One of the best ways for coaches to not only analyze their students' games but to share that analysis with the athletes is through video. Just about everyone has a video camera these days, whether it's a traditional camera or tablet or cell phone, so what used to be a barrier for some is no longer there.
Obviously, if you're going to incorporate video into your coaching, you're going to want to make it as effective as possible, so let's go through a few simple things you can do to enhance your videography skills and, thus, your ability to coach through video.
Know What You're Shooting
When you're working on a particular aspect of an athlete's game, don't clutter it with a bunch of other noise. For example, if you're looking specifically at the release, zoom your camera close enough that you can get a good look at the release. Don't leave it so wide that you can barely see the bowler.
If a particular aspect of the game can be seen better from the side than from the back, set your camera up on the side. And, in that case, make sure the bowler is on the correct lane so his or her approach isn't blocked by the ball return. You don't want any obstacles between the camera and your player.
Especially when you're coaching on small screens, it's important to have your footage large enough to be easily viewed and dissected as necessary. So, when you plan what you want to shoot in advance and set up the clearest, best shot possible, your in an ideal position to then analyze the video.
Record a Leader
Every time you record, include a couple seconds on the front end and a couple seconds on the back end. That is, if you want to record your athlete's approach, hit the record button and, a couple seconds later, have your player start his or her approach. After your player finishes the approach, wait another couple seconds before you stop recording.
The main benefit to adding a little time on the front and back of your recordings is it ensures you don't miss anything of what you're trying to capture. Also, it helps during playback to be able to see the entire aspect of the game you're analyzing rather than hitting play and having your player already halfway through whatever he's doing.
Later, you can always edit out excess video if you need to, but you can't add in what you never captured.
An Important and Accessible Coaching Tool
It used to require a whole set up-monitor, video camera, tapes, etc.-to do video analysis and was thus limited to a select few. Now, anybody can do it and should do it, since video is such a great way to show your players exactly what they're doing and what you're talking about. Plus, it's easy to share videos now, with or without notes, drawings or other markup you may include in your video analysis.
While the actual technology continues to get easier to use and less expensive to buy, the quality of your analysis still depends on the quality of your footage. Incorporating these tips into the way you record video will help you better analyze your players and also help your players better understand what you're teaching.
Stephen
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