NO MUSIC. It’s just not necessary and is very distracting.

NO SPECIAL EFFECTS. Just straight up video with tight editing.

NO SHAKY FOOTAGE. So make sure you use a tripod!

NOTHING LONGER THAN 5 MINUTES. Video length should be anywhere between 2 to 5 minutes and be sure to show your best skills first!

DON’T FILM EVERY POSITION YOU’RE CAPABLE OF PLAYING. Your primary and secondary positions will do. Keep in mind your intro, 60 yard dash and hitting are all part of your skills video too, and need to be included in a final product that’s under five minutes! If you’re a utility player, pick your best two positions and you’ll be good-to-go!

Coaches get thousands of videos every season and, more often than not, they watch the first couple of minutes and then move on. You want to make sure you “have them at hello!” Give them your best stuff first so they take their hand off that mouse and continue to watch YOUR video. Engage them with your best skills, performing them expertly, cleanly and efficiently to make them pause and say, “I need to see this kid play LIVE!”

For more great skills video advice be sure to check out our eBook: How to Film Your Own Baseball Skills Video!

“How to Film Your Own Softball Skills Video” Coming Soon!

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Here are 5 commonly asked questions, answered to help you start the skills video process…

1) When should I make a skills video? In high school, the best time to film your skills video is between your sophomore and junior years.

2) Should I have a skills video AND a highlight video? Ideally, it’s the perfect package to present to a coach. The skills video focuses on the skills that you play at your specific position. The highlight video then shows these same skills applied in real game situations.

3) How do I know what skills to film for my position? The skills that you show in your video are basically the same skills you utilize in practice when you are working one-on-one with your coach. A couple of examples: A catcher will film blocking, framing and throw downs, while a shortstop will film themselves fielding slow rollers and executing 6-4-3 double plays to name a few.

4) In general, what are the components that make up a skills video? For baseball and softball, typically you would create a 3 to 5 minute tightly edited video that includes:

• An introduction
• A timed 60 yard dash
• Hitting (softball and baseball differ slightly)
  • Softball requires hitting off the tee, soft toss and front pitch
  • Baseball doesn’t necessarily require hitting off the tee or soft toss
  • Bunting can be included for either softball or baseball
• Drills specific to your position
• A quick “thank you” to the coach
• A still page with a photo, contact info, age, weight, height and position

5) Should I have more than one skills video? If you have a skills video filmed during your sophomore year, it is recommended to have a new one filmed in your junior year. My son actually filmed his twice in his junior year—the first time in the spring and once again at the end of the summer before his senior year. There was enough significant improvement, so it warranted sharing again with college coaches he had previously contacted.

A skills video is your VISUAL resume. When applying for a job, you’d never walk in without a resume. The same protocol applies to you as a baseball recruit. If you found this information valuable and would like to learn more about how to film a baseball skills video, please be sure to contact us!

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A Baseball Player’s Recruiting Package should have:

• Skills video and/or highlight video

• Contact information

• Physical information

• Academic information

• A short bio about the player

• Stats if available

• Player accolades

• Game schedule(s)

 What a baseball player needs to consider:

• What kind of school do you want to go to? Rural/suburban/urban?

• Student population? Small/medium/large

• How far away do you want to go to school?

• What do you want to study?

When our son Ben was just starting out in this process, it was all quite overwhelming. We were basically in a state of “Where do we begin?” One of the smartest decisions we made was take the information from our checklist and create a baseball recruiting profile with NCSA Athletic Recruiting. NCSA was a huge resource in helping our son stay organized, provide direct access to college information and coaches, take live courses on how to navigate through the recruiting process, and so much more. Probably one of the most unique features of NCSA is that Ben could actually see when and how many times a college coach looked at his profile! It made the recruiting process that much more exciting for him (for all of us!) and kept him motivated to continue in the process and promote himself as a player. We realized, also, that having our son’s information in one location made it easy for the college coaches to get a complete overview of our son as a player, student and person.

Players should begin gathering all of this information as early as possible. The ideal time to start this process is in a player’s sophomore year, but even before that, in the freshman year, players need to start maintaining great academic grades. By the time junior year sneaks up, it’ll be too late to try and fix poor grades.

It goes without saying that being a great baseball player is the first item that needs to be at the top of the checklist. After that, having the complete recruiting package along with stellar grades gives a player a great advantage and opportunity to impress college coaches.

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A baseball player’s mental attitude when filming a skills video is important for positive results. In this short interview, my son, Ben, answers four questions about his mental attitude when he filmed his skills video—not once, but twice at two separate times during the recruiting process (spring, then summer)—and both times had to prepare himself physically and mentally to execute his skills to the best of his ability.

