10 Keys to A Great Highlight Film

If you are a prospect wanting to play college sports, you need to put effort and intentionality into building your highlight film. There are thousands of talented athletes who should be getting recruited, but they sabotaged themselves with a lazily thrown together highlight film. These 10 Keys will help you to put together a highlight film that will give you a better chance of being recruited. 

Before I get to the 10 Keys, it is important you know why you are making a highlight film. Your highlight film is often the first introduction coaches will get to you. There are tens of thousands of prospects putting their highlight films together. What are you doing that will set you apart from the others? Coaches click the link to watch your film, and they will watch as long as they have a reason to keep watching. They will stop watching the minute you give them a reason to stop watching. 

When coaches put your film on, do you give them a reason to keep watching? Read these 10 Keys and then go through and fix your film. If you aren't intentional with your film, you are going to hurt your chances of getting a chance to earn a scholarship.

10 Keys To A Great Highlight Film

1. Only put highlights on your highlight film

Too many guys put average plays on their highlight film. Your highlight film is called a highlight film because it has only highlights. You being on the field does not make it a highlight. If you aren't sure if it is a highlight, then you need to ask your coach to look at it. If you aren't sure, it probably isn't a highlight. Too many players put average plays on film because they worry about their film being too short. Your highlight film does not need to be longer than 3 minutes. If you only have one minute of highlights, don't add average on film to try to make it longer. 

2. Put your most explosive plays first

This is a huge mistake I see many players make. They hide their best plays in the middle of the film. Your BEST plays come first. Your most explosive plays should come first. If you had a 99 yard touchdown run, that play should be the first play on your film. Give the coach watching your film a reason to keep watching. I want to add that your highlight film does not need to be in chronological order. This is a huge mistake I see prospects make. Put your most explosive plays first. 

3. Show them where you are before the ball is snapped

This is another mistake I see made far too often. Put a circle around yourself or insert an arrow pointing to you before the ball is snapped. If they have to guess who you are they won't find you. 

4. Don't put music on your film

They are going to turn the volume down most likely. But if a coach is watching your film in an airport or anywhere in public, they don't want loud music blaring. Music doesn't help your recruiting. The wrong song can hurt your recruitment. 

What About A Partial Scholarship?

It is exciting when a school says they are going to offer you a scholarship to play football at their university. All of the hard work in the classroom, weight room, and on the field have paid off. Whether you are a 5 star D-1 athlete, or you get an opportunity to play at a smaller school, you are part of a very small percentage of athletes who will get a chance to play at the college level. You are a part of an elite group. Less than 5% of high school athletes will have an opportunity to participate in college sports. The transfer portal and additional covid years of eligibility have only made it tougher to earn scholarships.

If you received an offer from a Division 1 FBS university that is either a Power 4 or Group of 5 school, your scholarship will cover all of your tuition, room and board, books, and additional expenses. Any financial aid you are awarded will be stacked on top of that and go into your pocket. But what if you receive a D2, D3, or NAIA offer? What about FCS schools? What does that mean financially? 

I wanted to write this specifically for the student-athletes that are not going to a Power 4 or Group of 5 school. Let's go through each of these and talk about what they mean. 

FCS schools have up to 63 scholarships they can award. Not all FCS schools give out 63 scholarships. To fund a roster of 95 to 115 players and only 63 scholarships to use, they are not going to give every athlete a full ride. They are going to give out many partial scholarships so they can field a full roster. Your offer may be only a partial scholarship, and this is something you must ask. 

**Note: The NCAA just increased the scholarship limit to 105 for FBS and FCS schools due to a house settlement. There are still many details to be worked out. 

NCAA Division 2 Schools have up to 36 scholarships to give to potential football players. Not all Division 2 schools use their full allotment. Very few, if any, athletes are given a full scholarship to a D2 school. Many D2's give out small scholarships to freshmen, and increase the dollar value based on playing time and contribution to the team. 

NAIA schools have up to 24 scholarships. Like D2 schools, they are going to divide these scholarships among 75 to 100 players. Many NAIA schools have limits to how much institutional aid an athlete can receive on top of their football money. 

D3 schools do not give out any scholarship offers. When you are "offered" by a D3 school, they are essentially telling you they will have a roster spot for you. They do not give athletic scholarships, so you will only get financial aid not related to athletics from a D3 school. 

While junior colleges can give up to 85 scholarships, not all use their full allotment. At many junior colleges your football scholarship is partially determined by how much federal financially aid you will get. This way they can recruit more players. 

In each case above, you are most likely getting a "partial scholarship." This means you are going to get a scholarship to cover some part of the cost of attendance. Scholarships are as small as $250 a year. Some partial scholarships are $5000, or $10,000 a year. The key is that the scholarship is only going to cover part of your cost of attendance. 

What does this mean for you, and what do you need to do to put yourself in the best position possible? 

1. Before you sign, ask to see the financial breakdown. Ask the school to show you the numbers. Many times I have heard from parents who thought their son was getting a full ride, only to find out they were getting a scholarship worth $1,000 or 2,000 dollars. The college can give you an estimated breakdown of costs if you provide them your income and family size information. If you have filled out the FAFSA, they can give you a very accurate picture of what your financial obligations will be to attend their school. YOU MUST SEE THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN!

I have seen many young people sign their letter of intent, only to find out later they were going to have to pay thousands of dollars out of pocket, take out student loans, or a combination of the two. If you are going to a D2, D3, or NAIA school, expect that you will have to pay some money out of pocket.