One of the biggest, most valuable assets a player can maximize at their disposal in the recruiting process is their social media. In today’s world of digital prominence, a college coach sitting in his office in Arizona can start to paint a picture of a player he’s interested in that resides in Illinois, for example, from what information gathered through the internet. 

Data measurables are important – as in what tools an athlete has – but nothing matters from a recruiting standpoint, in my opinion, without video. Providing a visual representation and added context is always key. Players can produce the numbers that they do differently; one athlete can have a 90 mph fastball that requires maximum force and effort, while the other athlete can bump his respective fastball up to 90 mph with a clean, easy, and low-effort delivery. 

With that being said, the quality of how a player’s video looks and what the video actually shows is insurmountably important. College coaches get flooded with emails and messages on the regular, and there’s not enough time in their day to watch every single player’s video they get. Oftentimes, if they’re looking a player up and they can’t see what they need to see in a video, they’ll move on. 

Today we’ll break down some key points when it comes to taking video, both from a positive and negative standpoint. 

TIPS AND TRICKS…

+ Your video should be as clear and concise as possible. If you have an iPhone, open your camera app while you’re reading this. Toggle over into the “Video” tab of the camera. In the top left-hand corner, there are two icons – one for resolution, and the other for FPS, otherwise known as frames per second. You want to make sure that the resolution is as high as it can possibly be. For the new iPhone cameras, it can go up to 4K, and I believe the highest for the older phones is HD. Underneath that, you will see an option for “Frame Rate”. That number should also be as high as it can be; 60 FPS is the highest capacity a new iPhone can reach. By having your video set to 4K and 60 FPS, you are ensuring that your iPhone is recording in the highest resolution possible. 

+ Don’t underestimate the power of zooming in. There is such a thing as too much zoom, but I have seen so many videos on social media from players that look like they’re being filmed from the parking lot of the field they’re at. You want the person that is going to be watching your video to actually see what you’re doing, so that they can formulate opinions. 

Here are two positive examples of how you can maximize zoom in your videos: 

+ Sticking with that same thought process of zooming in on your video, it’s pretty important that we try to minimize as many obstacles in front of us as possible. What I mean by that is that if you can get up against a net, or chain link fence, to not have it in the video, that would be ideal. That isn’t always possible, so in the event that it isn’t, make sure you’re zoomed in enough so that you can actually see, with clear focus, what you’re trying to highlight in the video. Net is fine if there’s zoom and it’s a clear video, but chain link fence is a hard no for us, if we can avoid it. 

Here are some positive examples of what videos should look like, including if you are unable to get out of the way of some net, or chain link fence: 

+ Let’s talk about the angle of which you take your video, starting with pitchers. If I want to show what a pitcher can do, I want to make sure I am as close to directly behind home plate as possible. The reason for this is because college coaches want to see how the pitcher’s arm works, how their body moves directionally, and the shape of their pitches. If you record a pitcher’s video from the side, whether it’s the open or closed, you will get a sense for how the pitcher’s delivery works, but not what the shape of their pitches are doing. There is also no reason to move the camera to sort of “track” the pitch out of the pitcher’s hand as it heads towards home plate. Just set your phone up behind home, zoom in, press record, and grab a few pitches. 

Here are two positive examples of what a pitcher video should look like:

+ For hitters, getting to the open side of the hitter is the best possible way to show a college coach what they can do. From that angle, they can see how the hitter’s hands work, how they load, what level of bat speed they have, and how their barrel works through the zone. All of these are highly important for a college coach to have some sort of gauge on a hitter. If you can’t get to the open side, working towards the closed side is the next best option. What doesn’t really help is going straight behind home for a hitter video, because while they may be able to see how the ball comes off the barrel, they won’t be able to tell what the hitter’s hands, or swing, is actually doing. 

Here are two positive examples of what a hitter video should look like: 

Let’s talk about what the contents of a video should have: 

+ For pitchers, you’ll need to include a clear, concise look at all of your pitches. We try to start all of our videos, from high school games or tournaments, with a few fastballs and then we move on to the secondary pitches. One word of advice – show what you do best more often. If you can really spin a breaking ball, but you don’t really have a consistent feel for a changeup, show that in the video, or vice versa. If your fastball is your best pitch, lean towards including more heaters than not. At the end of the day, this is your way of applying for a job in a sense, so make sure you are showcasing what will put you in the strongest position to succeed. 

+ For hitters, your video should include a handful of clean, open side swings. It does not need to be two minutes long. If you want to include a few BP swings to start and transition into a handful of in-game swings, that works great. 

Video and social media have never been more prominent in our society as a whole, and they’ve absolutely had a lasting impact on recruiting in the baseball world. I can’t tell you how many times I, personally, scroll through Twitter and stop to watch a player’s video because it caught my eye. I can guarantee that college coaches do the same. Use this tool that you have at your disposal and maximize it to the best of your ability to help boost your recruiting journey.