To gain a place in a US College it is usual to submit a Video of the Tennis player. I can help you put together a Video that is suitable for submission. A professionally shot video greatly increases your chances of getting a place at the College of your choice in the US.

The recruiting Video will have the following sections which will make it easy for the College Coach to see your current standard of play, technique and your potential.

• Introduction - basic information about yourself, who you are, why you want to go to a US College, etc. Confirmation that English is your first language or that you meet TOEFL standards. If you are using Tennissmart as an Agent then this section is not required as the Tennissmart website will have your current details.
• Forehand Rally - show basic technique and footwork movement around the court.
• Backhand Rally -  show basic technique and footwork movement around the court.
• Forehand Approach - transition from the back court to the front court, showing your strokes and movement.
• Backhand Approach - transition from the back court to the front court, showing your strokes and movement.
• Front Court - Forehand, Backhand Volleys and Smashes.
• Serve - shot for the front, side and rear so that the Coach can see your technique.
• Matchplay - Demonstration of your play showing your abilities and variation in your game, giving the Coach the opportunity to see the height, depth, direction, spin and pace on your groundstrokes and a view of your consistency. And the tactics you use to win or defend a point.
• Contact/Credits - There will be a section on how you may be contacted.

A recruiting video is an advert for your skills, to show these skills to their best, the video is shot using Broadcast quality professional video equipment and a directional microphone. This equipment gives clear, sharp, correctly exposed video with external sounds eliminated.

To shoot the video, the session will take between 60-90 minutes, another hour is required to review each clip and select those that will be used in the submitted video.

The post production consists of a detailed review of each video clip, trimming each clip, adjusting for brightness and contrast and assembling the clips into a continuous stream.

The Introduction needs to be rehearsed beforehand, the best way of doing this is to write down what you want to say and then practice saying it in a mirror until you are word perfect.

The Video is shot as a series of clips, these clips are then constructed into a Video, you will be given a DVD of the final Video.

 A copy will be put on Youtube with appropriate search tags defined so that Coaches can find your Video. It will be associated with other US College Recruiting Videos taken by us so that it can be found easier.

A page will be put on this site for your Video and a personal statement. This page will also include all the Video taken of you so that Coaches can see more of you playing Tennis. The page is useful for you as you can send just one link to coaches. If you have any other Video of yourself this can be added to this page.

The Video soundtrack will be that as recorded during the Video, the Super Slow Motion sections will be silent. The coaches want to hear your feet and the ball strikes so Music is not appropriate!

The Video will normally be shot at your local Club, as you will be more relaxed in your own environment and you can arrange a practice partner that you know. For the strokes section it is acceptable for a coach to feed the ball, for the matchplay section you should have a partner of about the same standard as yourself.

With the increasing numbers of players seeking a College placement from around the world, College Coaches are being contacted frequently by Agents, it is becoming more difficult to obtain a placement without using an Agent, Tennissmart is recomended as Sarah Borwell has placed and supported a considerable numbers of Players fron the UK.   To visit the Tennissmart website click here.

A College Coach may not have the time to develop individual players, therefore they will be seeking players who have a proven level of play. The US College results are submitted to the Unversal Tennis Ratings System and the LTA now submit the match results from the UK to the Unversal Tennis Ratings System. The UTR will give a College Coach a good indication of a players level of play as comparisons can be made between players based in the UK and UK players who are currently playing for a US College. Check you own UTR here.

Samples of our US College recruiting Videos are on Youtube, to see the Videos click here.

To download an information sheet click here.

To book a session email Mick@McCarron.co.uk