Only 2 to 4 minutes based on how many positions you play.

If you are a pitcher, closer to 2 minutes.

If you play multiple position and pitch, it might be between 3-4 minutes… don’t go over 4.

Coaches are very busy people. One of the quickest ways you can turn them off is by sending them a 15-minute video of you taking 40 swings, 40 ground balls, and doing 30 bicep curls.

Clearly thatʼs a bit of an exaggeration, but you get the point. The truth of the matter is that coaches want to be able to make quick decisions and will rarely watch over a few minutes of video on one player theyʼve never seen before.

Also, there should be NO down time in your video. That means definitely edit between swings, pitches and ground balls.

YES! (Check out the video above with Kansas Head Coach Ritch Price)

Even though his program gets thousands or emails from players every year, they have a system for going through them… The key is that it’s a personal email from you the player.

Think about this from the perspective of the busy coaches who canʼt be everywhere at once. Why wouldnʼt they take a minute to watch a video and decide if a player is worth putting on their recruiting radar?

Recruiting is a very hard and time-consuming aspect of coaching at the college level. Rarely, if ever, will a player be offered a scholarship based on a highlight video, but itʼs a great way to begin a conversation and increase the chances that a coach will come see you play live.

I have flat out asked many coaches what percentage of videos they watch compared to the amount of videos they receive. Almost every single one has said they watch most or all of the videos sent their way.

That should be awesome news to you!! Now it comes down to making a good video that showcases your talent.

Check out the videos above for real examples of well done skills videos for players at each position.

Position Players Should Include:

HITTING:

A few swings from a batting practice session. You’ll want 6-8 good swings from behind and 6-8 good swings from the side (facing you). Watch the skills videos above for reference.

I say “good swings” because you should edit to ONLY INCLUDE your best swings.

Hitting off of a tee or front toss SHOULD NOT be included in your video.

INFIELDERS:

Fielding and making throws if you’re an infielder. You can have someone film you while taking pre-game infield (if it can be done well) or just have someone hit you ground balls in a practice setting.

If you play 2B, SS or 3B, take ground-balls from shortstop so that you can show off your arm. Make sure you include taking 2-3 ground balls right at you, 2-3 to your left, 2-3 to your right, and 2-3 slow rollers (Probably the MOST important part for an infielder).

OUTFIELDERS:

Taking 4-5 fly balls (at you, to your right and to your left) and throwing to 3rd base or home plate if you’re an outfielder. It’s pretty hard to get good video of this, so the main point is to show a little athletic ability and prove that you can get the ball to home plate or 3rd base on one hop.

RUNNING (Include if you are fast. Don’t include if you aren’t)

What constitutes fast? Depends on the level of college coach watching your video, but a good rule of thumb is a 7.0 or better 60 yard dash time.

Running to first base or stealing a base or two during a game, or if you have a good 60-yard dash time, you can show yourself running a 60-yard dash. Make sure you either put your time on the screen while you’re running, or show an actual stopwatch timing you (having an actual stopwatch is much better).

If you aren’t very fast or have a slow 60-yard dash time, I’d recommend NOT including a running section in your video. It’s all about giving yourself the best chance at getting colleges to come see you play live!

PITCHERS:

Pitchers should take footage in a bullpen or practice with someone holding a radar gun to display your velocity. It is very helpful for coaches to see your radar gun readings, so include that if at all possible.

You should show 3-4 fastballs, 2-3 curveballs, 2-3 change-ups, and 2-3 of any other pitch you want to highlight. Those pitches are best filmed from behind the plate AND behind the mound.

Also include a few pitches (3-5) from the side (camera will be facing you if you’re in the stretch). This is more for coaches to get a better look at your mechanics, so just throwing fastballs is fine.

YES PLEASE!” says almost every college baseball coach that has ever watched a skills video.

Down time between pitches gives coaches too much time to become bored and click out of your video. Edit your video to show back-to-back-to-back swings. Edit your defensive clips. Edit your pitches.

You donʼt want down time in your video. It should flow continually from the beginning to the end with spacer slides for transitions (see videos above for examples).

Absolutely! Coaches love to recruit athletes. If you have 15-30 seconds (Don’t over do it!!) of highlights from another sport, by all means, include it AT THE END of your video.

Essentially you should begin and end your video the same way – with a relevant information slide (3 seconds long in the beginning and 6 seconds long at the end).

What constitutes relevant information? Glad you asked.

Additional general information:

• Personal Contact Info (Name, Email & Phone Number)
• Height
• Weight
• You’re Coaches Contact Info
• High School/Hometown
• Graduation year
• Position
• 60-yard dash time (If good)
• GPA
• Other sports you play
• Personal awards or legitimate team championships (Don’t reference your summer team’s runner-up showing at the state fair invitational baseball tourney)

You should start with whatever you are strongest at. Pretend you have 15 seconds to convince the coach you are worth him spending the next few minutes watching the rest of your video (That’s reality by the way.)

If you are lightning fast, I’d start with running. If your strength is pitching, but you’re also a hitter, start the video with you pitching.

If you are a defensive wiz and a decent hitter, start with defense.

Just make sure you put your best foot forward in your video… You get the idea.