Video Advice from College Coaches
Making an effective highlight video doesn’t have to be a headache — just follow this advice.
Number five on our list of Recruiting Advice from College Coaches was “provide video.” Video is a great tool that coaches can revisit and share among their staff as they make recruiting decisions. Video is especially important when the status of camps, clinics, and recruiting tournaments is still up in the air.
As you can imagine, our coaches watch a lot of highlight videos, so we asked them what makes for an effective one.
Their answers were consistent — keep it short, spend the whole time on hockey, and make it easy for them to see you. We’ve expanded on their advice and provided some helpful resources to assist you on your video-making journey.
How to create an effective recruiting video.
1 — Keep it short.
Aim for a video that lasts about five minutes.
2 — You don’t need the “extras.”
Music
Many coaches, when watching recruit videos, put the audio on mute, so don’t worry about music. But if you do decide to include music on your video, make sure it is appropriate. Ask yourself, “will a coach feel comfortable hearing this music in their professional office setting?”
Introductions
Introducing yourself at the beginning of a video takes up precious time that should be spent on skills or game highlights. Let a slide with your contact information serve as your introduction (use this template).
Special Effects
Flashy video transitions aren’t a necessary component of your recruiting video. Coaches are watching purely for the content — they want to see your skills and your game play — don’t feel like you have to spend time or money on making your video look professional.
Slow Motion
Avoid altering the speed of your video — coaches want to evaluate your speed on and off the ball, slow motion distorts that.
3 — Focus on game highlights.
Game highlights should take up two-thirds of your video and should be a combination of short clips highlighting your offensive and defensive efforts.
Use film that is clear and in focus and — most importantly — indicate which player you are at the beginning of every game clip with a vibrant circle or an arrow. It is not enough to share your jersey number.
4 —Spend some time on your skills.
Include four to eight 15-second clips of your basic skills. Skills should take up about a third of your video and you should fill that time with as many repetitions as possible.
FIELD PLAYERS
Showcase your passing AND receiving skills — push passes, sweeps, hits, overheads, receptions on the move, stationary receptions, receptions around an obstacle, are all great skills to highlight.
Dribbling skills — set up obstacles that allow you to showcase your fine and dynamic dribbling skills, end an obstacle course with a shot on goal or a pass. (Here’s a good option.)
GOALKEEPERS
5 — Include your contact information.
Share your name, graduation year, high school, and club program at the beginning of the video (here’s that template again). And be sure the video is named something recognizable like “Sally Sweeper, Class of 2022, Highlight Video.”
If you’re going to include any personal or contact information on your video, be sure to pay special attention to your video-sharing platform’s privacy and sharing settings.
When you send a message to college coaches with a link to your video:
- Include your name and graduation year in the subject line.
- Share your GPA and test scores — attaching your most-recent unofficial transcript is even better.
- Include your coaches’ contact information IF they have indicated that they are OK with you sharing their email address with college coaches.
Now go and make a great video!
Visit our NFHCA recruiting page for more helpful information.