Recruiting Video

Digital is the best. Create a folder on your computer and collect all the video you want to use in that folder. Edite each video to cute out the wasted time. Once you have what you want create a DVD/CD depending on how much you have. I put a letter of intoduction with academics and all info required plus I put a short description of each titled video so the coach could determine what he wanted to look at.
It is much easier to view a DVD/CD than say a tape which has to be rewound etc.
I also tried to indicate the level of opponent and length of the video.
the coach could open the DVD lokk athe the resume and click on thye videos he wanted to look at. Easy and he can come back to it anytime he wanted.
Donot try to make a home movie but keep it real, not too wordy and no music. May be his worst song ever.
Also make sure the videos get in tight on the mechanics and not just make a game video. He wants to see your skills.

There is a place on this website that talks about making a video. We have a video camera that uses a tape. We taped BP, fielding practice, a little game footage from HS and showcases. We edited it all on the PC with simple microsoft software. I did have some problems editing the sound so we left the fans cheering at games. (Included mom yelling "Go baby Go").

Ask the coaches if they want DVD or video tape. Keep it under 5 minutes.

On the label we put my son's name, school, graduation year and contact information. We enclosed a cover letter with stats, grades and references.

When you open a DVD/CD it has several icons on it. I probably had 10-12 hours in total. I had a coach who called and watched every minute of it and asked for more. He was the guy I was most interested in. Unfortunatly he transfered to a major D1 school right in the middle of the process.
You give them a coice and the overview of each video. They ranged ib length to a few minutes to an hour. The long ones were against top teams and included the good and the bad.
We got offers from schools that never saw my son in person. If done properly it is better than being there. You can get up close and personal. I also checked the schools roster to see if they had a player that my son pitched against and noted that in a brief cover letter. We had a sight unseen offer from a JC that is a WS D1 team almost every year for the last 5 years. There were others that would not make an offer on the DVD alone. We had to set up a workout or go where they could see him.
More is better as long as they can stop and choose. I tried to cut out any go baby go stuf or cursing where possible.

thanks for the replies guys just one more thing. Does anyone know how to put a stopwatch timing into the video. This would be good for pop and 60 times but i have not clue how to do it.

Thanks

There is no need to put your own timer in there. The coach can use a stopwatch just like he would at a live game.

Windows Moviemaker and Imovie are both really good and easy programs to edit your game video with if you are trying to cut it up between different highlights and things.

But, of course you have to have a digital camera which some do not.

Hope this helps.