By: Tiegen Kirkwold
We know what it takes to craft the perfect highlight reel for your banquet.
The state tournament is over. Jerseys are turned in. The next sports season is gearing up, but there’s still time to reflect on the one that just finished. Most teams will host an end-of-season banquet to gather with teammates, families and coaches to celebrate accomplishments.
It’s on you to figure out food, venue, decorations and team awards. But we’re here to help with the end-of-season highlight reel.
What to Include
Find the best moments.
Start in matches that had a big impact on the success of your season. That five-set thriller where your team squeaked by with a 16 – 14 win in the last set? We bet there’s a 10-foot kill or two you could find.
Show some variety.
The aces are fun to watch but everybody needs some love. After all, there’s no “I” in team. We want to see a great dig, or the lockdown defense from your post player.
Include everyone.
Your banquet reel is also a chance to thank your student-athletes for participating, especially seniors who may have just played their last match of organized volleyball.
Don’t show cheap shots.
It might seem obvious, but don’t highlight a kill that left the other girl with a broken nose. Doing that makes your athletes think it’s okay to put those moments in their reels — and that’s not what recruiters want to see.
Add a sick track.
Every great highlight needs a great beat. We have all kinds of hits in our music library to give your highlight some much-needed swag.
Use spot shadows.
Make it easy for the audience to know exactly what they should be looking at. Put a spot shadow on the key player a few seconds into the buildup play so all eyes are on them.
Break it up.
Use title slides to guide the video and introduce what’s coming next. Focusing on offense for the next minute or two? Put a title slide that says “Top Offensive Plays” with the names of athletes featured.
The How-To
Now that you know the recipe for a killer highlight reel, let’s talk about how to make one. The process is easy as 1, 2, 3.
Step one: Tag the clips in your library. Create the clip, trim or extend it, and send it to your team’s highlights.
Step two: Head over to your team highlights page by clicking the Highlights tab.
Step three (where the magic happens): Click Create Highlight to get started in the highlight editor. Give your reel a name, choose a theme and customize it with video, music, slides and photos. This is also the step where you’ll add spot shadows title slides. Check out this tutorial to see the process step-by-step.
Share Your Reel
You spent time crafting the perfect highlight to celebrate your season, so why not share it out? It just might land an athlete a big opportunity, plus it’s a great way to promote your program.
We make it easy to share your reel on Facebook, Twitter or by direct URL. Or take it up a notch by embedding the highlight reel on your school’s athletics website.
Take some time to look back on your team’s season and remember the ride — whether it ended in an early loss in the playoffs or a state championship. We can’t wait to see what you create.
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