain information about yourself (positions you’ve play, years you’ve played, other sports you play ,what majors you are leaning toward and why you think you’d be a good fit with their program). Link(embed) the highlight reel in this letter (email) and send it off.
Creating Highlight reels 101:• Keep the highlight film under 5 min.
• Make a new highlight film each year. (Include both club and select lacrosse team play highlights in the same reel.)
• Put your best plays in the first 2 min of the film, sometimes a coach or asst. coach doesn’t have time to watch the whole highlight.
• Don’t “abuse” slow-mo. If there is a really good play on the ball, slow motion is a good way to show the play but use it sparingly, if at all.
• Coaches know you all can score, so put more emphasis on what else you do on the field (assisting, ground balls, clearing, and oh, yeah, scoring. )
• I recommend keeping the music generic or no music at all. Coaches don’t want to listen to Molly and the Dead Fish bang on drums and screaming while watching your highlight reel.
• If you want examples of highlight films, there are a ton of them out there on youtube. I can send you links/examples of my work as well to generate ideas.
Basic recruiting Tips:
• During the recruitment process collegiate association rules may apply, i.e.; NCAA coaches are not allowed to contact you first until June 15th of your Junior year. BUT…you can make contact with them, visit their college/university, etc. Ask a parent to be involved in this process! Just like in lacrosse, working as a TEAM will help you become successful!
• Be sure to fill out athletic forms for the college/universities that you are interested in. Most Athletic programs have these online forms on their homepage.
• There is a ton of information on the net regarding the recruitment process. The info I have provided above is a mix of real life experience and researching these recruitment sites.
• Some athletes create blogs or websites that they update periodically. These are helpful in the exposure process of recruitment.
• A coach may tell you he is attending a tournament and will check out one of your games but he will not make contact with you due to collegiate recruitment rules (June 15th, Junior year I believe) After the tournament it is good to follow up with the coach/asst coach.
• If a coach replies be sure to set up a teleconference and ask questions. There is a list of questions at the bottom of this email that will help you develop your own list.
• Work hard in the offseason! There is always someone working harder than you! This means both Academic and athletically!
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Recruiting Questions to ask a recruiter/coach:What position do you see me playing?
How many freshman spots are you recruiting for?
What other players are currently on the roster at that position?
When do you think I can expect to play?
How many other players are you currently recruiting for this position and where do I fi t on the depth chart? (This is hard to ask but so important.)
How many total players are on the roster and how many freshmen do you anticipate needing?
What is your team’s style of play/how do you run the team?
How would you describe your coaching style?
What has made someone successful on your team/what has made someone unsuccessful?
What is the practice schedule in-season and out-of-season?
What is the schedule for conditioning/weight training?
What are the off-season requirements for summer and holiday breaks?
Do you have a junior varsity and do all freshmen automatically play on the JV team?
Do you automatically redshirt freshmen (i.e., make freshmen sit out for their first year and then they play the following four years)?
What are the graduation rates for athletes on this team?
What percent return to the team after freshman year?
What is the travel schedule like?
How much school will I miss?
Are there academic tutors available?
Does the team take any special trips (e.g., during the summer)?
Will I be able to participate in a semester-abroad program?
What are the living situations?
Do the team players room together?
Do the team players eat/study together?
Do they all live in the same dorm?
How long am I required to live on campus?
When does the head coach’s contract end and how long does he intend to stay?
Is medical insurance required for my participation and does the school I provide it or do I?
Who will be responsible for the medical expenses if I am seriously injured in team competition?
What happens if I want to transfer to another school?
How do you run your practices?
For the Current Team Members of perspective college:
What’s a typical day like?
How do you like the coaching staff—how would you describe their style?
Is it tough to keep up with your schoolwork?
Is help (for schoolwork) accessible?
How many hours per day do you need to work/study?
How do the faculty and students treat athletes?
How much of a fan base does the team have?
How hard is the travel schedule?
How much time do you devote to the team during season/off season?
What do you like best/least about the sports program?
How are the living arrangements?
Do the team players hang out together or do they go their own ways?
What is there to do socially and how much time do you have for socializing?
If you had to do it over again, would you still choose this school? Why/why not?
