vbtigermom14

Hey ya'll! I'm a first time poster and new at ALL of this. I'm putting together a highlight video for my daughter and just trying to get an idea of whether or not it is a good idea to leave out mention of height. What I have can be found here:

Riley Carter Highlights - YouTube

Any advice/constructive criticism is appreciated. Also, is it a bad idea to have music in the video?

pardullet

Nice clip. Misty May is "not as tall as a giant." Good is good.

momof2010

I like the video, I am neutral on the music, hard call because it will appeal to some and not too others. I guess I would try and find out what is the norm and go with that regarding music. As far as her height goes, coaches will want to know how tall she is for volleyball. If she is good, she she is good, obviously not trying to be an outside hitter so if she can get the job done who cares how tall she is..

varska

Nice video. When you use a copyrighted soundtrack, like Nelly, YouTube puts a little "buy now" window at the lower right of the screen. Also, I think the little pop-up banner on the bottom of the video can be avoided if you don't use the copyrighted track.

And you might want to set it to private and send the link to coaches. That keeps any riff-raff from making comments.

vbtigermom14

Thanks! I guess we need to find a non-copywrited song to drop in. That one just happens to be her favorite right now. :-) I had her height listed on the first slide but then thought some coaches might see that and not even watch the rest of the video...

lioness4

hi - i have consistently heard that recruiting video should not have soundtrack but my kids' sport was one where a whole game could be watched so it wasn't to be edited in any way. good advice to send private link.

SteveMA

Coaches do not want highlight videos. They want to see game action to see how she moves around the court, etc. They also do not like the music, but they can turn down the volume I guess. I don't know if it applies to volleyball but some sports you are only allowed to send film from sanctioned contests so look into that.

Personally, I would take down the link here given that you have just identified your DD and school--too much information out there I think, but that's me.

varska

There is an NCAA rule that if an institution subscribes to a paid recruiting or scouting service - the only video that can be offered on that site is from regularly scheduled high school, prep school or 2 year college contests. (and it's just basketball and football)

The intent is to prevent recruiting businesses from running their own camps and combines and selling the video to college coaches.

As an individual, you can send a coach any video you'd like.

tpmcinty

In volleyball what the coaches have told us is the highlight videos get them interested. Make sure there is something special or spectacular in the first 30 seconds that will make a coach want to continue watching. Once they are interested they will ask for game footage. Several coaches have told us they do not have the time to watch game footage unless they are interested in the player. Everyone of the coaches we have spoken with said no music.

lioness4

good general rule of thumb: anything that could be seen as promoting style over substance should be avoided

lioness4

not that the substance can't be stylish, just don't distract i.e.: no music and an overly edited highlight reel seems like it would make it hard to tell what the real context of the skills are, though i suppose if it's all from sanctioned play it would be ok. also, i don't know how it works in volleyball but do you have to be careful about posting film that includes other players? privacy laws? for sure take down the current link as steve ma suggests; nothing good to be gained from over sharing.....

Dreadpirit

a couple of thoughts from a former high level club coach (some comments may sound harsh hopefully you make it to the end)

1) you should identify who she is in each clip (an arrow or highlight box). More than a couple of times, I didn't know where I should be looking until after the play had developed and by then I missed her action.
2) really focus on outstanding actions as opposed to average (or worse yet lucky or bad). For example the clip at 1:40 was just a lucky poke in a situation where she was a little slow to transition. Another example the clip at 1:58, she gets an iffy dig because she was still moving when the ball was attacked. The clip at 2:30 definately needs to go - very bad placement and the ball should have been bounced inside the attack line, doesn't show good court awareness and also indicates the level of play might not be great. there are plays that also show weakness rather than strength. Find someone with higher level volleyball experience to help with clip selection.
3) the concern a coach will have with her height will be a lack of blocking ability. The best way to address that concern is to show her blocking well. Also, it is fairly easy to tell that she is not tall from the video so I don't think it matters either way.
4) you showed that she can execute a decent set but most everything is high outside. the clips at 0:41 and 2:48 are an exception, they is a much more difficult sets and second definately should be much earlier.
5) open with a better clip. the first set she is slow in transition and tracks the ball to the target instead of getting there first. As a result, the set drifts towards the net and the middle is forced to modify her swing to get to the ball. the next few plays are decent until you get to the dig at 0:25 and 0:29. 25 she had time to move her feet under the ball and ended up making an easish dig hard and 29 was a tough dig with an ok result.
6) show more footwork before the set. I want to see if she knows when/how to move on the court.

Hopefully I'm not coming across as too harsh but these are the thoughts that I expect a college coach should have as they are watching. By the end of the video as a coach I woud conclude that she can set a decent high ball from various positions on the court and looks like she can serve. Defensively her movement is a little off and I worry that she hasn't run the middle or any kind of more complicated fast offense. Also I would guess that she doens't block well because you avoided showing me her defensive work in the front row and her attack is suspect (the two tips you showed at 2:33 and 2:42) were both decent result/bad execution.

As a coach some of the things aren't killers (I figure I can fix her defense), others might worry me more (no blocking, simple offense). Work to show her strengths and hide the weaknesses better.

As for the music - doesn't really matter either way. Most coaches will watch with the sound off.

Most highlight videos are on youtube these days, there is no problem with that. Just set the filters so that only people with the direct link can view it. Also, I'd remove the phone number and use an email address that you have specifically set for this purpose.

Finally, you will get more recruiters at club matches and they are looking for that experience. At least mention her club team in the video even if you don't have any video from that team. Assuming she plays USAV make sure you get her schedule out to schools that she is interested in.

Dreadpirit

One more comment - coaches will evaluate the video in light of the level of the players they typically get. Hopefully you and your daughter have been out to watch some games in your area to get a better feel for what level she might fit.

If you pick your spots right the weaknesses I pointed out are weakness shared by many players and then they won't be viewed as as much of a problem as they would be for a higher level team.

vbtigermom14

Thank you Dreadspirit. I will go back and relook at all my clips to pick out better plays. Your information was very helpful!

fauve

Height is a critical factor in college level VB recruiting.

"Giants", as you rather indelicately brand the tall athletes, have an obvious and huge advantages in recruiting. Best to be honest upfront about your daughter's average height, as the video will clearly reveal it anyway. The coach will respect you more if you don't gloss over this important piece of information.

Have you read the athlete profiles from the team rosters at the colleges you are pursuing? You can get an idea of their height requirements, or ranges, from those stats.