Parent/Client Testimonials
Get NOTICED. Get RECRUITED.
I wish I had known about Reel Athletics when my son was a Junior. I feel that my son and I would have been better prepared when applying to colleges. I was really happy with the DVD. It was professional, impressive and a guaranteed asset for my son who was being scouted by college coaches. The DVD came in handy when sending it to coaches and it was very easy for coaches to access his video on the website. Matt was very patient, knowledgeable, experienced, and was able to advise me in the world of football. I think all of the services are great! Reel Athletics' services were a great investment and very wise use of my family's financial resources. Reel Athletics' services were a key element in my son's recruitment to play college football.
Susan Nsouli (a Whitman football mother).
When my daughter began playing basketball at a young age I never dreamed it could turn into a means to help fund her college education. As she continued to play all the way through high school, there were many factors that made me realize a college scholarship was a possibility. My daughter’s hard work and commitment is what put her in the position to receive a scholarship, however, Reel Athletics was the vehicle that allowed her to be seen by a wide range of colleges and ultimately let to her receiving a full scholarship to play Division I Basketball. Reel Athletics created an on-line video of my daughter’s basketball highlights that we used to send to dozens of colleges. They created a unique URL for her highlight video that we sent to schools my daughter was interested in and to schools that inquired about my daughter after seeing her play. One of the first questions the coaches and recruiters asked was if we had a highlight video they could see. It was great having an on-line video link that we could quickly and easily send via email. One of the other questions coaches and recruiters asked was if we had a half-game or full-game video we could send. Thanks to Reel Athletics, we also had game videos on hand. Their team of videographers recorded a wide variety of my daughter’s team games and the quality was always top-notch. I sincerely enjoyed working with Matt Nickens and his team. They were always friendly and accessible and their prices are quite reasonable compared to other recruiting agencies we had researched. My daughter was recruited by a variety of Division I and II schools along the East Coast and in the New England area. She ultimately chose Bryant University in Rhode Island because of the opportunity to play Division I basketball but still attend a small (just under 4,000 students), academically strong university, in a beautiful setting. I don’t feel she would have had this opportunity if it had not been for Reel Athletics. I strongly recommend their services to any family with hopes of having their child recruited for college athletics. Thanks so much Reel Athletics!
Darla Hayes
Proud mother of Danielle Douglas, Bryant University Women's Basketball, Fall 2009.
After months of unsuccessfully searching and editing through hundreds of hours of high school football video highlights, I realized that my nephew was getting frustrated and needed a professional to assist us in creating a marketing tool that would catch the eyes of college football coaches.
Before meeting with Reel Athletics, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, after personally meeting with the company’s owner, I knew I had found the right man for the job. He reassured us that the highlight video would be of high quality using the latest technology and that it would be delivered on time and at a reasonable cost. Boy was he right. The video was beyond my imagination and 10 times better than anything I could have created on my own. Additionally, it was featured on the company’s website, which attracted coaches from around the country.
My nephew was very pleased with the outcome. He is currently enrolled at Grambling State University on full scholarship. The services offered by Reel Athletics are exceptional.
-Briant Coleman (a football uncle)
Reel Athletics was an invaluable resource for our son, John, and us, during his recruitment process for football. The cornerstone for contacting college football coaches is good quality game tape, put together on DVD in a format that coaches can easily review. Reel Athletics captured our son's best moments on the football field on film and then created a top quality DVD. Their turn around time was excellent and they provided value added services as well such as posting John's highlights and statistics on their website; thereby keeping his information up-to-date. The Reel Athletics staff has extensive knowledge about the football recruiting process, they counseled our son on the ins and outs of that process, and they stayed in contact with us throughout the process (which begins during junior year of high school) and took a personal interest in our son's success.
Our son aggressively explored opportunities to play the highest level of football possibly at the strongest academic institution possible. With a highlight DVD from his junior year season, he began contacting coaches at schools where he was interested in playing football. Because he had game tape, he was able to be proactive and get on the radar screen of coaches who had never seen him play in person. His junior film opened the door for his senior film.
We highly recommend Reel Athletics. They have had a proven success record from the start and the number of student athletes they have assisted in finding the right opportunity to play their sport in college continues to grow. Our son was one of Reel Athletics first clients. He was offered a position on the University of Maryland football team, where he will begin his sophomore year and second year on the football team this fall.
Debbie Dillon (a football mother)
Reel Athletics is an outstanding service for prospective athletes looking to play in college. Our personal experience with Reel Athletics was only positive.
