Your Kids Highlight Reel…….. 8 Tips That Make It Special

Your Kid’s Highlight Reel

By Victoria’s Dad

 The summer is over, another track season is history and your child is in school, trying to finish first place in academics. All those eight-hour days spent at summer meets and driving hours to and from home are just a faint memory, and you have some extra time on your hands.

     Your schedule may not be filled up, but your camcorder is!

     Remember all of those videos you took, hand shaking, while your son or daughter approached the finish line? Is the footage still in your camcorder or on tapes, anxious to escape? Maybe you watched a little bit, or showed it to your relatives and close friends, but otherwise totally forgotten about it.

     Well, now’s the time to put together a DVD from that footage to capture all the great memories of the summer.

     I’m hardly an expert at editing and putting together a DVD; actually, I just began to sift through three years – yes, three years! – of old footage of my daughter, who began running when she just turned eight. But I’m now putting the finishing touches on her early experiences in track and field, and I must tell you, it’s almost as fun as watching her run live.

     There were so many races, so many warm memories, so many great family experiences that cannot be duplicated, only because she’s older and wiser both on and off the track. My biggest kick was watching her first few races, just to see how far she’s come. For example, when she and I were so new at this, we arrived at her first track meet just as the sprinters were lining up for the 100 meter dash. I had no idea or clue about clerking, or arriving an hour prior to your event, and so on. We sprinted from the parking lot, which was about 200 yards away, to the starting line, so actually, she ran 300 meters that day!

     Anyway, she had long sweat pants, basketball shoes and no bib. The starter, bless his heart, waved her in anyway (he couldn’t say no to an eight year old, even if he had every right to, and besides, it was only a developmental meet). Victoria was already stressed from being late and running from the car, but managed to do her best and actually won her first organized race.

     That was just one of the many stories that were stashed away inside eight or nine cassette tapes, and sorting them out was quite an undertaking, but an enjoyable one. I saw her advance from a standing start to kneeling, from her arms flying wildly to better form, from those “pre-race jitters” to a calmer, more composed runner. The transition and growth she showed made me feel proud for her that her hard work had paid off.

     So the best way to pass the time between track seasons is by making a DVD to be shared during the chill of fall and winter. It can also keep your child motivated and hungry for the next track season. I’ll pass along a few tips, although take them for what it’s worth; again, no expert here.

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     *Most of the footage you recorded, sorry to say, is 85 percent junk. By that, I mean if you’re like me, so many scenes were repeated and others were poorly shot. My advice is stick to the good parts, take snippets here and there and put them together. A good home track DVD should be around 15-20 minutes long. You don’t want to bore your friends and relatives with a two-hour tape of your kid, which, while it may be adorable, can get pretty repetitious.

     *Don’t just keep the first place finishes. Include the other finishes because they serve as learning experiences.

     *Any tears running down cheeks or signs of heartbreak is very human emotion; don’t leave those on the cutting room floor. 

     *Include footage away from the track, such as footage of your child and his/her track teammates goofing off, or footage of mom and dad, etc. The shots of dad with a full head of hair will come in handy 20 years from now.

     *Don’t forget to add a soundtrack during your child’s races! My suggestion is to stick with jazzy tunes or instrumental tunes taken from your itunes collection, or some hip-hop (watch those lyrics!). Anything that captures the mood of the race or the day.

     *Make extra copies for family and also one that can be stored in a safe place, along with the family photo albums.

     *For kids who ran in the AAU Junior Olympics in 2007 at Knoxville, there is still footage of those races, prelims and finals, posted on the AAU athletics website. Grab that footage with your camcorder, before it disappears, and use it for your DVD.

   * Obviously, you’ll need a camcorder (for next season invest in a hi-definition if you can), a computer and video software with DVD burning. Pinnacle is a good software but it’s best to ask at your local Best Buy about choices to fit your budget and level of expertise. It’s pretty daunting when you get started, because the downloading and editing can be confusing at first.

     But take it from me: the finish line is very satisfying.