Whitman sports video highlights go on YouTube
Panning his video camera back and forth during the Whitman men’s soccer game against Northwestern on Tuesday, Sep. 16, junior Jason Sease gathered material for what will become the first of many Whitman sports highlights.
The idea for video coverage of Whitman sports events was first conceived during the annual Varsity Athletics Banquet where athletes from all varsity teams meet for dinner and acknowledge those who have earned awards. A slide show of pictures from the past year is shown, but for Sease, that wasn’t enough.
“I thought it would be a lot better if we could have some actual video highlights to watch during the banquet,” said Sease.
Varsity coaches have also found potential in these videos as a way to show recruits how the teams play. It is hard for recruits to tailor their schedule around a team’s home games, so video footage could offer them an easy preview.
“It is a fantastic start to something that can be very useful for the current players, parents, alumni and recruits,” said women’s soccer coach Scott Shields.
A proposal was made to Games Manager Sean Kinney last year. It was then brought to Athletic Director Dean Snider, but at the time, there weren’t enough resources to get the project started. This year, however, was a different story.
“At the varsity meeting, I went up to Dean and told him that I was the one that proposed the idea and had all the equipment I needed. He told me to go right ahead and do it,” said Sease.
Sease, who is now earning an hourly wage for the time he spends filming and editing the videos, has already produced highlights of men’s and women’s soccer and women’s volleyball, and plans to do one for each of the varsity sports. They are posted on the Whitman Varsity Athletics homepage along with YouTube.
“I have heard nothing but positive reactions to the videos. I know it has already helped coaches in the department with recruits, and parents have enjoyed watching the videos as well,” said Kinney.
The videos will later become “ultimate highlights” of each team as more footage is taken, and will feature clips from events throughout the season. These will then be shown at the Varsity Banquet in addition to the photo slideshow.
The next project is to create a Whitman Athletics documentary. This will feature testimonies from student-athletes, coaches and administrators, and will describe the unique experience of an athlete here.
Suggested by women’s basketball coach, Michelle Ferenz, the documentary would also be used as a tool for recruiting for future classes.
Sease has worked out an hourly wage with Games Management and will continue to make highlights until his graduation. He hopes that during these next few seasons the videos will earn enough recognition to create a permanent position on staff.
“I don’t know who will pick up where I left off, but somebody’s got to,” said Sease.
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