The College Gymnastics Recruiting Video Checklist, Event by Event

THE SHORT VERSION

Full Routines, From the Side, One Link

Film full routines from the side, where the judges sit. Label every clip. Send one link, not a file. Keep your highlight video to about two minutes, because that's roughly how long a coach takes to form a first impression. Then send updates through the season as you improve.

WHAT TO MAKE

The Two Videos You Need

A short skills video. One to two minutes of your best skills and combinations, including the ones you're adding. Lead with your strongest event. This is what gets a coach to keep watching.

A full-routine library. One competition routine on each event, plus two vaults. This is what a coach uses to actually evaluate you, so don't skip it. Skills alone don't show endurance, connections or how you handle pressure.

FILMING

Where to Stand, on Every Event

Stand to the side of the apparatus, where the judges sit at a meet. Get as close as you can without cutting off any part of the body, including the landing.

Film horizontally and keep the phone steady. A small tripod or a rail to lean on beats the best hands.
Keep the whole skill in frame, from the start to the landing mat. Don't zoom so far in that a coach loses the landing.
Watch the light. A bright window behind the gymnast turns them into a silhouette.
Ask your coach where the best spot is for practice footage, and film from the stands at meets.

EVENT BY EVENT

Vault, Bars, Beam and Floor

Vault. Film two vaults, from the side. Get the run, the board, the table and the landing in one shot, which usually means standing back a little farther than you think. If you're training an upgrade vault, add a practice clip and label it.

Bars. Film the full routine from the side so a coach can see your handstands. Coaches watch casts to handstand and handstand shape, not just the big skills. Keep releases and the dismount landing in frame.

Beam. Film the full routine from the side, with the whole beam in frame from mount to dismount landing. A fall in competition footage isn't the end of the world; coaches would rather see the real routine than an edited one. Clean is still best.

Floor. Film the full routine, including dance and leaps, not just tumbling. Stand wide enough to keep the corners in frame. Film on a real floor: tumble-track footage alone doesn't prove a skill works on a competition floor.

UPGRADES

Practice Footage and New Skills

Practice clips are welcome, especially for skills you're adding. Progressions with a spotter are fine, but coaches want to see the skill done safely without one, so include an unspotted clip when you have it. Label anything not yet competed as an upgrade in progress.

Don't cut out falls or hide skills. Coaches can tell, and it makes them wonder what else was edited.

LABELS

Label Every Clip

Every clip gets the same four things: event, routine or skill, meet or practice, and month and year. For example:

Beam – Full routine – State Championships – March 2027

Give the video file a clear name too, before you upload it. When a coach saves your link, they'll know exactly what it is.

EDITING

Less Is More

Skip the effects, slow-motion montages and fancy transitions. A coach wants to see gymnastics, not editing. The editing software already on your phone or laptop is plenty: trim each clip, put your best event first, and stop.

SENDING

One Link, Kept Current

Upload your video and send a link in the body of your email, never an attachment. An unlisted YouTube video works. On The Chalk Circle, you can create a custom link to your profile that holds all your clips in one place. The fewer clicks a coach needs, the better.

Plan on three or four updates during the season, and more around state, regionals and nationals. Each update should show progress. Every update is also a reason to email coaches again, and our coach email guide covers how to follow up.

MISTAKES

What Costs You a Look

Skills only, no full routines. Coaches need to see you put it together.
Hidden mistakes. Edited-out falls make coaches suspicious.
Tumble-track-only floor footage. It doesn't show the skill works on a real floor.
Spotted skills only. Show it without the spot when you can.
A five-minute highlight reel. Two minutes, best event first.
Sending a file. Big attachments get skipped. Send a link.
Old routines from lower levels. Coaches want to see where you are now. Lead with your current level and your newest footage.

TAKE IT WITH YOU

The Checklist, Ready to Print

Bring it to the gym or the next meet, and check things off as you film.