Recruiting Video Advice

[Unregistered]

Video is definitely the bait when your kid is a keeper. Field players usually look like little ants in a video.

Yes it's easy to video a GK with little involvement. A field player will require someone following the action. You can also use editing tools like circling them on the video.

[Unregistered]

^^^Maybe it is a fishing expedition, but you can't catch any fish without bait. Coaches at better programs get hundreds of emails. If a 3 minute video gets them to watch your showcase game vs another player? That's a win.

It's not a big deal to do and certainly doesn't require multiple cameras and expensive equipment. The one thing I would recommend besides a tripod is a view shade - in bright light it can get tough to see what you're actually taping. It's an inexpensive made-in-china thing that slips onto of the viewfinder of your camera

This video fishing expedition is based wholly on the premise that the parent doesn’t have the first clue where an appropriate match for their kid is so they blast a large number of coaches emails and videos hoping that lightning might strike. It’s a mass marketing approach that does work but really only for a very small percentage. Sort of like speed dating. Your kid really has to stand out on the film to an eye who generally knows what they are looking for. Can be a tall order. Also consider if a kid is good enough to do that that they probably have a fairly good soccer resume to begin with and likely already known by college coaches so how necessary is it all. My experience was you are bettter off using ID clinics to get discovered and get on a coaches radar then use actual full length game film to help them through the scouting and evaluation stage of the process.

[Unregistered]

Of course targeting right is vital. That goes without saying. You can save your family a good deal of stress, time and money by doing it right. No one (or very few) is advocating sending full game footage. This is about a highlight clip, something that may get a coach to come watch you at showcases. Why spend money on an ID event if they won't even come and watch you play for 20 minutes at an event? It is not at all easy to stand out at ID events. Most times coaches will break off their top 25-40 prospects into a separate group and spend little time with rest. You need to be in that top group. Most of those will be players they've seen play before or maybe were enticed with video.

Consider yourself a product you're trying to sell.
A multi pronged approach is needed. However unlike with consumers coaches aren't swayed with fancy graphics or effects. I've seen some absurd ones!

[Unregistered]

This video fishing expedition is based wholly on the premise that the parent doesn’t have the first clue where an appropriate match for their kid is so they blast a large number of coaches emails and videos hoping that lightning might strike. It’s a mass marketing approach that does work but really only for a very small percentage. Sort of like speed dating. Your kid really has to stand out on the film to an eye who generally knows what they are looking for. Can be a tall order. Also consider if a kid is good enough to do that that they probably have a fairly good soccer resume to begin with and likely already known by college coaches so how necessary is it all. My experience was you are bettter off using ID clinics to get discovered and get on a coaches radar then use actual full length game film to help them through the scouting and evaluation stage of the process.

Describe a "fairly good soccer resume" to me, from your informed perspective.

If your son/daughter is looking to go to school around here then they'll probably get seen somewhat in the ECNL/DA world.

If your son/daughter is looking to go to school outside the Northeast how else, other than video highlights, do you entice a coach to come watch you at a showcase?

Trying to gain attention outside our little New England fishbowl is hard for 99% of the players out there. It takes a lot of emails. It may involve a lot of travel and money spent on camps. Parents and players need to pay attention to cues they get from coaches because wasting resources on non-matches and disinterested coaches is silly. People don't just get "noticed" in this process.

[Unregistered]

Describe a "fairly good soccer resume" to me, from your informed perspective.

If your son/daughter is looking to go to school around here then they'll probably get seen somewhat in the ECNL/DA world.

If your son/daughter is looking to go to school outside the Northeast how else, other than video highlights, do you entice a coach to come watch you at a showcase?

Trying to gain attention outside our little New England fishbowl is hard for 99% of the players out there. It takes a lot of emails. It may involve a lot of travel and money spent on camps. Parents and players need to pay attention to cues they get from coaches because wasting resources on non-matches and disinterested coaches is silly. People don't just get "noticed" in this process.

Not only that but coaches know that not all players in the higher level leagues are the same. Nor are their teams or clubs. Don't assume just because your kid is on a roster that means a coach will be automatically interested in them. And your point about fishing outside the region is important. One of my kids wanted the midwest and not many coaches from there come out here to events, only the national ones. He was injured for a national event during his prime recruiting time. His highlight reel helped measure interest before embarking on costly ID clinics (plus phone calls from two club coaches).

if a coach doesn't watch a highlight reel (they often have their assistants do it anyway) so be it. But if it gets them to a field to see you play it was worth every penny and effort. From there on out it's all up to you to keep their interest going.

[Unregistered]

if a coach doesn't watch a highlight reel (they often have their assistants do it anyway) so be it. But if it gets them to a field to see you play it was worth every penny and effort. From there on out it's all up to you to keep their interest going.

