Niagara College - Video doesn't lie

After your game-time emotions and distractions subside, it's time to watch the video to see what REALLY happened during the game.

Last Thursday we had our first pre-season game at Seneca College.  We are still in tryouts and I had 8 players and a second GK on the bench.

During the game I saw a lot of things I liked and some things I didn't.  But I was also watching the clock, making sure everybody got a chance to audition and just managing the game.

A young man captured the game for us on video for me to watch afterwards.  It's always sobering to review the game a few hours later. Did we really give the ball away that many times?  Was that player really not as good as I thought he was?  Did that other player's energy during the game really hide that he was out of position as much as he was?  Was that other guys really second to the ball every time?

For younger players, video use is hit and miss.  I've done it a few times but I never really felt the urge to utilize it.  For the older players, where the game is faster and more is going on, it's a great tool.  For me, it's easier because I have other skills and tools to move that video to a DVD for easy and quick replay.

You do need to sort out a few things set before capturing a game on video:

• What are you going to review with the video? 
• Do you have a useful vantage point to shoot from for the sport you are reviewing?
• Are you depending on other people to prepare the video for you to watch afterwards?
• Are your players going to watch it? 
• Who is going to see it?  Coaches?  Players?  For the same purpose?

From a player's viewpoint, video can be scary.  Sometimes the coach's direction is not sinking in or you don't believe them.  Seeing it on video might reveal you are not the player you though you were and you are seeing the shortcomings that people have been telling you about for a while.

It's also a positive tool where you can emphasize the good things players do and let them visualize doing it again and again.

Regardless of the use, as you move up the ranks and the game gets faster, video is that objective set of eyes watching that doesn't have a kid on the team or a vested interest in the result of the game.

Another byproduct of video for older guys is I see bad habits that remind me to address it with the younger players.

The college has made a camera available to me and we have the manpower to run it, so I plan to continue using it.