1) What did you do to prepare the night before your video shoot?

Well, first (and I may be stating the obvious) I got to bed at a decent hour. I can’t say it was “early,” but I knew I needed to get a good night’s sleep to be ready and to be at my best. I got my uniform and gear ready and called my teammates who were going to help me with my video to make sure they were coming.

2) What would you say is the first most important thing for a baseball player to do when filming their skills video?

Show up to play. Plain and simple. I approached the video shoot in the same way I approach a game: I came focused, determined and ready to perform. My mom filmed my skills video for me and she said something to me that really hit home: “This camera is the coach standing here and evaluating you. Execute your skills accordingly.”

3) What should a player be prepared for and expect at a skills video shoot?

Make sure you and your teammates do a real warm-up. No short cuts. Be prepared to do a lot of takes of each skill over and over again, because they’re not all going to be perfect. Every time I did a skill it had to be like the first time I was doing it, and I had to be satisfied with each one before I moved onto the next.

4) What advice would you give to a prospective recruit when executing skills on the ball field?

Make sure every skill is done crisply, confidently and with know-how. I knew that this video was my first opportunity to catch a coach’s eye so I had to make sure I was at my best.

Being prepared to perform at the highest level is a MUST when filming your skills video. During the recruiting process, you will probably attend baseball showcases, camps or clinics, where you will perform LIVE in front of college coaches and recruiters. The mindset that you have in those situations is the same mindset you have to have when filming your video. Do this, and conversations with coaches will start to happen!

I also invite you to read Ben’s interview with Athnet and NCSA after he committed to Kean University and will be playing for The Cougars next Fall!

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It’s so hard to let go and trust that your son will do just fine on his own. Well, he will. Here are the top 6 things parents must do during the baseball recruiting process that will help your son gain confidence and get college coaches looking in his direction.

1) Ask your son what HE wants. If your son has aspirations of becoming a student-athlete, start asking questions that will help shape a plan when beginning the college search. Questions like: Do you want to go far away to school? What size school do you want to go to? Do you think you’d like to be in a rural, suburban or city setting…and so on. With his answers in hand, he will have a starting point as he researches schools. As the list gets compiled, more detailed questions will arise, and will help narrow that list down even further.

2) Be an assistant. Not the director. Don’t forget. You’re not the one headed to college. Your son is. So it’s important to assist in the process, but not take over the process. Helping him to stay organized, reminding him to write to coaches and reviewing his letters for typos and grammar before they’re sent out are just some of the ways you can help. When it came to researching colleges, all three of us (myself, my husband and our son) took an active role in going on line and visiting college websites. When I saw a school that matched Ben’s “must-have-checklist,” I sent him the link so he could check it out on his own.

3) Provide the tools. In the recruiting process you will learn that there are some critical tools to jumpstart your son’s recruiting process: a skills video, a highlight video, and a player profile outlining your son’s physical attributes, academic record, player stats, etc. Ben’s player profile was initially built at no cost with NCSA Athletic Recruiting, and later we joined as members. They became an invaluable resource in the college search, provided important recruiting advice and helped our son to connect and stay connected with coaches.

4) Have your son attend baseball camps, clinics and showcases. There are a lot out there, so research these thoroughly with your son. Attending one or two large showcases for the experience is a good thing, but he shouldn’t feel compelled to do all of them. Instead, focus on the camps at the schools where he would like to attend. If your son’s travel team is in tournament-play through the summer or fall seasons, have him contact coaches that may be nearby, and invite them to a game. Bottom line, your son has to be seen by a college coach, in addition to having the recruiting tools listed above.

5) Let your player do the talking. When your son has the opportunity to speak with a coach, take a step back. It’s his show and he has to prove to the coach that he can perform. Nothing irks a coach more than parents who speak for their sons. I’m sure you’re familiar with “never ask coaches about playing time on their son’s behalf.” The same wisdom applies during the recruiting process. The coach wants to get to know the player, even if for the briefest of conversations. It’s your son’s time to shine, so be sure to step back and let him be in the spotlight.

6) Be there to listen. There comes a point in time when your son will have to start making decisions on his own, and the baseball recruiting process is where he needs to start doing just that. Be there as a sounding board where you can both bounce ideas off one another, figure out plusses and minuses of a situation and help your son to sculpt his goals into the dream he’s going after.

You’ve done your job up to this point. Now it’s time to take your foot off the gas, and let your son do the driving. No worries. He knows you’ll always be there if he needs directions.

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Attitude: a critical component in the baseball recruiting process. It’s comprised of several parts that make up the whole, “the whole” being YOU, the baseball recruit.

