Highlight Videos

Elements of a great video

Strong highlight videos share the same fundamentals. They make the player easy to identify, show relevant game actions clearly, move quickly, and give coaches an accurate picture of how the player can impact a game.

• Use a title card. For the first few seconds of your video, introduce yourself. This only has to be on screen for 3-4 seconds. Move to the action quickly. If a coach wants to go back to see your grad year or other information, they can.

• Start strong. Put several of your best and most relevant clips first.

• Make yourself obvious. Identify yourself before each clip or use a simple marker so coaches never have to search for you. Most of your Trace footage should have a player halo to identify you. If you have footage from other systems, you can add a halo.

• Skip all music and effects. Coaches do not care about a soundtrack, transitions, or flashy graphics—and they can become a distraction when your reel is being watched by them at an airport gate, in a shared office, or between meetings. Keep the focus on the soccer. Trust us.

• Show your position. Choose clips that demonstrate the actions college coaches expect from someone in your role.

• Show the full action. Give enough context to see your positioning, decision-making and execution—not just the final touch.

• Keep it moving. Eliminate long intros, excessive graphics, slow transitions and unnecessary repetition.

• Use quality footage. Coaches need to clearly see you, the ball and enough of the field to understand the play.

• Update it regularly. Your video should reflect the player you are now, particularly as you improve or enter an important recruiting period. Cut out highlights that are no longer representative of your age and ability.

• Use full-game film too. Highlight videos create interest; full-game film allows a coach to evaluate you more completely. This allows coaches to see plays build and to get an idea of your movement before and after the highlight.

Many players will have video from multiple platforms and sources

Eastside FC provides Trace for game film, but many players will collect footage from other sources.

Eastside FC teams use the Trace video platform to record games. Some teams use a secondary platform like Veo, and many players have source video from other platforms and devices from other teams and events. Most players looking to create a highlight video have a combination of video sources:

• Trace for most Eastside FC games

• Veo, Hudl, BePro and other platforms from High School, EPD, ODP, USA Camps, Combines, Invitations and other matches

• Video that was streamed and saved from YouTube, Facebook, ECNL and other services

• Camcorders and iphone video

• Other

This is ok. Each family will need to develop a comfrotable, consistent process for collecting clips and managing the process of highlight videos.

Reel creation is a three-step process

1. Develop a system for collecting and managing clips

Strong reels start with good clip management. Save promising moments throughout the season, organize them by game or type of action, and keep your best clips easy to find when it is time to build or update a reel.

Make it a habit of colleting a few clips every game, or every other game. Your parents can make notes of your good plays as well (e.g. you had a great tackle 17 minutes into the second half). Don't wait until half way through the season to start collecting clips.

Multiple options for collecting clips:

1. Save and download individual clips from Trace: Save strong Trace Moments as video files as you identify them throughout the season.

2. Create clips from full-game video: Download full games from Trace, Veo, Hudl, or another source, then trim out the specific sequences you want to keep.

3. Screen-record clips: Use screen recording to capture a play from YouTube, Facebook, streaming platforms, or other video sources when you cannot access the original file.

4. Import original video files: Save footage recorded on an iPhone, camera, or other device directly into your clip library.

5. Collect footage from multiple teams and events: Pull clips from club, high school, ODP, showcases, camps, tournaments, and other environments into one central folder before building your reel.

Store and manage clips yourself:

1. Local computer folders: Keep clips in clearly labeled folders with consistent file names on your laptop or desktop, organized by season, team, event, or date.

2. Cloud storage: Use OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud so clips are backed up and accessible from multiple devices.

3. External drive: Store a larger archive of full games and older clips on an external hard drive or SSD, while keeping only your best current clips on your computer or in the cloud.

Or store clips inside platforms:

1. SportsRecruits video library: Upload clips you are actively considering for recruiting reels so they are already available inside your recruiting platform.

2. Trace: Keep Trace Moments and playlists organized inside Trace as a working source library, but do not rely on Trace as your only long-term archive if you may want to use those clips elsewhere.

2. Choose a platform for clip editing and reel assembly

Use the editing tool that fits your needs. SportsRecruits can work well for simple reels, while tools such as Clipchamp, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, or CapCut provide more flexibility when combining footage from multiple sources.

Options:

1. Trace: Use Trace your Trace moments to assemble a highlight video

2. SportsRecruits: Build a simple reel directly inside SportsRecruits using clips you have uploaded.

3. Clipchamp: A straightforward option for combining clips from multiple sources and creating a finished video.

4. iMovie or CapCut: Good consumer-friendly options for players and families who want a little more control.

5. Final Cut Pro or Premiere Pro: More advanced options for families already comfortable with professional editing software.

Publish and promote your reel

SportsRecruits should be the home for your recruiting video. Regardless of where your clips came from or where the reel was edited, publish or embed the finished version on your SportsRecruits profile so coaches have one consistent place to evaluate you. You can always publish your video to other services like YouTube.

Options:

1. Upload directly to SportsRecruits: Export your finished reel as a video file and upload it to your profile. SportsRecruits allows users to upload multiple videos.

2. Build and publish inside SportsRecruits: If you assemble the reel there, publish it directly from the platform.

3. Embed a hosted video: If appropriate, host the finished reel on a supported platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, or Hudl and embed it in SportsRecruits.

Keep your profile current: Make sure the newest and strongest reel is the one coaches see first, and retire outdated versions as your video improves. Trace can create a reel, but SportsRecruits should still be the destination.