Baseball Video Guidelines

Please follow the guidelines below when submitting video footage for your NCSA Recruiting Profile. This will ensure that once NCSA receives your video we can edit it quickly and upload it as fast as possible.

Video Log for Skills Video:

College coaches want to see unedited footage of your best skills at each position you want to play in college. Please follow the details below for each position and then log your best sequence of each skill unedited

Only log the footage you would want included in your skills video

Be sure your DVD/computer timer is at 0:00 before logging your footage

Fill out the video log completely

Please see the sample video log in the Video Guidelines section of your Recruiting Management System and use the blank copy to log your footage

You may email or mail the completed video log to NCSA

What Type of Footage to Send:

Skills footage only; do not send game footage. This is much different from a highlight video that you would create for a sport like football

Each video you submit should include approximately one minute of your skills, uneditedusing the sequences below for every position you want to play in college. For example:

  • A recruit who wants to play catcher/shortstop/RHP, the log will include one minute of catching, one minute of fielding at short, one minute of hitting, one minute of pitching, and one sixty yard dash on one video (total of about a four minute video)
  • If a recruit wants to just pitch in college, then two minutes is acceptable for a pitcher only

Dress in spikes, pants or shorts, a tucked in shirt and helmet when hitting. (A uniform is preferred – NO cut-off shirts)

Acceptable formats: DVD (.MPG, .MPEG, .MOV, .WMV), YouSendIt files, USB

Unacceptable formats: .AVI, Windows Movie Maker, MP4 (ITunes), VRO.Movie, CD, VHS, HI-8, Mini DV Tape

Always test your DVD on your computer AND a DVD player to be sure it plays

How to Film:

A tripod is highly recommended

Ideally, station the camera 5 feet off of the ground

Try not to be obstructed by a backstop, fence or net, but this may be okay

Do not zoom in and out

Focus on the player being recorded so that they are clear and in focus, but not too close

Position Specific Details:

Hitting:

  • The pitcher should throw batting practice type fastballs (not soft toss)or use a pitching machine
  • Footage can be filmed either outside on a diamond (ideal) or in a cage
  • Use an aluminum bat, not a wood bat (this will best demonstrate your hitting skills)
  • Behind Angle: With camera angle behind the catcher area allowing the college coach to evaluate the pitch, hitter, and result
  • 15 Swings
  • Log your best swings in an unedited, 30–60 second sequence
  • Side Angle: With camera angle 5 ft. directly to the right of the plate for right-handed hitters or left of the plate for left-handed hitters
  • 15 Swings
  • Log your best swings in an unedited, 30–60second sequence

Shortstop and 2nd Base:

  • Regardless if you are a SS or 2B, we recommend taking your groundballs at shortstop in order for a coach to evaluate your full range and arm strength
  • Front Angle: With one camera angle positioned 4 ft. to the left of the mound for half (camera should not follow throw to 1st)
  • Behind Angle: With other camera angle positioned 4 ft. behind shortstop for half to evaluate arm strength
  • 3 Groundballs hit/throwndirectly at you
  • 1 Groundballhit/thrown 8-10 feet to your left
  • 1 Ground ball hit/thrown 8-10 feet to your right
  • 1 Slow rollerhit/thrown directly at you
  • Log your best fielding plays that span a 30–60second sequence, unedited (ideally around 30 seconds from each angle)

*It may be easier to roll the ground balls firmly versus hit them

Third Base:

  • Front Angle: With one camera angle positioned 4 ft. to the right of home plate (camera should not follow throw to 1st)
  • Behind Angle:With other camera angle positioned 4 ft. behind 3B for half to evaluate arm strength
  • 3Groundballs hit/thrown directly at you
  • 1Groundballhit/thrown directly to your left
  • 1Groundball hit/thrown directly to your right/backhand
  • 1Slow rollerhit/thrown directly at you
  • Log your best fielding plays that span a 30–60second sequence, unedited (ideally around 30 seconds from each angle)

*It may be easier to roll the ground balls firmly versus hit them

First Base:

  • With the camera angle positioned 4 ft. to the left of home plate
  • 3 Groundballs hit/thrown directly at youwhile you are deep off the bag
  • 3 Groundballshit/thrown directly at you while holding a runner on
  • Log your best fielding plays that span a 30–60second sequence, unedited

*Do not forget to include your feeds to the pitcher when you are playing deep

*It may be easier to roll the ground balls firmly versus hit them

Catcher:

*Catching footage should be continuous for each skill, but you should stop the camera when changing from one skill to the next

  • With camera angle 10ft. in front of the catcher
  • Log 4frames (2 pitches on each corner), unedited
  • With camera angle positioned 2 ft. to the left and 5 ft. in front of the mound
  • Log 6 blocks (2 directly in front of you, 2 to your left, 2 to your right), unedited
  • With camera angle positioned 4ft. behind the 2B for half and 4 ft. behind the catcher for half

