How you can do it
It’s advised for student-athletes to make their own connections with coaches of colleges they want to apply for rather than let parents do it. And it’s not really as difficult as it appears.

Do your fundamental homework — get the information from the school about financial aid, academics, room and board. After that it is advised to write letters to the coaches of your sport. Tell about yourself and request a program packet, which gives plenty of information about many benefits of their athletic program.

Your introductory letter should be well written, typed, and have no errors in spelling, punctuation or grammar. Consider it as a cover letter for a job, and try to show yourself in a polite, short, sensible and informative manner. And keep in mind that you shouldn’t write a form letter to send out to everyone. Add a more personal touch.

You have to:
• Introduce yourself by name, high school and graduation date.
• Show why you want to go to that particular school.
• Give a short background that includes your GPA, class rank and field of study.
• Demonstrate long-term and short-term athletic and academic goals.
• Ask for the college’s program packet and questionnaire.
• Give your telephone numbers where you can be reached.

Taping tips
Employ a professional to tape your recruiting video and you could pay as much as $2,500. If you belong to the average people who must watch their finances, tape yourself, it will cost you less money. Just remember these ideas in mind while you film.

• Don’t use too much zoom.
• Don’t try to get closeups of the ball flying through the air.
• Don’t film through a fence or other obstruction. It’s better to place yourself somewhere else to avoid missing a shot because of an unfocused camera.
• Don’t film into direct sunlight. It will lead to a glare.
• Try to use a tripod to avoid movement. Unstable camera work shows when producing a highlight video.
• Don’t record at such a distance that you can’t identify jersey numbers. Coaches won’t know who they should be watching.
• Film 10 seconds before and after you do an interview if you are going to put in special effects.
• Begin over if you become tongue-tied during an interview.
• Try to buy a very high-quality recording tape to record on.
• Never record on a tape that’s already been recorded on.