Here’s the truth about recruiting for college athletes: it feels very much like a high-pressure beauty pageant and everyone is wearing cleats. How many times have you viewed a fantastic highlight video of an athlete with an awe-inspiring slow-motion effect, that bass thumping, and the spotlight going on for what seems like an eternity? It’s awesome but it’s also hard to justify the $1,500 cost to create such a video. The real question becomes whether or not this is money being invested in your child’s future or if this was just another very expensive 3-minute video.
The game has changed – it no longer takes a film school degree and a Hollywood budget to get the attention of college coaches. In fact, most college coaches watch game film on their phones while hanging out in an airport lounge. They do not care about how dramatically you filmed the play; they want to see three things: speed, skill, and stats.
This is where the AI Sports Highlight Generator enters the picture. As an at-home parent that wants to create a professional-looking highlight reel for your child, but hopes to do so without the aforementioned price tag (or related costs), you now have a means of accomplishing this without much effort and with very little chaos.
The Unpleasant Realities of Recruitment Videos
There are two parts to this, and we must first start with the “View”. A coach is usually getting 50 emails each day that contain video links. Once the coach views your video, they will spend approximately 20-30 seconds looking at the film to see if your child is worthy of their time and effort. If the first 10 seconds of your film is a slow-motion montage of your child (or whoever) walking on to a field with a beautiful sunset in the background – they are probably going to just hit “delete”.
Your recruitment video should be an ALBUM of “Greatest Hits” – not a documentary. Show the coach (audience) the best plays that your child has produced first, the highest athletic ceiling second, and 3rd teach them about your child’s “coachability”.
Artificial Intelligence Can Revolutionize Your Life as a Parent:
- The Sourcing Burden: Instead of watching 10 hours of raw video from the last 3 tournaments, AI can now “scan” your video to find specific movements (i.e. goal, dunk, strikeout).
- The Spotlight Effect: AI tools can automatically place a “circle” or “arrow” over your child so the coach doesn’t have to spend time playing “Where’s Waldo” on the screen attempting to locate your child on a blurry 1080p video.
- Data Integration: The latest tools available for creating college recruiting videos have the planning available to overlay real-time statistics such as a sprint time, exit velocity directly on to the video as well.
Step 1- Collect your “Raw” Base
Your AI can be the best but, if the video you filmed was with a 2012 flip phone from the top of the bleachers, then it won’t work.
A few Honest Tips for Recording:
- Get Elevated: Get a tripod that extends at least 7-10 feet. To a coach, it is much more important to see the “lanes” and spacing than to see a close-up of the player’s face.
- Focus on the Ball: Coaches want the context of the play- where did the pass come from? Where did the player go after the shot was taken?
- Avoid “Madden Zooms”: Zooming in and out constantly gives the AI tracking/footage a jerky look and creates a headache for the viewer; find a wide-enough frame and just leave it there!
Step 2 – Letting the AI Do The Work
This is where an automated sports highlight creator really shines! With the help of computer vision technology, an AI sports highlight creator finds and selects certain moments based on the input parameters provided (for example, “three pointers” or “tackles”). As long as you provide proper input to the creator, the software will analyze your previously recorded footage for these moments and “clip” those parts out for you.
When evaluating AI sports highlight programs, some important features to consider are:
1. Auto-Clipping – This allows for the ability to upload a complete game and have it generate up to 15 highlight clips.
2. Player Tracking – This allows the software to “lock on” to your child’s jersey number, ensuring he or she remains as close to the center of the frame as possible.
3. Biometric Overlays – Some advanced sports highlight creation tools will estimate a player’s vertical jump or speed during play based on the frames of video. This is an absolute advantage in recruiting!
Step 3: Arrange Clips for Maximum Impact
You have now collected your video clips but now you need to arrange them. Remember to put the best clips first.
- The Business Card: (5 seconds) include the players name, class year, GPA, position, and a clear photo of their face.
- The Holy Cow Play: (15 seconds) show 3 of your best plays that would make a coach set down their coffee.
- The Position-Specific Skills: (45 seconds) show the “boring” side of your position which is still very important to a coach. For instance, as a shortstop, show your agility and footwork, not just home runs.
- The Engine: (30 seconds) show hustle. Show a play where the player lost the ball, but then ran 40 yards to get it back; coaches love hustle.
- Contact Information: Include your phone number, the head coach at your school (if possible), and your social media contact information (make sure the content is clean).
