💭 FCL Weekly Thought: 02/14/25

Happy Friday, and welcome to all new subscribers! If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe here to get on our list moving forward.

We are set for a great slate of games this weekend. Last week on the podcast we discussed how to stand out. It was a great discussion and we built off it in this week’s pod. We shared thoughts below on Highlight Tapes as seasons are starting and winter events are in the books - we hope this helps! We appreciate your feedback and let us know what else you want to hear about in the coming weeks. Enjoy the weekend!

This Week at a Glance:

🎙️ FCL Podcast:

• Episode 3 of FCL’s In-Season Podcast

🔐 Online Community Highlights:

• (2/12) Jesse Bernhardt Webinar: Shadow Footwork Drill

• (2/12) Charlotte Sofield Webinar: Why Defenders Need to Be Able to Ball Handle

📧 Newsletters & Blogs:

• “On the Run”: NCAA Lacrosse Recap - Week 1

• “Coaches Corner”: Wooden. Practice design. Deception with windups & wall passes. Free drills.

WEEKLY THOUGHT

💭 Creating Your Highlight Tape

A highlight tape is a key piece of your recruiting journey, offering coaches a quick look at your game. A well-structured video won’t guarantee an offer, but it can help spark interest, help you stand out, and open doors in the process.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when putting yours together:

• First Impressions Matter, Get To The Good Stuff: Coaches may decide within the first 30 seconds whether they’ll keep watching. Lead with your best plays to grab their attention early. Avoid slow motion - especially once your intro ends. You can make the cinematic version separately for social media and your friends!

• Showcase Your Full Skill Set: A great tape provides a complete picture of your game. Defenders can highlight footwork, positioning, and off-ball awareness—not just takeaways or transition. Offensive players can balance scoring, feeding, and decision-making. Goalies can mix different types of saves, communication, and clearing ability. That being said, you should still lean into your best strengths.

• Demonstrate Your Motor: Show coaches how hard you play. Just because a play is not flashy doesn’t mean it’s bad. If you run out an end line shot, ride hard, hustle back on defense or relentlessly pursue a ground ball, those are great clips.

• Game Footage Over Highlights: When possible, try to show clips that capture the whole play, not just a close up on you. Context and playing environment matters when trying to evaluate talent.

• Keep It Professional: Music is fine, but keep it clean. Over-the-top effects, slow motion, or excessive replays can distract from the gameplay itself. A simple, polished presentation allows coaches to focus on what matters—your performance.

• Make It Easy to Find You: Coaches shouldn’t have to search for key details. Include your name, class year, position, club/high school team, and contact info at the beginning or end of the video.

How many tapes should you have?
There’s no exact formula, but having a track record of highlights is helpful. These don’t need to be long or over-produced—just focused on showcasing your strengths.

We typically recommend 1-3 tapes per year, starting freshman spring/summer through junior year. An example schedule:

• Freshman summer tape

• Sophomore fall tape

• Sophomore spring tape

• Rising junior summer tape

After junior fall, you can adjust based on your recruiting process and available film.

Take a look at some example tapes made by CJ Lauretani for some of our athletes.

Do I need a highlight tape?
Well, this depends on your goals. They certainly play a roll in the recruiting process, as well as certain selection for events. For some players they will be more important than for others. Once again, these can be very simple!

A well-made highlight tape is one of many tools in the recruiting process. It won’t define your path, but it can be a helpful introduction and resume to who you are as a player. Beyond a tape, you still need to stand out on the field. We discussed this last week on our podcast, starting at the 43 minute mark.

For a deeper dive on building your tape, check out our full guide here.

Best, 
Coach Dunn & Coach Class

FCL Highlight Tape Recommendation: Looking for help with your tape? Contact CJ Lauretani and let him know FCL/BIC sent you to get a reel made in our formatting.

IN THE COMMUNITY

Our online community is firing with webinar guests leading up to the season. We regularly have new college coach webinar guests as well as provide FCL guides & resources.

In addition to our coaches communities, we are making a big push in content for players & parents including our recruiting resources space in Circle. If you are looking for guidance in the recruiting process check out our community.

Coaches, we still have all the great content for you as well with over 100 drills from top college coaches, full webinar recordings, a film breakdown library and more!

UPCOMING EVENTS

Want to train with us? Check out all options here. See a selected few highlights below.

Best In Class D3 Showcase

SOCIAL & CONTENT

Our free content on social media is core to who we are as a business. We love sharing content that you love seeing. By the way - do you agree with these being the Top 5 High School Highlight Tapes of All Time?