According to dictionary.com, attitude is the “manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind”. It is “the mind” that controls performance, character, interaction, and decision-making. Your attitude shapes the kind of player you are. Attitude carries as much weight as skills, grades and stats when a college coach is considering a player for their team.

My son Ben experienced this first hand when, unbeknownst to him, a college coach was watching him after an unsuccessful at-bat where the balls and strikes weren’t called his way. Walking back into the dugout, the coach witnessed him throwing down his bat and helmet while simultaneously kicking his equipment bag. Ironically, aside from that incident, Ben had actually played a great game, but after realizing that the coach had seen his tirade, he learned later that he lost out on a great opportunity.

Ben admitted later that he had always “heard” about coaches turning away players for poor attitudes, but never really believed it until it happened to him. He learned a hard lesson from that experience, but it also made him do a 180° when it came to adjusting his attitude. This adjustment was made not only in game situations, but also in how he interacted with his own coaches, teammates, teachers and friends. (He hasn’t quite pulled off a complete 180° when it comes to his attitude at home, but he’s getting there!)

Attitude is a reflection of character, and everyone sees it. Not just college coaches, but everyone. With the right attitude, you create a positive presence around you that people will naturally gravitate to and want to be around. I believe “attitude” will always be “a work in progress,” but hopefully a “work in progress” towards the better, and from that, only good things will come your way.

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In the baseball recruiting process, timing is everything! Unlike other sports, baseball happens in the spring, and what parents and players need to realize is that baseball players don’t have senior year to start the recruiting process. The most important recruiting year is starting in spring of sophomore through the junior year (including the summer of junior year).

Our son Ben came to us at the end of his sophomore summer season and told us that he wanted to try and take a stab at playing ball in college. Unbeknownst to us, this decision came just at the right time. It allowed all three of us to start researching the recruiting process and start asking questions that would lead us in the right direction. To start things off, the two biggest tools Ben needed were a skills video and attendance at camps, clinics and showcases.

Of course there are many other elements to the baseball recruiting process: grades, SAT/ACT scores, ball skills, stats, and communicating with coaches top the list. But one of the first steps we took was signing Ben up for a baseball showcase so that he could get an opportunity to see what he was up against, and see if he wanted to continue heading down the recruiting path.

Here’s how the calendar breaks down (at least up here in the northeast):

Sophomore year –

Fall – fall ball season (travel or rec)

Spring – high school season

Summer – travel season

Junior year –

Fall – fall ball season (travel)

Spring – high school season

Summer – travel season

Senior year –

Fall – fall ball season (last opportunity)

Spring – high school season (college coaches have selected their recruits)

This bolded timeline is critical. Time and again, we encountered parents and players who waited until the end of the junior year to say, “Yeah. I think I want to play baseball in college.” Certainly, there have been a few players who, despite waiting until their senior year to begin the process, have had the opportunity to play college ball … but they are very few. And there are those who have successfully navigated walk-on tryouts in their freshman year of college and have been selected to join the team roster as well. But it’s a gamble.

There’s no harm in starting the baseball recruiting process early. It allows you to grow as a player, see the competition, play at a higher level and start establishing relationships with coaches. Starting early also gives a player the opportunity to improve his grades and end up with a higher overall GPA, which can not only help when applying for general admission to a college, but also help in acquiring academic grant money once you’ve been selected to a college baseball program. Remember, people rarely regret the things they do – it’s what you didn’t do that you end up regretting, so don’t miss out on an opportunity by waiting too long to get started.

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From what our son and I learned during his baseball-recruiting process, there were two tasks that were unavoidable: Having film and going to camps, clinics or showcases. After talking with college coaches, I am told that it is extremely rare that a player will be put on a roster “sight unseen.” Stats can look great on paper, but a coach has to see a player in action to seal the deal.

We dove into the baseball recruiting process at the end of our son Ben’s sophomore year in high school by having him attend a two-day baseball showcase that several college coaches would be attending. For my husband and me, it was a “watch and see what happens,” event, but for our son it was completely different. He had never been exposed to other players other than the local school and travel teams. It was a real wake up call for him seeing the different caliber of players out there, and what he was up against. Of course we were worried for him, wondering if he thought he could measure up, or for that matter, if he was even cut out to play college baseball.

As it turned out, at the end of the weekend, he was more determined than ever to move ahead in the recruiting process, and motivated to improve himself as a ball player. So began the research on the different camps, clinics and showcases and trying to figure out which ones would be best. Our starting point was creating a checklist of our son’s “must haves” in a school. In Ben’s case, he wanted a medium to large school with a solid graphic design program, on a suburban or urban campus, no more than five hours away by car. With that info in the hopper we set out to find schools that met that criteria first, and then found out if the baseball programs would be offering any sort of camps or clinics. To help our search along, we set up a player profile with a recruiting network company, NCSA Athletic Recruiting, which was a huge help in whittling away schools that didn’t meet Ben’s criteria and kept him focused on the schools that did.

