What College Coaches look for in Highlight Films

With most athletes wrapping up their spring season, we know that many of you are going through your games and compiling your best plays into a highlight film. Here are a few things to make sure you include in your highlight film in order to leave a lasting impression on college coaches.

• Explosive Plays

Explosive plays display an athlete's playmaking ability, athleticism, strength, or speed. These plays vary based on the players position, but think of these as the type of plays that would make a college coach sit up in his chair and press the rewind button. These can be big hits, pancake blocks, one hand catches, long touchdowns, etc. 
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• Game Changing Plays 

Game changing plays are meant to highlight the players ability to impact the outcome of the game. These are plays that shifted the momentum of a game or occurred at a critical moment in the game. Special teams plays such as return touchdowns, block kicks, and forced turnovers are great to include here. Explosive plays that were mentioned earlier may fit into this category as well. 

• Effort Plays

Effort plays are often lost in the scope of the game but are imperative to include in your film. Examples include; chase down tackles, big time blocks to set up big plays, fumble recoveries, multiple broken tackles, etc. These types of plays display the character and mentality you possess. 

• Testing numbers & GPA

Your tape should always include your athletic testing metrics (40 yard dash time, short shuttle, bench press, etc.). It is important to make sure your GPA along with any postseason awards you may have won is also included. This information adds further clarity to college coaches about the type of student-athlete they are considering recruiting. 

     Highlight tapes are important, however coaches know good highlight film does not always tell the true story about a player. Full game film however, never lies. It is more important to make sure you are putting together good games as well as highlights during the season, because coaches will likely ask for full game footage if they are impressed by your highlight film. The same goes for a prospective NFL player. NFL scouts value your game film over a highlight reel that you may have produced. So make sure you are displaying your playmaking ability, effort, and ability to be a gamechanger in all games. 

     We are here to help athletes and provide them with the best opportunity to play at the next level! If you have any questions for us, or are interested in learning more about our training options, camps and events, and teams, please  email us at  [email protected].