I watched A LOT of recruiting videos as a college baseball coach.

Every prospect who expressed interest in my program emailed links to skills videos:

• Bullpen pitches

• BP swings

• Fungo ground balls and/or fly balls

• Etc.

These videos were useful. They allowed me to evaluate mechanics, movement patterns, etc., and see quite a few reps.

They fell short, however, in one critical area:

They didn’t show how the player’s skillset translated to in-game performance.

After watching skills videos, I found myself wondering:

• Can this pitcher locate well with a batter in the box?

• How will the swing look when facing a 90 mph fastball?

• Will this infielder’s actions look the same in a game setting?

• Can this catcher handle high velocity?

• This outfielder has a cannon for an arm, but can he hit a cutoff man?

I was able to answer these questions with more confidence when I received game footage.

I still wanted to see players in person, but seeing skills video AND game footage gave me a deeper understanding of the player.

Here was the problem:

I received a lot of game footage that wasn’t useful.

Why?

• It wasn’t zoomed in enough.

• It was zoomed in too much.

• It was fuzzy/blurry.

• It was difficult to see through chain-link fencing.

• Etc.

Most parents don’t know how to film and edit game footage that help college coaches evaluate their sons.

So here’s my solution!

My advice below can serve as a tutorial for creating quality game-footage videos that are useful for college coaches.

What Equipment Do You Need/Should You Use?

If you have access to top-of-the-line video equipment, by all means USE IT!

But you don’t NEED anything fancy.

I use my iPhone and/or iPad.

The quality of the videos depends MUCH more on HOW you film than what equipment you use.

A newish phone or tablet (that you probably have already) will work perfectly.

I also have a tripod for my iPad, but I don’t use it for game footage videos (only for skills videos).

However, it COULD be useful for filming pitchers/catchers/hitters (players who don’t move around a lot) if you can set it up without a fence in the way.

I will get into editing later, but I like to use iMovie. I’m sure there are other (maybe better) video editing applications available, but I’ve found iMovie easy to learn/use to create high-quality videos.

For non-Apple users, you’ll need to find an equivalent application on your device.

How To Film Players at Each Position

As I mentioned above, HOW you film game clips is very important.

Here’s my advice for each position:

Pitchers

Pitchers are easy to film because they are relatively stationary (you don’t have to move the camera to follow their movements).

I recommend filming game footage from behind the backstop, slightly offset away from the hitter (i.e., behind the left-handed batters box for a right-handed hitter). This angle allows coaches to clearly see the pitcher’s mechanics AND the flight of the ball.

Here’s a screenshot of a video I took with my iPhone:

Note the following:

• Zoom in as close as possible, but not so far that you can’t see the pitcher, catcher, and batter.

• You can film through backstop netting and still get a good look at the pitch.

If you’re at a field with a chain-link fence backstop, move up next to the fence and align the camera lenses with a hole in the fence. Here’s an example:

If you’re self-conscious about walking up to the fence to film your son, get over it! The video won’t be as good if chain-link fence is in the way.

When possible, capture some footage from the outfield as well. This won’t be possible some fields, but here’s an example:

This angle gives coaches a different view to evaluate pitch movement and location.

Here are a few tips for filming from the outfield:

• Offset toward left center for right-handed pitchers (see image above) and toward right center for left-handed pitchers.

• Zoom in as far as possible, but not so far that you can’t see the pitcher, catcher, and batter.

For both views, capture multiple pitches of each pitch type so you have plenty to work with when editing the video.

Catchers

Catchers are also easy to film because they do their work in one place.

Film receiving and blocking from a side view and center field view if possible. Here are some examples:

For throws, film from behind home plate and/or from the outfield (like the second image above). Zoom out a bit to make sure you capture the entire flight of the ball. This allows coaches to get a pop time off the video if they want. Here’s what the view should look like from behind home plate:

Note: This view doesn’t have to be as offset as the image above. The key is finding a good angle to capture the entire throw.

Infielders

Filming infielders in a game is tricky for a couple reasons:

• You don’t know when the ball will be hit to an infielder.

• The infielder may move around quite a bit, requiring you to move the camera with the player to keep him on the screen.

You need to be willing to take a lot of video (most of which won’t be used) to capture enough reps for an infielder. I suggest filming every pitch of an entire game with the camera focused on the player.

You will need to hold the camera for each play and move it with the infielder to keep him in the middle of the screen for the entire play.

Here’s an example of the view I used to film a first baseman:

Filming from the outfield provides the best angle to see full throws. Filming from behind home plate provides the best angle for coaches to see mechanics. I suggest filming some of both and putting them together in a single video (I will discuss video editing later).

Outfielders

Filming outfielders is equally as difficult as infielders for the same reasons.

I don’t have any examples of outfield game footage.

If I were to take some, the same suggestions I gave for infielders would apply.

Hitters

Filming hitters from almost any angle can be useful, but here are some of my favorites:

The first and third images above are better for showing mechanics, while the second image is better for showing ball flight.

Angles that show ball flight are better for game footage because coaches can evaluate mechanics by watching a skills video (BP session).

Baserunners

Filming baserunning is optional, but certainly won’t hurt for fast players. Capturing stolen bases, infield singles, doubles, and triples can help coaches evaluate speed.

Almost any angle will work, but be ready to follow the baserunner with the camera, keeping the player in the middle of the screen.

Here’s an angle I used to film a stolen base for one of the players I work with:

How To Edit Game Videos

Time is valuable for college coaches. They don’t have time to watch long videos.

It’s important to edit game footage videos (and skills videos) to strip out dead time.

As I mentioned above, I use iMovie to edit videos.

Here is my process, step-by-step:

• Open the iMovie app

• Tap “Movie” under “Start New Project”

• Select the video clips you want to include in the movie

• Tap “Create Movie”

• Scroll to the beginning of the first clip

• Tap on the clip near the bottom of the screen (this will create a yellow border around the clip)

• Press and hold the thick yellow border at the beginning of the clip, then drag right slowly (you will see the video play at the top of the screen)

• Stop scrolling when you get to the point of the video where you want the first clip to start

• Press and hold in the middle of the clip, then drag left slowly while watching the video at the top of the screen

• Stop scrolling when you get to the point of the video where you want the first clip to end

• Tap the clip again to create the yellow border

• Tap the scissors icon at the very bottom of the screen

• Tap “Split” (this will separate the first clip you want on the video from the rest of the clip (you will see a visible break between the clips)

• Repeat this process until you have all the clips you want minus the dead time between pitches

There may be better apps than iMovie (please let me know if you know of any), but I’ve found iMovie easy to use and good enough to create videos that give college coaches can easily evaluate.

Common Errors

Here are some common errors I see with game footage:

• The camera isn’t zoomed in enough. You don’t need to show the entire field. It’s better to zoom in so coaches can see the action up close. Use my images above as a guideline.

• The view shows chain-link fence. This makes the view distracting for coaches. If you’re not able to move up to the fence to shoot through it, however, filming with chain-link fence in view is better than nothing.

• The view is vertical, not horizonal. Filming (and viewing) horizontally is my preference (other coaches may have a different opinion. I prefer holding my device horizontally because I can see more of the field while zoomed in.

• Too much dead time. Coaches don’t need to see pitchers taking signs, catcher giving signs, hitters jogging around the bases on a home run, etc. Cut out the dead time so you can show more reps.

I hope this helps!

Feel free to reply/comment with any questions and/or insights.

All the best!

- Matt

P.S. If you'd like to schedule a free consultation with me to discuss your specific recruiting process, reply to this email or sent me a text at 319-883-0242.