How to Create a Highlight Reel For Soccer
When you want to play college soccer, one of the most important tasks for you to do is to create a killer highlight reel. This should take more time and thought than most players are willing to do – unless you are getting heavily recruited without doing anything or have a teammate who is, your highlight reel is going to be your introduction to coaches.
But there is good news! Approaching your highlight reel correctly can set you apart from everyone else. You just have to look at each aspect the right way. First thing’s first:
How to Figure Out Which Footage Should Go Into Your Highlight Reel
Most players are going to gather their favorite clips of their games, put them into one long video, then send it out. This is not the best thing to do.
It’s best to start with audience in mind – think about the coach’s mindset when they’re watching the video. They’re probably watching a couple dozen highlight reels for the 6 or 7 roster spots they have available. They’ve been watching grainy footage of games for a while. And they’re not watching to see who scores the prettiest goals or makes the best goal-saving tackles – they’re trying to see which player is ready to play at the next level.
With this in mind, you want your clips to showcase the following:
Technical Ability With the Ball
Soccer IQ/ Off-the-Ball Knowledge
Athletic Ability
Team Player
Once you’ve gathered a bunch of clips that fit those parameters, you want to go through each one and go through this checklist:
Does the clip show your technical ability with the ball?
Does the clip show your soccer IQ and/or off the ball knowledge?
Does the clip show your athletic ability?
Does the clip show you as a team player?
Did you make any mistakes in the clip?
If you aren’t sure what types of clips you should include in each position, we break that down here.
The Ideal Length of a Soccer Highlight Reel
After you’ve gone through and selected the best footage for your highlight reel, there’s a good chance you have way too much footage. You want to trim it down to 2-3 minutes in length as coaches aren’t likely to watch more than that (again, they are watching dozens of highlight reels) so you need to determine which ones are the best.
If you get it down to 17 clips, each one would average 11 seconds. As this highlight reel is designed to make a first impression with a coach, make sure it’s showing your full body of work – so pick 4 clips each that showcase (you have one bonus clip to add after that):
You on the ball in possession
You off the ball in possession
You in a 1 v 1 on defense
You making a play in transition
With that framework, as long as each clip passes that checklist, you have the makings of a highlight reel that will stand out and get coaches to want to follow up with you. Next: putting it all together.
What Software to Use to Create a Soccer Highlight Reel
There are multiple different options of software you can use to create your soccer highlight reel. Whichever one you choose, we recommend editing on a larger screen than your phone – either a computer or a tablet – as that is most likely what a coach will use to watch your highlight reel.
And, as you are putting your reel together, keep in mind the length of each clip to make sure it shows your skills in the best light. Often it’s counterintuitive – you want to spend more time on the amazing job you did bringing down a ball with your first touch but you only need a few seconds to do that…and you need more time to show how you had perfect positioning to shut down the passing lane and force the other team to switch fields but that is more boring.
Another piece of advice: have someone else watch your highlight reel and have them explain what they saw in the clip – getting a fresh set of eyes will make sure that you are showcasing exactly what you’re trying to.
If you’re looking for some help, feel free to contact us to set up a consultation. We have mentors that have played college soccer and went on to professional careers that are able to work with youth players ready to take their game to the next level.
