How to make a softball recruiting video
A recruiting video is how a college coach decides whether your athlete is worth seeing in person. It does not have to be fancy. It has to be easy to watch, and show the right things from the right angle. Here is how to make one that is easy for a coach to watch to the end.
1. Start with who your athlete is
Before the first play, put the basics on screen: your athlete’s name, graduation year, position, team, and an email or phone number. A coach who likes what they see needs to know who it was, and how to reach them, without hunting.
2. Best plays first, and keep it short
Coaches watch a lot of video, and they decide fast. Open with the plays that best show what your athlete does well, and cut anything a coach has to squint at. A short video that is all strong plays beats a long one that makes a coach wait.
3. Show both skills and game film
Skills video, such as bullpen pitches, batting practice and ground balls, lets a coach judge mechanics. Game film shows how those mechanics hold up when it counts. Coaches want both, and they are easier to watch as two short clips than as one long one.
4. What to film for each position
- Hitters: from behind home plate, a little off-centre, so the coach sees the pitch and the swing together. Add a side angle to show the swing’s mechanics.
- Slappers: the approach from the box, the contact, and the run to first in one clip, so a coach sees the speed out of the box.
- Pitchers: several pitches of each type, filmed from behind the catcher, and one angle from the side to show the full windmill motion.
- Catchers: receiving, blocking balls in the dirt, and throws to second, with the throw visible from start to finish.
- Infielders: ground balls to both sides and straight on, each through the throw to first.
- Outfielders: fly balls, balls in the gap, and throws to a base. Keep the whole play in frame, from the catch to where the throw lands.
5. How to film it well on a phone
- Hold the phone upright. Coaches watch on their phones, and an upright clip fills the screen.
- Get behind the plate, slightly off-centre, so the pitch and the swing are both in view.
- Keep the phone still. Lean on the fence. Shaky film hides the play.
- Start recording a couple of seconds before the pitch, so the coach sees the whole rep.
6. Let them hear it
Many coaches listen for the ball off the bat and into the glove. Leave the real sound in, and skip loud music over the top.
7. Send a link, not a file
A large video file in an email often never arrives, and a coach should not have to download anything or create an account to watch. Send one link that opens on a phone, with the video, your athlete’s details and a way to reach you in the same place.
8. Email it to the right coaches
The NCAA tells athletes to email college coaches their highlight video along with their name, position, NCAA ID and graduation year. Write to the coach who recruits your athlete’s position, and keep the email short.
Don’t read silence as a no. In Division I softball, coaches may not call, email or text an athlete before 1 p.m. Central time on September 1 at the start of junior year, and before then their staff can only answer with things like an explanation of NCAA rules. Your athlete can still write first.
Division II coaches may write back at any time, Division III has no timing limits on private messages, and NAIA coaches and athletes can talk at any point.
Questions families ask
Do I need a real camera, or is a phone enough?
A phone is enough. What matters is a steady shot from the right spot, with the whole play in frame. Lean on the fence or use a small tripod.
Should I add music to a softball recruiting video?
Keep it quiet or leave it off. Many coaches like hearing the ball off the bat and into the glove, and loud music covers exactly that.
How often should I update it?
Each season, or whenever your athlete adds something a coach would want to see: a new pitch, more speed, a new position.
When can a college coach reply to us?
It depends on the level. In Division I softball, coaches may not call, email or text an athlete before 1 p.m. Central time on September 1 at the start of junior year. Division II coaches may write at any time, Division III has no timing limits on private messages, and NAIA coaches and athletes can talk at any point.
The quick way to do all of this
RosterFilm turns the clips already on your phone into a recruiting video and a scout page a college coach can open in one tap. It listens for the crack of the bat to suggest where each trim starts, puts your athlete’s details on the page, and gives you one link to send. It’s free on iPhone and Android, with 3 reels on the free plan.
Make your athlete’s recruiting video
Playing baseball? See the baseball recruiting video guide. Or start with the softball page.