Another outlet for exposure to college coaches turned out to be Ben’s travel team, which provided many opportunities to participate in tournaments where college coaches came to observe potential recruits. We made sure Ben took full advantage of these opportunities by contacting coaches ahead of time to let them know he’d be in their area. That, coupled with his baseball skills video, opened up several conversations with coaches.

There are many different camps, clinics and showcases out there. Some expensive. Some not. We tended to go with the latter which were usually camps held by the schools themselves. It gave Ben many one-on-one opportunities to talk with the head coaches directly, get immediate advice and feedback on where he needed to improve, and for both of them to match a face to a name. A coach coming out to high school games is usually right in the height of their own team’s season, so the chances are pretty slim that they’ll have the time to come see high school players’ games. Attending camps is the one way your son can be seen, and it is an important and essential part of the recruiting process. Taking the time to do the research will be well worth the effort!

The post Are College Baseball Showcases, Clinics & Camps Necessary? appeared first on Diamond Skills Video.

Sharing a big baseball scholarship money tip: 89% – The magic number. It’s the minimum grade point average that allows you or the college coach to go after academic-educational grant money for college. Emphasis on academic, because there are two different kinds of scholarships—academic and athletic.

Athletic scholarship money is dedicated to athletic performance and is usually available at the Division 1 or 2 levels. Academic educational grant money is money set aside by a college for students who have performed well academically, and on average have a GPA of 89% or higher. Division 3 coaches urge their potential recruits to strive for this GPA because it could be the one thing that will help their recruit to afford the tuition and get them playing college ball. This magic number was the carrot that kept my son motivated, although I wish we had learned about this “magic number” when my son entered high school.

I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “Well, my son wasn’t even thinking about college at that point!” and I agree, whose son usually is? Our son didn’t come to us until the end of his sophomore year saying that he might be interested in playing college baseball, and the three of us were kicking ourselves wishing we had known about this 89% average a year ago. Paying it forward, I thought this information would be important to share if you think there’s even a remote chance that your son might like to pursue baseball beyond high school. Having this conversation with him now, while the slate is clean, might keep him motivated to keep his grades up.

If it turns out that your son has Division 1 or Division 2 talent, great! How incredible would it be to couple athletic money with academic money and potentially get a full ride to college? If your son is a Division 3 or NAIA level player, or not an athlete at all, how fantastic would it be to receive academic money to a school that you may not have been able to attend if your GPA fell below 89%? There’s a surprising amount of grant money out there for students who are academically successful! Starting great grades at the beginning and maintaining them throughout high school will give you access to such monies! Waiting until 11th grade to improve grades could be too late, so share this magic number with your son now, and who knows? He may be setting himself up to attend his dream school, just because of this magic number!

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When my son, Ben, made the decision that he wanted to play ball in college, he knew he had to switch gears. He soon realized that commitment was the key to achieving this goal—commitment to school, the game and, most important, to himself. Not every high school baseball player has the luxury and talent to be recruited by a college coach by just playing the game. Most ball players have to get themselves recruited by being consistent in their efforts to keep the coach engaged.

After Ben wrote his first introduction letter, his follow-up letters to the same coaches were all centered on his travel season schedule. I helped Ben create a recruiting calendar (Yes, mom and dad, it’s ok for you to help your son in his recruiting process. A “team effort” is critical for successful results!). We used post-its in four different colors, because game dates, college choices and events changed all the time, so it made it easy to swap them around when necessary.

As soon as we received the travel schedule, Ben had a great reason to contact the coach for a second time. Here’s how we broke things down:

YELLOW – Travel Games

PINK – College camps/clinics or Showcases

BLUE – Send 1st follow-up email to the coach

ORANGE – Send 2nd follow-up email to the coach

The BLUE post-its were placed one month in advance of the game or showcase he was planning to attend. Ben copied and pasted his travel schedule right into the body of his email, letting coaches know when he’d be playing in their area.

The ORANGE post-its were placed one week prior to the game or showcase, reminding the coach once more that he would be coming, and asked if the coach or a member of his staff could be there to watch him play.

After every showcase or camp, Ben would also send a short email thanking the coach for his time and for the opportunity. It all adds up to communication toward potential opportunities, and you are the one to make those opportunities happen!

One more great tip! If anything significant changes in your favor, sharing the update with the coach is another great way to stay connected! For instance, after Ben’s summer travel season ended, we re-filmed his skills video and created a highlight video of his summer games, giving the coach another opportunity to see how much he improved over the summer.

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