Networking. Presentation. Planning.

These aren’t just traits needed for a successful career after college. For many student-athletes, the same skills can be the difference in getting the college scholarships they want.

USA Football has partnered with Collegiate Sports Data and Hudl to help high school athletes with the recruiting processes. Hudl provides student-athletes the ability to create their own recruiting profile, which contains academic information, contact information, strength and conditioning and an effective highlight film and game film. Collegiate Sports Data is a recruiting service that helps college coaches stay appraised of potential recruits across the country.

Now that the high school football season has wrapped up, members of the Class of 2015 are preparing for National Signing Day in February.

For juniors and sophomores, the recruiting season is about to accelerate, and it is important to approach it correctly. Whether you’ve already started the process or are still looking for ideas, here are some tips collected from college coaches across the country.

Create an effective highlight film

The most critical asset an athlete can create to help recruitment is a quality highlight film. In essence, a highlight film provides a quick means to showcase an athlete’s skills and talents. It is utilized to gain college coaches’ interest and drive colleges to learn more about an athlete. In a lot of ways, a highlight film is an athlete’s video resume.

Take the time to select your best 10 plays and assemble them into one clip. College coaches don’t have time to sit and watch 50 clips.

Select your plays carefully

Work with your high school coach or another coach to identify your best plays, these aren’t necessarily all touchdowns or big hits. Best plays can showcase specific skills to grab the attention of a college recruiter.

• As a running back, highlight your ability to block or to finish a run.
• As a quarterback, showcase footwork and the ability to roll out and complete a throw on the run.

Prioritize your top 10 play, putting the best ones at the beginning. College coaches may only need to watch a few plays before knowing if they are interested in watching more.

“The biggest thing is to put the most explosive and eye catching (plays) to start off the highlight,” said the University of Nevada’s Aaron Ingram, who previously served as the recruiting coordinator at Sacramento State University. “If in the first five plays of a highlight the player hasn’t caught the coach’s eye, they might not at all. Coaches don’t want to wait for it to get better, they want the best right now. ”

Simple adjustments that help presentation

Make sure it’s easy for college coaches to find you on the film. Coaches watch thousands of athletes perform, and it is on them, the easier it is for them to turn off your film.

HUDL provides easy access to spotlight individuals before a play starts. This allows coaches viewing the film to focus in and see what is highlighted.

What not to do with your highlight film

• Do not adjust the speed of the game film by adding slow motion or fast motion.
• Do not add music to the film as college coaches only want to see what you can do on the field, not in the video editing room.
• Ensure that your profile has as much information as possible for prospective colleges.

Update contact information

This includes cell phone number, email and postal address, test scores/GPA and parent’s contact information.

Make it a habit to update your GPA at the end of every semester when report cards come out.

Make contact information easily accessible on public profiles so all coaches can contact you.

Upload transcripts to Hudl

Some coaches won’t watch film until they know players are qualified to be accepted into their school.

Recruiters are looking for the best athletes, students and leaders who will represent their college programs appropriately. It is important that highlight films and profiles stay up to date with top plays, contact information and overall academic achievements. Make sure coaches can see your best self at all times on a highlight profile because you never know when they are looking.

Getting on the right lists

Collegiate Sports Data is an NCAA Approved Scouting Service and a trusted partner of more than 450 college football programs nationwide, offering every high school coach the opportunity to recommend their athletes to colleges across the country.  Getting an athlete’s name on the Collegiate Sports Data list is a critical step in getting on college recruiters radars.

With more than 1 million high school athletes playing football nationwide, lists serve as key filters for college coaches to find potential players. College coaches are not able to review every athlete in their recruiting area, but what they do is use lists that give them key players that they should evaluate.

Make certain your high school coach knows of your goal to play college football and ask him for his help to achieve this goal

Have questions about how to get started with your Highlights on Hudl? Email the Hudl team at support@hudl.com or tweet @HudlSupport.