If you have aspirations of getting recruited to play college lacrosse, you should be making a highlight tape.
In fact, you should be making multiple highlight tapes to let coaches see you play and progress over time.
In this post I want to show you a cool way to enhance that highlight tape with superior audio quality.
Pretty much every highlight tape up I’ve seen up until now uses the audio from the camera on the sidelines which doesn’t pick up the goalies voice at all.
Even worse it picks up tons of wind noise and if the goalie doesn’t add some sort of background music on top of the video, it can be painful to listen to.
Improving the audio on your highlight reels is going to be especially useful for those goalies who excel in their communication with the defense.
While this tip is specifically written up for us lacrosse goalies, any position that relies on communication to excel could benefit from this all well.
Check out these 2 highlight tapes from a high school goalie Michael Piotrowski that I recently had on podcast episode #68.
What’s the first thing you notice?
You can actually hear his communication.
Michael discussed it on the podcast:
What a great idea! Adds another element to these goalie highlight reels and it especially helps you stand out if communication is a strong element of your game (and it should be).
Michael put together a demo video on his IG CreaseKing:
To get this setup, the first thing you’ll need is a wireless lavalier microphone.
Here’s the one Michael uses:
You then need to sew in a little pocket on the inside of your chest to pad that will hold the microphone.
I’m no crochet expert but a few stitches on any type of cloth should suffice to create a sturdy little pocket that can hold the mic securely.
Then all you need to do is plug the receiver end, which is a separate piece, directly into the camera doing the recording.
I asked Michael if he has ever been in the chest pad on the microphone part and his response was:
I have been hit in the chest a couple of times with it in and it has yet to break.
So good news is it looks like this microphone is durable to withstand some direct impact.
Pretty simple and yet takes the audio quality on your highlight reels from basically non-existent, all the way up to awesome.
The other thing I love about having great audio on your video footage is the ability to review your communication.
Just like I recommend goalies record video of themselves making saves to review their save technique, the same now can be done with your verbal commands.
You might think you’re being crystal clear in your communication to your team only to listen to a scrambled mess when you review the tape.
The audio don’t lie.
If you can’t clearly hear your commands, make you to actively work on improving your communication in the crease.
Super quick post on an awesome idea I learned from CreaseKing Michael Piotrowski on our podcast episode together about improving audio quality on your highlight reels.
If communication is an area of the game you excel at, you’ll stand out more in the eyes of college coaches when they can hear your crisp and confident commands while watching your game footage.
Having great audio also serves as a tool which we can review. The audio don’t lie.
If you sound like a jumbled mess on the audio, guess what your team is likely hearing? I hope you said a jumbled mess, cause that’s the right answer.
Don’t be a jumbled mess. Be clear, be loud, be confident!
Until next time,
Coach Damon
1.
Join the Lax Goalie Rat Academy
Unlock your full potential inside the premier training program for lacrosse goalies. Get exclusive access to technique tutorials, drills, mental game strategies, lacrosse IQ development, and direct coaching from Coach Damon. Join 400+ goalies who are leveling up their skills and confidence.
2.
Master the Goalie Parent Role
Being a goalie parent is harder than playing the position. That’s why I created the Lacrosse Goalie Super Mom/Dad course — designed for parents with zero lacrosse experience who still want to support their goalie. You’ll learn how to train them (yes, really), but more importantly, how to guide them through the emotional highs and lows of the game.
3.
Get in front of 11,000+ lacrosse enthusiasts
Promote your brand, product, or service by sponsoring the Lax Goalie Rat newsletter. It's the easiest way to get noticed by a passionate and highly targeted community of lacrosse goalies and coaches.
Join the Lax Goalie Rat Academy for top-tier virtual goalie training! Boost your young goalie's confidence, skills, and success - so you can be the proud goalie Mom or Dad on the sideline 🔥
