College Budget Reductions Have Coaches Depending on Video

With money tight in almost all settings across the United States, college coaching staff's are no exception.  Travel, scouting, marketing material etc...all budgets that have been cut in recent years.  What does this mean for a high school prospect?  A skills/highlight video plays a more important role in the recruiting process!

As we speak, college administrators across the country are looking into every way possible to save a dime. Cutting the recruiting budgets of coaching staffs has made its way to the top of the list.  In the past a coaching staff may have been able to travel to an event to catch a glimpse of potential prospects, now they have become more dependent on reviewing them from the comfort of their office.  Coaches are becoming much more dependent on video to make evaluations and in some cases even scholarship offers without actually seeing a potential recruit play in person.  It's definitely not the coaching staff's preference, however in some cases no alternatives are available.

Where does that leave a high school prospect?  In most cases, you will have one chance to make a first impression.  The skills/highlight video must provide a college coach the information they need to decide on whether to pursue a recruit or move on to the next one.  Upper Hand Promotions athletes have the advantage, we have done the research.  We know what coaches are looking for in each sport!  Let us help you make a first impression that will give you an opportunity!

Create a FREE athlete profile on www.upperhandpromotions.com to start the process! 

For more information, visit and become a fan of our Facebook page, Upper Hand Promotions or email us at info@upperhandpromotions.com.

Even an ex NFL player has to reach out to GET NOTICED!

As I always say and as our Upper Hand Promotions program is designed, getting started early and actively promoting a high school athlete is the only way to maximize an athlete's recruiting potential.  You can not sit back and think a college will come and find you...That is not how today's recruiting world works!  Check out the story below, if an ex-nfl player's son needs to actively reach out to colleges, you do as well...

From a yahoo news article about son’s of previous NFL players:

Zeke Pike, QB, Edgewood (Ky.) Dixie Heights
Son of Mark Pike, former NFL DE-LB, played 173 games for Buffalo

According to the elder Pike, recruiting has changed so much since he came out of high school 30 years ago. So much change, in fact, Mark researched recruiting for his son. From that, he determined what he considered the best course of action: being proactive.

"I kind of figured it out early and realized what I needed to do," Mark said.

While Zeke was still a freshman, his father sent game film to college coaches. More highlight clips went out the following year. Mark wasn't recruited until his senior season. He selected a school (Georgia Tech) on signing day.

Zeke picked up offers before he even became the starting varsity quarterback in 2010.

"It was worth it all," Mark said of his actions.

A couple takeaways...

1) Be Proactive:  Starting early is the best way.  Get on a college's radar early in the process, so they can track you throughout your high school career.  In Zeke's case above, he was receiving offers prior to even starting on varsity.  Once you hit high school, it is time to get to work!

2) Highlight Clips:  A quality highlight film is essential, not just a highlight film.  If the film does not showcase the skills coaches are looking for, the tape goes in the trash.  Do not waste your time sending out highlight films that do not do what they were intended to do!

Most high school athletes do not have ex-nfl players for a dad.  In this case the athlete had a parent that knew the process, knew what coaches were looking for and had the time to proactively reach out to coaches across the country.  In the real world, free time and knowledge of the recruiting process is not something most parents or high school athletes have...That's what Upper Hand Promotions is here for...Let us help you navigate through the recruiting process!

For more info email us at info@upperhandpromotions.com... We would be happy to walk you through the recruiting process, develop a personalized promotional plan and help YOU maximize your recruiting potential!

Two Must Do Things to Maximize Recruiting Potential

I encourage every high school athlete to do the research, talk with their coaches and determine what actions they must take to maximize their recruiting potential.  Everything you read from college coaches, select coaches, high school coaches etc...I can promise will lead to two MUST DO action items, to get the recruiting process started...

1) Start sending Recruiting Letters of Interest to the coaches at the schools you are interested in attending.

2) Make sure that you have a skills/highlight video created and start sending off to college coaches or have it ready if they request one.

* A college coach can not recruit an athlete they do not know exists and prior to spending the money to come out and see an athlete, the college coach wants to know the athlete is a potential fit for their program.

There are two potential problems with the action items above, time and knowledge of the process.  The letter and video will take time to produce, researching potential schools and contact information for the coaches will also take hours of personal time.  Not to mention, the letter and video must provide the coach with the information they are looking for, for it to be effective.  If not, the college coach will throw it away and move on and the athlete may miss out on a potential opportunity!

Upper Hand Promotions can help address both of the action items above.
1) Recruiting Promotional Cards:  These cards are designed to effectively introduce the high school athlete to college coach.  We have all the contact information, so let us produce the letter and send it out for you, for not much more than if you designed, printed and mailed yourself, not to mention save you hours of research and development each month.

2) Highlight/Skills Video: Every coach wants to be able to see what they need to see in a short period of time.  Your video must be able to highlight the skills coaches are looking for at a position specific level.  Our program takes raw game footage and breaks it down to highlight the skills coaches want to see!  If you send a video that does provide the information needed, coaches will discard the video and move on to the next athlete.  Again, do not miss out on an opportunity!

For more information or to answer any of your recruiting questions, please email info@upperhandpromotions.com.  Talk to you soon!

Play Ball in Front of College Coaches

Upper Hand Promotions has recently teamed up with Top 96 Baseball Camps.  Top 96 camps are held all over the United States.  The camps are coached by active college coaches, each event has a list of which coaches will be in attendance.

As I have said all along, the best way to get noticed is to do a combination of promotion/marketing, attend camps and hard work on the field and in the classroom.  I suggest that if Top 96 will be hosting an event in your area, you take a look at the coaches that will be in attendance and determine if you have an interest in competing in front of those coaches!

If you are interested in learning more about the Top 96 program, schedule of events etc...Please send an email to info@upperhandpromotions.com.  Make sure to go through us,  as we will be able to save you some money at registration!