Video analysis in a sporting domain refers to a minute by minute tracking of all the events taking place and scrutinizing each and every moment leading up to those moments. Video analysis has been there for quite some time as far as basic scouting and match reports were concerned. Their usage and application though as expanded to huge proportions with further intricacies and deeper insights now available. These provide a training boost for individuals and teams from both development and competition point of view. Thanks to video analysis, athletes today can gain a competitive edge in arguably lesser time with relevant information.
Immediate importance
The most important aspect of using video analysis in practice is the ability to provide instant feedback to athletes. Human beings tend to be more reactive when subjected to visuals as compared to simply audio. Perhaps the reason why video analysis as a tool has developed so quickly, explaining its increase in demand over the years in the industry. Coaches can show and correct mistakes instantly, athletes, through video, see the rights and wrongs and retain the visually provided information better. Video analysis provides the option of tracking progress and individual skill development of athletes, something that can be recorded as a library by the coaching staff and be used in the long run. A library of content, helping show the athletes how and where they have made improvements over a given period of time.
Athlete development with regards to the modeling of a developing individual is made feasible through the use of video analysis. Technicalities and postures, details regarding a particular sport can be corrected and faults can be nullified by watching clips of established professionals. Studying video of the best athletes in the sport will showcase habits the veteran athletes use on a regular basis that has helped them succeed for a period of time. Scouting is another feature that has greatly been helped by the evolution of video analysis. Video analysis is now helping teams prepare better for their opponents with an in-depth analysis through an entire stack of the video library. Watching video of the best bowler from yesterday’s match or next week’s opponent helps the coaches spot their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to formulate a game plan to deal with them.
Tools available
As the years have moved on the facets associated with the technique of video analysis have become deeper, insightful and a lot more technical in nature. The features have increased, along with the various tools that have come up making video analysis a more feasible methodology for athletes, teams and their coaches alike. Tools like Hudl, Coach’s eye, Dartfish to name a few have come up more or less around the last decade and are on the verge of changing the landscape of video tracking and analysis in the modern sporting world. These tools are making the industry realize the power of video by taking it to the next level.
Step by step guide into Hudl’s processing
Hudl happens to be a leading software company helping coaches and athletes prepare ahead of a competition by offering the tools to edit and share video, interact with stats, and create quality highlight reels for entertainment and recruiting purposes. Founded in 2006, the company has been revolutionizing coaching and athlete developing. Hudl has become the preferred game film solution for all teams, from the smallest youth organizations to professional franchises in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
Hudl provides various ways of analyzing teams and athletes. It is a stepwise process, made to ease the process of video analysis. The first step includes capturing an event or a certain motion. A GoPro is usually the goto device at a more professional level. Using it in practices, athletes can see what is captured on the pitch. Manchester City did this with their athletes, allowing better and well-understood training drills. The GoPro can be clamped at a high angle to capture a wider view of the pitch for analysis of tactics. For a technical coach, developing athletes at a young age is vital to their growth. Hudl is a free tool that can help athletes perfect techniques that’ll help them develop. Something as simple as striking the ball with the instep of one’s foot is easier to teach with slow-motion video.
Analysis remains a deep topic with various facets. Knowing what is the way forward when analyzing is extremely important to tactical progression or athlete development. For the tactical coach who looks at video analysis to be better prepared in the buildup to a match, Hudl makes it easy to pull bits from the footage - like opponent playing style, set pieces, strengths and weaknesses of individual athletes, etc. - for more detailed analysis. Helping in an easy yet effective build-up to the match. For the developmental coach, tools like Hudl Technique give you the opportunity to break down individual tendencies immediately. This allows coaches to analyze and instruct directly with video to make a clear point. Data utilization has become increasingly important along with analysis. It’s critical to know what is being captured as data so that it can be paired with the right video. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) paired with video provides specific evidence to help emphasize a team’s coaching points with athletes. What data is important to the playing style? Is it possession statistics? What numbers are important to relate it to that specific data? These are all questions to answer when deciding to use and examine data, but it is critical to back that data up with video evidence.
The next part of analysis through Hudl involves delivery of the acquired data and the stats. It is important to deliver in a way the athletes will understand. With systems like Hudl, uploading of the data and/or video can be done to the cloud so that the athletes can access it from home on their own time. The coach can even upload the video of his coaching philosophy and share it directly with the athletes. Another technique includes having the athlete film themselves via Hudl Technique and share it directly with the coach so that review and feedback can be provided as required. That way the learning doesn’t stop when the athletes are away from the training ground.
Finally is the part of revisiting. Making athletes revisit is vital for their development. Not only will one be able to harp on the philosophy on the pitch, but be able to see what the athletes have understood and how far have they progressed. Playlists can be created to revisit later with the athletes. It can be anything from individual performances on the pitch to the team’s tactical execution. Notes can be made and shared with specific athletes on the team to ensure they understand in detail what is being asked of them.
The future
The juggernaut of video analysis has traveled leaps and bounds over the course of the 21st century, and with the development of sports science and video quality and software continuing to develop all the time, the future for video analysis in the sports industry will only develop further and become an even bigger part of sports. Although video analysis was once only for professional sports teams, it can now be very useful for development when used in amateur and junior sport. Exciting times ahead for the sporting industry.
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