Step 4: Adding the Professional Look Without Paying for It
The only difference between a home video and a recruitment reel is how polished they are. You can easily add these features with AI video software:
- Frozen Frames: Freeze the video on the spot before the action starts for ½ second and put a circle around your child. This will let the coach know who to watch.
- Statistics Bar: Use a lower-third graphic that overlays the video and includes their measurements, height, weight, and major performance statistics (i.e., 60-yards dash: 6.8s).
- Transitions: Keep it professional and let the video transition: use simple means for switching scenes: use “cut” or “cross-fade” transitions. No “star-wipe” or any wild transition effect.
Things to Avoid When Editing Videos Using AI
Let’s be honest, there are things that will turn off coaches about how coaches feel about AI. You have a major advantage/ability to leverage AI – don’t overuse it negatively.
- Over-saturation of Colors: For example, if the grass looks like neon green it will give a false impression of reality.
- Use Music that is not Copyrighted: People feel like superstars when they use rap or rock music which is high energy to make a cool thing, yet if the video is flagged for copyright, the coach may not be able to hear any sound and/or see the video. Use “Royalty Free” music.
- Do Not Hide Failed Plays: If there is a play of your child’s making a score but missing an open teammate, a smart coach will notice. Show them the “IQ Plays” [plays that someone who has a high IQ would make] rather than the “Lucky Plays” [plays that are made by chance].
- DO NOT Use Incorrect Stats: If the AI displays data that says your child runs a 4.2 forty yard dash when they do not, and you cannot prove that data, you have just lost all credibility with that coach. Use Accurate/Positive Information.
How Waresport Makes Data Easier to Work with
That’s where we come in. You can have an amazing recruitment video but if there’s no data backing it up there isn’t anyone who will look at you. When a coach sees an incredible play on your recruitment video they will ask themselves “Is this player consistent?”
Waresport serves as the primary data source for your recruitment journey.
- Tracking of Performance: There are no more calculations for your video, you just use your performance data AZ during your entire season in real-time.
- Attendance and Discipline: A coach will want to know whether the player shows up; our dashboard reflects that the player has a 100% attendance rate, which is significant as a “soft skill” for recruiters.
- Unified Profile: When delivering your video, you can attach the athlete’s Waresport profile URL giving the coach a detailed look at how the player has developed in the past two years.
It’s about attaching the “eye test” (the video) with the “fact test” (the data). When the two align you’re not just a parent with a camera but rather a coach with a viable prospect.
Summary: Your Home Recruitment Checklist
If you’re starting this process tonight, you should do the following:
- Get a good quality AI video editing app (CapCut, Veed, or AI Sports) to edit videos with.
- Organise your clips by “how much they impacted” not “when they happened”.
- Use the “Spotlight” effect on all clips/plays.
- Make sure the total length of the recruiting video is under 3 minutes.
- Compare recruiting video to real Waresport data on your dashboard starting with the athlete/player page.
Conclusion: Control vs. Chaos
The traditional way of recruiting relied on people you knew and how much you could pay for the video guy. Now the new way is telling your child (athlete) their story using what you have at your disposal, an AI Sports highlight generator.
By using an AI Sports highlight generator, and focusing on tools available for college recruitment videos, you are providing the coach with exactly what they need in order to see what you have provided = an accurate written and/or video based review as to athletes’ potential.
Stop worrying about the cinema, and focus on the potential (your child) has shown on the field, now we will show the world.
Do you want to have that recruitment tape correspond with the recruitment tap you’ve given out at the pro level?
Let’s schedule your demo to see how we can use this AI technology to help you recruit your child (athlete) to play college sports (and beyond).
Mostly! Most “AI sports highlight generators” look for “peak action” (high speed, crowd noise, or specific object movements like a ball hitting a net). You’ll still want to do a “vibe check” to make sure it picked your child’s best moments, but it saves you about 90% of the manual searching time.
Yes, but keep it in the background. It helps with the “energy” of the video. However, never let the music be louder than the “game sounds.” Coaches actually like hearing the sounds of the game—the pads popping, the ball hitting the bat, or the communication on the field.
Honestly, no. 1080p at 60fps (frames per second) is the “sweet spot.” 60fps is important because it allows the coach to see the mechanics of a movement in slow motion without the video looking “choppy.” Most college coaches are watching on tablets or phones where 4K doesn’t provide a huge advantage.
Ideally, every mid-season and end-of-season. Coaches want to see “current” growth. If your video is from two years ago, they’ll assume the player hasn’t improved since then. Keep it fresh!