When should you have your college skills video created? Excellent question.
Based on the work we have done to date on skills videos, I think we can offer some guidelines. We will start with the high school graduation month and work backward to answer the question. Assuming that a player has the skills required in their particular sport to play at the collegiate level, the earlier they create their skills video the better.
As of this writing, the earliest a player has produced a skills video with us is 20 months before their May high school graduation. The latest a player has produced a skills video is 8 months before graduation. The two players that produced their videos 20 months before graduation are still in high school and are 2010 graduates. They are still in the thick of the recruiting process and have not yet committed. Based on their skill levels, I believe both will play at the Division I level.There seems to be a correlation between the players’ skill level and how early they look to produce a video. The more talented players are in discussions with college recruiters earlier and see the need for a video earlier.
One of our customers created a skills video 12 months before graduation and ended up playing in the Big 12 conference. Another created a skills video 8 months before graduation and signed with an NAIA school. One player signed with a DI school that had created a video 11 months before graduation.
Based on our experience, let me offer the following guidelines.
- Maximum Leadtime – 18-24 months before graduation
- Adequate Leadtime – 12-18 months before graduation
- Critical Leadtime – Anything under 12 months before graduation
If you are in the “critical leadtime” period, you should create your video as soon as possible and get it out to all of the schools you are interested in right away. Please remember that these are only guidelines and that there are many exceptions to them. Use it simply as a rule of thumb. If your player is more than 24 months away from high school graduation, I would not worry about it yet, but I would begin planning for it. If your player is only 6 months from graduation, your audience may be limited to very small schools or junior colleges, unless his or her level of play is off the charts.
Please let us know if you have any questions. You can reach Mark at 512.619.8336 or at mark@mlcasey.com.