5 Things to Do Before You Send Us Your Video Assessment

Our in-person trials ran in Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia this season. Not every family can get to one, and that's why we run a video trial.

If you are looking at USA Basketball Tours Australia and a trial location just does not work for you, the video trial is there for exactly that. It is for Years 9 to 12 players who can't get to a trial, and it is how we assess players for the USA Tour 2027. The tours are The Final Shot in May, and The Main Event and The Foundation Builder in July.

We started Strive to help families understand what is actually true about the US college pathway, and the trial is where that starts.

Our coaches review the video. Same coaches watching.

A basketball video trial in Australia is quick to send. Just a quick note first: five small things make it much easier for our coaches to open your footage and know exactly what they are watching.

In this post

• What we look for, so you film the right things

• What footage to send

• How to send it so coaches can actually open it

• What happens after you submit
  

1. Know what we're looking at

We look at fundamentals, athleticism, coachability and competitive mindset. Potential and work ethic count too, not only where a player sits today. A big part of what we do is helping players work out where they actually sit, so we are watching the whole player.

There is no height or stats cut-off. You don't need to be a junior national team player or a guaranteed Division I prospect to send one.

We set goals around effort more than statistics at Strive. Diving on a loose ball, taking a charge, making the extra pass. Moments like those are worth having in your footage, so it helps to watch it once with those four things in mind.

2. Pick recent game footage

Send us recent game footage. Live play shows us more than a drill does, because we can see how a player competes in a real game, against real opposition, with the game happening around him.

A highlight cut is a good place to start. Preferably the footage is from the last 6 months, so what we see is where he is at now. If a clip is older than that, the date you give us in step 3 tells us when it was filmed.

3. Tell us what we're watching

A court has ten players on it. Tell us which one is yours.

Include his jersey number and colour, the team, the level of competition and the date of the game. Add his position and height as well. They are the same details the registration form already asks for, so it saves time to have them ready before you start.

4. Share it as a link that opens

Send your footage as a link. YouTube is best. A post on a social media platform works, and so does a WeTransfer upload.

Please note that the link has to be set to Public or Unlisted. Never Private. A Private video looks fine on your screen and our coaches can't open it. Could you check the setting before you send it?

5. Register and choose "Video Submission"

Go to the Team Selections page. Choose "Video Submission" as the trial location, fill in the form and add your footage link.

We take video trials until the teams are completed, so send yours as soon as you can.

What happens next

Most video trial players hear back within a week. If your son is selected, the family gets the program details, inclusions and next steps by email.

A video trial is a chance to be seen. It doesn't guarantee a spot. Selection is on performance, and we don't promise spots, offers or scholarships to anyone. We would rather be clear and upfront, so there are no surprises.

We don't sugar-coat a player's level. The honest answer might be Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA, JUCO or prep school, and sometimes it is not yet.

For context, 27 of our last 91 eligible tour players are committed or playing college basketball in the US, about one in three. The July 2026 group is left out of that figure because their results are still pending.

Your video trial checklist

• Watch the footage with fundamentals, athleticism, coachability and competitive mindset in mind

• Pick recent game footage, a highlight cut to start, preferably from the last 6 months

• Have his jersey number and colour, team, level of competition, date, position and height ready

• Share it as a YouTube, social media or WeTransfer link, set to Public or Unlisted

• Register on the Team Selections page, choose "Video Submission" and add your link
  

Ready to send yours? You can register here: Trial registration.

If you're not sure your son's footage is good enough to send, send it anyway and let the coaches decide?

We look forward to watching it!