<p>Wondering how most of the recruits handle this? Do you send in a highlight reel of several minutes plus a game, or a whole game? </p>
<p>Are different sports handled differently when it comes to game films? </p>
<p>Should you send these videos unsolicited to all the coaches on your list? Would it be better to send an online link, instead? </p>
<p>What's been your experience?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend sending off a bunch of unsolicited vids. Establish contact with the coach first (email) and ask if he or she would be interested in seeing a game film. You could also ask if he would prefer a youtube link or a dvd. In my experience, coaches preferred clicking on a link rather than handling a dvd.</p>
<p>Having a whole game film available is preferable to a few select highlights. (And don’t put it to music :-)</p>
<p>Coaches don’t have time to watch unsolicited vids-really.
Do the e-mail first, then if the coach shows interest and requests a video.
It varies more by the school.</p>
<p>Most of the soccer coaches we have spoken to have asked for highlights plus a small portion of a game.</p>
<p>I think it depends on the sport. Most football programs have interns or assistants to screen film for the head coaches to see, and with the low cost of sending film, DVD cost and postage, if you make them yourself, I always say cast a wide net and see what comes through. If it is a sport that doesnt have a coaching STAFF the approach could be different, but might be worth a minimal investment in postage and such. </p>
<p>Football coaches asked for 2 game films, my son is a defensive lineman. They didnt really want highlight tapes as that is exactly what they are, highlights. I asked the HS head coach which games I should send, out of the early season games and then sent them along, but this was at the Coaches request, and that request was consistent among all the college coaches.</p>
<p>If you haven’t done so already, you may want to consider filling out the “Prospective Athlete” questionnaires at each team’s or school’s website as an initial form of contact. This will get you on a coach’s radar (and mailing list) …especially if you have good GPA, test scores and athletic accolades to boast. If I recall, most of these forms have a place to reference a link to your hi-light films. </p>
<p>To reinforce your interest, and to grab the coach’s attention even further, you can follow up that initial contact with a direct email or a hand written (snail mail) introductory letter which includes a bit about you and your accmplishments/interests, your transcript, academic resume and your 4-6 minute hi-lite film. </p>
<p>If a coach or his/her recruiters like what they see… it should result in some form of acknowledgement, other than a form letter or canned email response …likely with a request for full game films, provided there is legitimate interest. </p>
<p>Good luck~</p>
<p>Cast a wide net.</p>
<p>My son was recently accepted ED at a NESCAC school. He was offered a “slot” by the football coach, who “supported him” for admission. It certainly helped in getting my son admitted. Not because my son isn’t a good student, but because even very good or great students have a hard time getting into some NESCAC schools. Here’s what my son did:</p>
<ul>
<li>Sent highlight DVD with letter, athletic resume, transcript and activities resume to 50 head coaches at schools he MIGHT have been interested in. That was sent in December of his Junior year, although looking back it may have been too early.</li>
<li>Filled out the athlete prospect form at the same 50 schools.</li>
<li>Sent an e-mail to each of the 50 coaches telling them he had sent the packet and filled out the form.</li>
</ul>
<p>He cast a wide net and I think this is very very important. The 50 schools were NESCAC, Ivy, Patriot, North Coast, and several others that featured good academic schools that met his geographic wants.</p>
<p>Response was varied. </p>
<p>He never heard from some coaches. No interest.
He got generic e-mails from some coaches. Little interest.
He got personalized e-mails from some coaches. Good interest.
He got phone calls from some coaches. Great interest!</p>
<p>At that point, he focused in on the schools that were showing interest. Remember, his initial criteria was geographic, and they had to be excellent academic schools. He called and e-mailed the football staff and set up campus visits and quick visits to say “hello”. That was in the spring of his Junior year. That was probably 10-15 schools.</p>
<p>He signed up for several “camps”: Boston College, Harvard, NE Elite. These were in June and July. It was important that he had established contact and rapport with coaches prior to going. There are 100s of kids at these camps and it appeared to me that most schools went with a list of players to “check out”. Luckily he performed well at these camps.</p>
<p>At this point, schools called and asked him to attend one of their “Prospect” Days. It was a dog and pony show where the coaches were selling the school and their football program. Anywhere from 8-20 kids were there, depending on the school. This was in the July period I think.</p>
<p>After that, it came down to how interested the coach was. My son had 8 coaches (6 NESCAC!) offer him a “slot”, with their "support for admission. That is different than a “tip”, where the coach can tell admissions that they like you, but they are not offering you a spot.</p>
<p>Then come the overnights. My son didn’t do many of these, because he had made up his mind which school he wanted to attend. In fact, he let the coach know on Labor Day! My sense is that this is early, but my son wasn’t the kind that wanted to prolong the process. he hated the attention, the phone calls etc. He’s a pretty private, quiet kid.</p>
<p>After he made the decision, he called each coach that had offered him a slot to tell them of his decision. He didn’t WANT to, but it was the right thing to do. It was hard. We had started the process looking for ONE good school, and had ended up with an embarrassment of riches. But we felt the coaches deserved this, as they were all really good along the process. It was probably harder on my son than the coaches as they do this all the time.</p>
<p>Then the application process. You have to apply and do EVERYTHING all the other non-sport applicants do. And even with the “support” it was still nerve-wracking! But he heard from his 1st choice ED in December and it was over!</p>
<p>Hope this helps. It is quite a process and there is no doubt that parental support is crucial. Lots of clerical stuff and reminders and gentle prodding … and most kids in this position have tough classes and lots of activities on top of the sports commitment.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone. Very helpful info.</p>