My first skills video I ever made feedback?

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On the version we will be sending to colleges, we will be eliminating the music.

I have never done one of these before. So feedback is appreciated. Please be kind, I'm not a pro.

On the dvd, I broke the chapters into section of the skills to make it easier for the coaches to access.

This is not my daughter just a kid that has played for me for a long time. I have coached high school and travel ball for the past nine years and hands down she is one of the best players I have coached in that time. She is a leader and a very hard worker, and a five tool player in my opinion.

Skills Video Link

I have some other videos on our home page there that I played around with to get use to our new software.

The picture quality isn't as good to get it on to youtube, so when the coaches get the dvds it will be much better.

 

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I see you already said it, as I was going to suggest getting rid of the music.

Personally, I'd like to see a few swings from her right side with a side angle off of either live pitching or a machine. She seemed to kind of go through the motions off the tee and the side toss.

I thought some of the views were too far away. There were a couple of things on which I couldn't quite see the ball or even come close to seeing her technique on defense.

Overall I could tell from the video that she is a good athlete. Personally, I'd eliminate all of the sac bunting and some of the multiple double play balls and concentrate on getting a better angle on her playing short and then making some different plays there and throwing to first.

The hitting on the game footage is ok in my opinion, but not all that helpful. It's pretty hard to tell what type of pitching she's facing and the view is too far away to see her mechanics.

On the home to first and home to home running, make sure it always shows her taking off and hitting the base or home plate. I think it's safe to say we'd rather do the timing ourselves rather than relying on the maker of the video putting up a time.

Again, even with my suggestions, I could still tell for the most part what type of player I think she is.

 

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What do you suggest, we won't be able to get outside anytime soon, and we don't have anywhere to go inside. The problem with where we shot was their is only 5 to 7 feet max in foul territory, that's why we turned it around. It was at the local high school field. There really isn't any other softball fields in the area we could have used at the time. I did the far away shots to show the throws as much as I could. I could put some close ups I have on there, but I couldn't follow the throws on them. If you watch it on a TV, I think the quality of picture is much better and you can see the ball there, as long as it isn't a 13" TV.

The pitcher she hit the home run off of was actually against a pretty good pitcher, who pitches for Latrobe who's been to the state finals the past two years and have been our district champions. The girls pitching isn't the stud that lead them to the titles the past two years though.

So you think a few more close ups? We really don't have access to a batting cage to see live hitting until February at the earliest. Thank you very much for your feed back.

 

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Nice job coach, tho I agree--have her get some swings off a live pitcher or machine and shoot from the side and behind.

 

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Thanks for sharing the video. From feedback I have received on one I'm putting together for my dd, I think yours may be a bit too long. If you can edit it down to 5-6 minutes, I think you may keep a coach's attention better. 11 minutes and I found myself starting to want to jump to the next thing. JMO. The views do seem a bit far away as coach Joe mentioned. If you want to show the result of the throw, try setting up more behind her. I know it's tough to manage the camera. A tripod helps a great deal, if you weren't using one already.

Everything I've been told says to skip the game footage in favor of keeping it short and sweet. Coaches want to see the fundamentals of the fielding, footwork, glove work, arm action, swing mechanics. As for bunting, just a couple is all you need.

I liked the idea of posting showing the running times, but coach Joe's advice, who's much more experienced than mine, did say he'd rather time it himself.

Good luck. I will keep an eye on this thread as I'm interested as to what other feedback you get.

 

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Very obvious that a lot of time,effort and thought went into it...Glad you are willing to accept others thoughts. My daughter is a pitcher and I got hers done just before winter set in. I was told that THE most important aspect of a skills video was the length.
5-6 minutes...7 the absolute max.

I noticed that in ours, I chose to have mostly close-ups for hitting, fielding and throwing. My camera for pitching was set up just off of her right shoulder (throwing) shoulder. The close-ups were mostly my own idea because I thought most college coaches would be most interested in solid mechanics.

Young lady is obviously a very good ballplayer.

 

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Thank you everyone for your feedback and thank you rollwiththechanges for your compliment.

Yeah, we put a lot of time into it. One of the problems we ran into at times was finding the extra help with it, as her family was pretty busy and it was hard for them to make it. Also, at the time it was volleyball season and she is on the high school team, so a lot of it was done in the fall, and we where always struggling to find good time slots that matched up for us.

I put the game footage at the very end thinking if a coach doesn't want to watch it, they can skip over it. I also set up chapters in the menus so they can jump to whatever skill they want to see. Also part of the reason for some of the far away shots was to show some range in movement as I feel this is one of her biggest assets.