This, this and this. Email every coach associated with the program. Someone will watch it. Some poor schmuck is paid to watch it. If they like it you may get some interest. Waiting around with your resume in your hand isn't very effective. Unless you have NT camp call ups on that resume it's just a piece of paper. "National Championships" aren't what they used to be outside the DA or ECNL.

[Unregistered]

Perspective from the Wake Forest coach:

http://infocusstudios.com/soccer-col...ng-video-tips/

Send a dominant game with several highlights rather than several highlights from several games. Make sure the game is against dominant competition as well.

[Unregistered]

Don't

Do

This

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...&v=bN0H6oF2EaI

[Unregistered]

My son was recruited to a good DI school and talked to many reach DI's like Clemson, Wake, Michigan, etc. and each school asked for highlight video early on, then later asked for a few full games. We had parents record games at high school and club events and it was easy to compile. I made a note of the times of "good" action on my iphone and gave it to him. He looked at the videos and made a tape with some of my notes and some of his. It is real easy when you have the approximate time in a game!

Anyone that says the coach doesn't want a video has never gone through the process,

[Unregistered]

My son was recruited to a good DI school and talked to many reach DI's like Clemson, Wake, Michigan, etc. and each school asked for highlight video early on, then later asked for a few full games. We had parents record games at high school and club events and it was easy to compile. I made a note of the times of "good" action on my iphone and gave it to him. He looked at the videos and made a tape with some of my notes and some of his. It is real easy when you have the approximate time in a game!

Anyone that says the coach doesn't want a video has never gone through the process,

This guy gets it. He also didn't break the bank doing it or get overly involved.

[Unregistered]

You were so busy being that “helicopter parent” that you couldn’t hear everyone saying “he is nuts”.

No helicopter parenting at all.

I fully admit I'm nuts.

15 minutes placing cameras before a game meant 90 minutes of soccer I got to watch and enjoy, uninterupted.

The laptop became my child's when they went off to college. So did the portable hard drive. Both came in very handy at school.

I resold all of the cameras on Craigslist. Sure, I took a loss, but I ended up spending far less in the end than most of our friends spent on SAT prep.

Things worked out well for my soccer player.

[Unregistered]

No helicopter parenting at all.

I fully admit I'm nuts.

15 minutes placing cameras before a game meant 90 minutes of soccer I got to watch and enjoy, uninterupted.

The laptop became my child's when they went off to college. So did the portable hard drive. Both came in very handy at school.

I resold all of the cameras on Craigslist. Sure, I took a loss, but I ended up spending far less in the end than most of our friends spent on SAT prep.

Things worked out well for my soccer player.

your money would have been much better spent on test prep. what a fool.

[Unregistered]

your money would have been much better spent on test prep. what a fool.

Test prep wasn’t necessary for my child(NMSF & SAT in 97th percentile).

[Unregistered]

Of course targeting right is vital. That goes without saying. You can save your family a good deal of stress, time and money by doing it right. No one (or very few) is advocating sending full game footage. This is about a highlight clip, something that may get a coach to come watch you at showcases. Why spend money on an ID event if they won't even come and watch you play for 20 minutes at an event? It is not at all easy to stand out at ID events. Most times coaches will break off their top 25-40 prospects into a separate group and spend little time with rest. You need to be in that top group. Most of those will be players they've seen play before or maybe were enticed with video.

Consider yourself a product you're trying to sell.
A multi pronged approach is needed. However unlike with consumers coaches aren't swayed with fancy graphics or effects. I've seen some absurd ones!

Seems we are bandying about over semantics. Unless I am misreading you, I don't think either one of us see highlight films having much value in the discovery process where a coach picks a player out of the masses to pursue. That's what Daddy War Bucks with the killer video set up was espousing. From experience I know that is a waste of time and money. Video will never take the place of shoe leather. I do think that the footage parents shoot at games actually does have some value, just later in the process. Let me ask you, why would a college coach need to use a highlight video if they have already identified a prospect that they are interested in? What is it going to tell them? That is the point where I believe more film is helpful simply because it gives the coach an actual look at the player within the context of a game (ie shows them off ball movement, effort etc). What does a simple highlight film do at that point in the process? Is it really going to tell a coach what they really want to know? Remember that the coach already has found the kid and there is interest. The in the point that I am suggesting video can be valuable is during the vetting process where a coach typically wants to watch a player to determine just HOW interested they are.

[Unregistered]

Unless I am misreading you, I don't think either one of us see highlight films having much value in the discovery process where a coach picks a player out of the masses to pursue.

How does a coach pick a player out of the masses then?