Skills Video Question

There's lot's of views on this, but I'll tell you what I did for my son:

1)  BP cage swings off front toss.  Camera was set up facing the batter on the opposite side of home plate.  5 swings is all you need.

2)  For SS fielding, camera should be home plate perspective, but zoomed in to provide a good view of the fielder.  A couple grounders right at him, a couple to his left, a couple to his right, and charging a slow roller.  Two or three throws from the vantage point of 1st base would also be a good idea to show carry on the throws.

For the above videos, you are showing mechanics, footwork, etc so results don't matter so don't worry about showing the flight of the batted balls or throws (other than the 1st base view).

3)  Many do not include game footage, but I did.  I find many practice videos to be void of speed, quickness  and athleticism so if you have game footage to highlight this I've found this to get positive feedback from coaches.  I showed a few in-game swings from the similar vantage point as the cage swings.  I also included some in-game defense so that he can demonstrate quickness, speed of play, athleticism, etc.   

Definitely include some personal info in the beginning - Name, grad year, position, GPA, numbers if you have them and they are verified by a 3rd party (60 time, throwing velo, exit velo).

I did similar to Smitty except son was hitting off a machine. My son did infield and outfield. I also overlayed bat speed and throwing speed metrics on the video. I provided one in game diving play and pop up throw from short to show quickness. I showed one live outfield play to shown jump on the ball and how far he went to get it. Everything else was standard showcase fundamentals.

The odds are against videos being watched. But each one that is consider it a bonus. They’re more likely to be viewed at the D3 level where recruiting budgets are smaller. 

The big question about sending video is, do you feel your son is ready to be recognized as a prospect or coaches will have a “wow, we have to follow this kid” response to his potential based on where he is at his age/grade? 

The best way to market a player is have his travel coach presell him to colleges coaches as a “have to check him out” prospect. Of course, this takes travel coaches  with contacts and credibility.

Do not overlay music on the video. 

Hi JL:

Welcome to HSBBWEB. From your post, I gather that your son is a SS. Here is a blog from one of the best MI coaches in the country. The first 5 sections answer a number of the questions you had way better than I could.

https://www.frawleybaseball.co...Player-Skills-Videos

Coaches told me they wanted to see a simulated showcase format so most views from home plate.  Zoomed in enough to see the footwork and such but they did want to see results as if they were standing behind home plate at a showcase watching.  Does not guarantee they will watch it when you send it but if they do you want them to see something that will draw their attention.  I also had live game footage of him pitching, obviously good, and hitting.  Be smart about it.  I've watched several where they had footage of the kid swinging and missing on batting and missing balls at short.  It is your video of your showcase so make sure it is the best no matter the number of retakes.  Pick the best.  One guy went over the top and had the school's fight song playing in the background for each one he sent out.  Pretty neat but lot of work.

Good responses.  In-game videos (especially fielding) have been the best way for my boy to get coaches attention.  The bp videos and "staged" fielding are good, but live game action will get more responses.

Hey johnlanza,
Here are a couple of links to another resource that might be helpful. These guys are pretty thorough and do all their work for free.

https://keepplayingbaseball.or...-Video-Checklist.pdf
https://keepplayingbaseball.org/?s=skills+video

Best of luck!

The absolute worst thing you can do is send out video that is unimpressive. So get some feedback from a knowledgeable & trustworthy source before you send anything to anybody. 

Tequila, thanks for posting those links. I was just about to ask about what outfielders should include, but was able to find it in your link. I've read lots of old threads about videos, but failed to compile the info for when I actually needed it. That's a great basic checklist based on everything I've read here.

That looks like a very good site,  with a lot of useful free info. Thanks, Tequila. Had not heard of it before.

tequila posted:

Hey johnlanza,
Here are a couple of links to another resource that might be helpful. These guys are pretty thorough and do all their work for free.

https://keepplayingbaseball.or...-Video-Checklist.pdf
https://keepplayingbaseball.org/?s=skills+video

Best of luck!

tequila, thank you for posting these links.  I had not heard of this website until now and have found so much really good, detailed information there!  I love how most of the content is written for the player (as opposed to his parents), and I've already shared the website with my son.