Why should I pay for this when my coach has Hudl or my friend can edit video on his computer and can make my highlight DVD?

The above question has several answers, but a quick answer is that your recruiting video may be your ONE shot to get into a college. It's extremely important that it is done correctly.

Your recruiting video could be your one shot to present your skills to a recruiter. You can be an outstanding player, but a poorly created recruiting video package can easily take you out of a recruiter’s consideration.

A good recruiting video should contain good quality video, it must highlight the player at the beginning of each play, the plays must be in a logical and organized order, it should not be more than five or six minutes long and some form of paperwork with player information should be included.

That all sounds pretty basic, but if the person doing the video editing doesn't have the proper equipment/software, the knowledge of how to use the equipment/software and the knowledge of your sport, your recruiting video could actually be a detriment in your recruiting.

With the increasing use of editing systems like Hudl, many coaches are making recruiting DVDs for their players. The problem is that most coaches don't have knowledge of the video editing processes. Some of the problems seen are: video with terrible quality, players not being highlighted, plays with the wrong player, videos lasting much too long, DVDs that won’t play correctly, etc. No doubt the coaches have good intentions and think they are doing a service for their players, where in fact they may actually be hurting the chances of the players to be recruited.

A recruiter’s time is very limited and depending on the size of the college, recruiters can get literally hundreds of videos sent to them. Because of this the recruiter needs to see an orderly video with good viewing quality. It must be a short concise video and they must know what player they are supposed to be watching.

Considering the thousands of dollars that can be saved by earning a scholarship (whether it is full or partial) the $150 to $250 spent on a good quality recruiting package is a drop in the bucket. Why skimp to save a hundred dollars when it could cost you thousands in college tuition?

Give yourself the best chance possible and have your recruiting package done right, in the long run you will be glad you did.