I just worry about getting it right. I guess there is no perfect way to do it. She isn't my kid, but when you have been around someone coaching them for 6 years it almost sort of feels like it. lol

So does everyone agree take the bunting off? or if not all of the bunting which ones to I leave on? right handed or left handed sacrifice, or drag?

Thanks again.

 

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Left handed is more valuable to a coach on the short game....

 

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Agree, left side drag, bunt, slap for hit are worth showing. Right side bunt, maybe one or two at most just to show technique. I've heard that sac bunting should be a "given" at the college level, so don't put too much time in the video for it.

 

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One thing I noticed when I did my DD's video was how much slower things look on video as opposed to real life. I believe your intent is to help this player in any way you can, so please understand that the suggestions I am making are in NO WAY meant to be negative - just constructive.

1) INTENSITY!! If she wants to play college ball, have her kick it up a notch. From what I see in the video, she seems to have the athleticism, but she doesn't seem to use it to her full potential. She needs to push herself to use that ability, and not come across as just "going through the motions". Outfield cut throws: A "college" throw should show her literally coming out of her shoes, and the throw needs to be right on target - maybe knee level at home plate so the catcher can apply the tag. Infield Throws: She seems to have good mechanics, but again - INTENSITY! Put some "POP" on those throws! Throws to first should hit the first baseman's body ideally around chest to shoulder high. Give her some really HARD hits to field - I'll bet she can handle it - make her work! She'll need that attitude in college!

2) Running: Out of the box - Get the weight FORWARD - she's too upright for her height. Practice leaning HARD into her start (talk to a sprinter) and she'll get a much more explosive start for her home-to-first, AND get a better time to boot!

3) Agree with the more hitting. I would scrap the game footage - the competition is NOT what you want a college coach to compare your skills to. Several angles off the tee - side view (shows fron of her body), catcher view (show where she hits the ball to), and pitcher view. Same views with someone pitching to her - OR front toss from behind a screen. Both of these should only take up about a minute on the video.

I'd also skip any and all transitions and scrolling type effects. They look cool, but take up too much time. The menu idea is great - a time saver for the coach. Just don't use any embellishments at all - no fades, transitions, etc. Just put the meat in there, which is quality content that does justice to the players ability.

In watching her and comparing her to a college level athlete, I think she has the raw skill set. She just needs to push herself a lot more.

 

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Sammy,

thanks for the feed back, I think part of it could be from being at school all day, then a two and a half hour volleyball practice, then outside to work on her video. Most of it was done in the evenings. If you see her in person you will see she actually is very intense, and a spark plug for us. She has a lot of intangibles that as a coach I just can't teach.

I am going to try to get a batting cage somewhere for her to hit, problem is right now we dont' have access till one and I would like to have the video completed for the showcase at kent state. I will try to let the coaches know as we get access to a batting cage, we will get them more hitting footage.

We have been working hard on improving her running trying to cut down her time. I recently got a job working at the local Y and my boss is actually a local high school track coach so we've been having her work on some explosive training, ladder work, and he's working on her form. I think she will have her times cut down more in the spring.

Thanks for the feedback, again its appreciated. This kid wants to be the best and pushes herself to get there.

 

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I tried to change somethings on the video from the much appreciated feed back here. I tried to incorporate more hitting into it, and also elminate some of the reptitions on things, and tried to put a few more close ups.

Feed back?

Cassie Show - Connellsville Cyclones

 

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I think this is a good example of getting a closer view.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7D0IPHRdg0

 

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That's really nice camera work and graphics. The only thing I noticed from what I've been led to believe they like is, there's a cut after every pitch/hit/fielding, etc. I've told they like to see a brief series without cuts - like 3 grounders in a row, several bunts, etc. seamless.

And, I didn't have the sound on, but it seemed like a very long introduction. I'm guessing she was saying things that could/would have been on her printed profile. If you think of coaches watching dozens and dozens of these, I'd think they'd like to cut to the chase.

 

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Another Softball Mom. You are right. The first part she was giving all of her "softball awards" which could be on a resume.

 

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As soon as we can get on a field outside, I will update and make some changes to it. As for now, its kinda cold out. lol. I think for the most part they should be able to get a good idea of what she can do, and if she is a girl that they may want to put on their radar a bit, or not bother with.

Yeah, that profile, the girl didn't need to state as many things as she did, could have put that on paper.