By: Chad Wilson – Editor In Chief – GridironStuds Blog
Twitter: @GridironStuds
Running a recruiting website I have seen my fair share of highlight videos over the years. I can conservatively say that I have seen some 10,000 highlight videos in my time. As with anything, there are good highlight videos and there are bad ones. Many of the times, the bad videos stem not from the player being bad but from the video being poorly put together.
Many high school prospects want to take the lazy route when it comes to putting together their highlights on Hudl. By lazy, I mean they just want to tag the plays from each game in the order in which the games were played and then submit the video. So if your biggest play of the year didn’t happen until week 7, viewers of your video are going to have to wait quite some time to get to the best of you. I am not making an understatement here when I say that’s a poor strategy.
As they saying goes, first impressions last a long time, so what’s the first impression you want to make on the viewer of your highlight video? If it’s a college coach, you better make sure you punch him in the face with your talent immediately. The construction of your highlight video is not some cinematic production that includes a plot that you need to keep a viewer engaged until the end of the movie. That thought process is great if you are writing an episode of Law and Order or Scooby Doo but it’s a no go in the highlight video world.
Many prospects feel that when they send a letter or their highlight video off to a coach, that’s the only letter or highlight video he receives. Some mistakingly believe that the coach has all day to watch your highlight video. Newsflash, there are 1,000’s of you interested in that school and that’s from your state alone. A college football coach does not have 5 minutes to wait to see if you did anything spectacular in your highlight video. If your highlight video is not popping in those first 30 seconds then that back button or x button on the browser is getting clicked.
Your first play is your best play. Your second play is your second best play and so on. Think of it as a reverse SportsCenter Top 10. Within that first minute, the college coach has probably decided if you can play for their program or not. If he gets to the 4 minute mark in your highlight video, it’s because the first 3;59 was just so damned good not because he really wants to see who murdered the lady in Apartment 2B.
Don’t be lazy, pay attention to how you put that highlight video together. It may be the difference between getting put on the recruiting board or in the trash.
For more help on recruiting matters, email us at GridironStuds Recruiting cwilson@gridironstuds.com
Chad Wilson is a college football recruiting expert and creator of the GridironStudsApp which allows high school football players to gain exposure to college football coaches and fans. Wilson is a former college football player for the University of Miami (92-94) and Long Beach St. (’90-’91) and played briefly for the Seattle Seahawks (’95). He is also a former youth and high school football coach for over 15 years most recently for 5-A State of Florida Champs American Heritage. He runs All Eyes DB Camp a defensive back training company located in South Florida IG: @alleyesdbcamp. Wilson’s oldest son Quincy plays in the NFL for the New York Giants and his younger son plays cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals.