*Must see 2B catch the ball from both camera angles

  • Log 6 throws to second base (ideally 3 from both angles), unedited
  • With camera angle positioned 4 ft. behind the catcher

*Must see 3B catch the ball from camera angle

  • Log 2 throws to 3B, unedited
  • With camera angle positioned 3 ft. behind the plate. Must see 1B catch the ball from camera angle
  • Log2 mock bunts and throws to 1B, unedited

Outfield:

  • For all outfielders, regardless of whether you are a CF, RF, or LF, we recommend you take your groundballs and fly balls in right field
  • With camera angle positioned 15 ft. in front of the student-athlete (in shallow right field) and 5 feet left (toward center field) focusing on student-athlete’s movement in the field (camera should not follow the throw)
  • 2-3 Ground or fly balls hit/thrown directly at you and throw to home
  • 2-3 Ground or fly ballshit/thrown to your left or right and throw to home
  • Logyour best 4-5 fielding plays, unedited
  • With camera angle behind home plate, showing both RF and C focusing on student-athlete’s accuracy with throws and arm strength
  • 4-5 Ground or fly balls hit/thrown directly at you and throw to home
  • Log your best 4-5 fielding plays, unedited

*It may be easier to throw the ground balls or fly balls firmly versus hit them

Pitchers:

  • Begin recording these pitches after a complete warm-up
  • If you can be clocked and the velocity shown on a radar gun in the video, that is an easy way for coaches to verify a velocity, but this is not necessary for filming
  • Coaches should be able to see the catcher actually catch the ball at all times
  • With camera angle set up 3 ft. behind the right-handed batters box for RHP and 3 ft. behind the left-handed batters box for LHP

*If the angle behind the catcher is not available, then an angle behind the pitcher is possible to film (details below)

  • Film sequences of 6 pitches out of the windupdemonstrating: 2 fastballs, 2 breaking balls, and 2 off-speed pitches
  • Log your 2 best, unedited sequences that demonstrate all of your pitches
  • Film sequences of 6 pitches out of the stretchdemonstrating: 2 fastballs, 2 breaking balls, and 2 off-speed pitches
  • Log your 2 best, unedited sequences that demonstrate all of your pitches
  • Side Angle: With camera on the 3rd base side for RHP and on the 1st base side for LHP, 5ft. from the mound, focusing solely on mechanics and not the pitch
  • Film 3 fastballs out of the windup
  • Film 3 fastballs out of the stretch
  • Log your best 2 pitches in one unedited sequence out of the windup
  • Log your best 2 pitches in one unedited sequence out of the stretch

*For strictly pitchers only or if you cannot film the angle above, feel free to add or use this angle below in your footage

  • With RHP camera angle set up 3 ft. to the right and 5 ft. behind the mound to be able to see the movement of the ball. LHP should be to the left.
  • Follow the sequences above for the first angle behind the catcher

60 Yard Dash:

  • If you are only submitting pitching footage, the 60 yard dash is not necessary to include in your video
  • Footage should be filmed either outside in the outfield or in a facility that is large enough
  • Measure 60 yards (180 feet) from the outfield foul line towards center field
  • Run this at least 2-3 times and log the footage of your best run

Submitting your footage to NCSA:

There are three ways to submit your footage:

  1. Mail the DVD(s)/flash drive to the following address

NCSA

Attn: Baseball Videos

1415 N Dayton St., 4th Floor

Chicago, IL 60642

  1. Upload your footage through your Recruiting Management System
  2. If you choose to upload the footage, you can upload up to 5 files at a time; just make sure the total amount of the 5 files you are uploading does not exceed 2 GB of memory.
  3. To upload the files, follow these steps:
  4. Sign in to your Recruiting Management System
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of your home page and find the box labeled "Research and Education"
  6. Select "Video Instructions and Recruiting Guidelines"
  7. Select the third blue link that drops down, "Upload Your Video"
  8. Follow the steps on the next page and upload your video
  9. You can send your video as a YouTube link to .

Here is what NCSA will do with your video:

Email you when we receive your video. If the footage does not follow the guidelines, NCSA will mail it back to the address from which is was received. Otherwise, NCSA does not return footage.

Edit and upload your footage to your Recruiting Profileand also post a link on YouTube

Inform you by email when your video is complete

The skills video for your NCSA Recruiting Profile is meant to attract initial interest and allow for initial evaluation. Coaches may still want to see you compete in person to fully evaluate your abilities.

If you have any questions, please contact the NCSA Recruiting Coaches Team at 877-845-6272.