Reel Athletics helped videotape my daughter’s basketball games and put together an outstanding highlight tape that we sent out to schools. The highlight tape was extremely well edited. The DVD had a number of unique features that included a section where prospective coaches could obtain biographical and personal information such as athlete’s name, address, height, position, and recent statistics. Another section on the DVD included about five minutes of highlights of my daughter’s play. A third section was an uninterrupted game. The highlights and uninterrupted game used an arrow at times to point out my daughter on the court.
Overall, the DVD was done in a professional manner. Reel Athletics offered personal attention, made good recommendations on what to keep or to leave out of the video, and kept in contact with us throughout the process. Reel Athletics is very experienced at making highlight tapes, and I would trust the service to make the best possible videotape of your athlete. Once the highlights and game was identified, Reel Athletics finished a rough cut of the project that we could review. The rough cut needed very few corrections, and a final cut was made in a timely way. Copies also were provided in an expedient manner.
Overall, our experience with Reel Athletics was professional, positive, and rewarding. I highly recommend the service if you need someone to professionally tape your child competing in a sporting event or if your son or daughter needs a highlight tape. Feel free to contact me with any further questions. My home number is 301-251-5979.
Liz Feldman (a basketball mother)
My son played both football and lacrosse at Wootton High School and wanted to continue playing in college. We first met Matt a couple of years ago through the football coaches at Wootton.
Matt and his guys at Reel Athletics did an excellent job filming my son's games and putting together several highlight DVDs that we could send to colleges that were recruiting him. Matt was instrumental in helping us select the plays to use on the DVD, isolating my son's involvement in each play and putting together a professional product.
My son wanted to attend a college with a very strong academic reputation and was recruited by most of the Ivy League schools and several Division 1 programs. Each one of the schools requested a highlight tape. In talking to a number of the college coaches, having a highlight tape that is clear, easy to follow and that includes relevant information (height and weight, stats, GPA, etc.) is critical to their recruiting process.
After a number of visits to the colleges he was interested in and various football camps, my son chose Tufts University in Boston because he could get a top-notch education and play both football and lacrosse. We were very satisfied with Matt's work and would highly recommend him.
-John Cresham (a football and lacrosse father)
To Whom It May Concern:
It is with a profound sense of appreciation that my family and I would like to thank Mathew Nickens, President of Reel Athletics, for an outstanding professional service during the 2008/2009 recruiting period.
Reel Athletics produced my son’s games and highlight DVD’s. Through his efforts, my son, James Oboh (Sherwood High School), gained enough exposure to be recruited and signed by Florida Atlantic University to play college football on full scholarship.
-Sonny Oboh (a football father)
As mother and #1 fan, it was so reassuring to see Reel Athletics recording at games. It meant that I could enjoy the game, knowing Reel Athletics would be archiving footage that would be part of a professional highlight piece.
To be able to send high quality, professionally edited links and DVDs to coaches was an enormous help. Having access to my son's highlight DVD's and links really streamlined our communications with prospective schools. We found attaching a link to an email to be such a time saving tool for coaches during the very hectic recruiting months.
Our son was recruited to play basketball for Emory, Carnegie Melon, Rochester and Washington University. He will be playing for Wash U in the Fall.
Tip for parents: The camps and teams your child plays on in the Summer of Junior year are very important. Coaches are out scouting most during this time. One thing I reminded my son, was to choose the school he would want to go to - whether or not he was playing a sport.
Reel Athletics were reliable, professional and took a personal interest in our son. We can confidently recommend their services.
-Rhonda Oh (a basketball mother)
I remember back in 2007 when I was bewildered on how the college recruitment process worked. I diligently looked for answers from anyone who would listen. Finally, a good friend of mine put me in touch with a man that could create a highlight DVD for my son. This person was Matthew Nickens, of Reel Athletics, who assisted me in the recruitment process.
Mr. Nickens answered questions, taped games and kept me abreast on how the process works. He created a video with football highlights, game replay, grades, statistics and a brief bio on my son. This video was sent to various colleges in the area and college recruiters also could view a brief highlight reel of my son on the Reel Athletics website. He toured McDaniel College, Shippensburg University, Towson, Salisbury, Rutgers, Frostburg, and Bowie State just to name a few. His DVD was also sent to numerous other colleges throughout the United States.
I am proud to say he landed a scholarship at Bowie State University.
Reel Athletics assisted me in making this process easy, efficient and effective. They assisted in giving my son a broader range of colleges to choose from and helped in the selection process.
I would recommend Reel Athletics to anyone because it helps in promoting your child to all colleges due to accessibility to its website and videos. Matthew’s professionalism and assistance helped me through this difficult challenge. In hindsight, the only thing I would change is hiring Reel Athletics in my son’s junior year instead of his senior year. This way I could have had a head start on the recruitment process and two years of footage for my son’s highlights.
Thank you Reel Athletics
Clarence Claiborne, a football father who appreciates all you have done.
