Your junior ranking and Universal Tennis Rating are very important when you are trying to get recruited for tennis, but there is a lot to be said for getting a coach to actually hear you speak and see you play the sport. You’ve put in all of the hard work: the hours on the court, the private lessons, the tournaments. This is your time to now show off and be more than just a number to any and all potential coaches.Hence, the importance of the recruitment video, which lets a coach see your present talent as well as your future potential. Here are a few tips when it comes to making a great college tennis recruiting video.
Introduce Yourself
Do not skip this step. While it may seem dumb and you may not understand why coaches will want to hear you speak your name, where you go to high school, your interests, and your potential majors, it gives the coach a feel for your personality as well as how well you may fit in at their school and on their team. Keep this section short and sweet, 30 to 40 seconds max, and include the things that you want a coach to know about you. Remember, this will be a coach’s first impression of you.
Showcase Your Technique
A coach will want to see your technique on your basic shots: forehands, backhands, serves, returns, and volleys. Choose a hitting partner that is of your level and do not dumb down the rallies. A coach wants to see how you really hit the ball at a high level of play and how you react to different shots: short balls, wide balls, spin, etc. They really do not care about watching you hit a perfect rally of the same shot over and over again.
Showcase Your Footwork
Along with the technique of your shots, a coach wants to see your footwork. What is your speed, agility, and endurance on the court? How many little steps do you take to get into position for a shot? How quickly do you recover to the middle after hitting a shot?
Emphasize Your Competitive Edge
Put your point play at the end of the video. The more point play from an actual match, the better. Technique, footwork, and personality are all great on their own, but a coach wants to see how you put it all together in a match. What is your game plan and how do you compete? At the end of the day, this is what they are recruiting you for. They are looking for players who will positively affect their team and help them win matches.
You want to show your strengths: how you construct and win points. While you want to show your successfully executed points, it is just as important to show points that you do not win. The coach wants to see how you respond to lost points both immediately after and during the next point. They want to get a feel for your demeanor on the court, both when you are winning and when you are losing.
Editing
When it comes to editing your recruiting video, your goal is to make the video clean and simple. Cut out the time in between rallies and points, but nothing more. Allow the coach to see your movement to the different shots and where your ball lands in the court. Remember you are selling your actual tennis talent, not what you can make it into on video.
Making a video is not easy and it will take time, but it is a great tool to have when marketing yourself to different coaches. Good luck!
