Video Analysis Offering Competitive Edge for New Zealand Football
07 Jul, 2020
Video Analysis Offering Competitive Edge for New Zealand Football
With the football season now finally about to arrive, coaches all over the country are again looking at ways to improve their team’s performance and get the better of their opposition.
The national teams of New Zealand Football have benefited greatly from the performance analysis technology for a number of years, giving support staff from the All Whites and Football Ferns the ability to analyse video footage in minute detail.
The software is also invaluable to the Futsal Whites and Futsal Ferns, as well as New Zealand Football’s range of national age-group sides. The aim is to increase the understanding of their own play and identify ways to take advantage of the opposition, allowing coaches to approach each game in the most professional manner possible.
The role of video analysis
Joe Moore, Head of Performance Analysis for New Zealand Football, uses video analysis tools in several aspects of his role. His analysis workflow begins in the lead up and preparation to games.
“I work with the coaching staff in the build up to games, in the build up to competitions, kind of study opposition and liaise with the coaches about how they play their strengths and weaknesses,” said Moore. “During the game, liaising with the staff live, so making sure that we can push video to the bench, show correct clips at halftime, and really emphasize or highlight the points the coach wants to get across. And then after the game really is about reviewing our performance with the coaches and how we want to share that back to the playing group.”
- Image credit @NZ_Football Twitter
The importance of communication
When playing at an elite level, the ability to quickly review and analyse footage is crucial in order to make informed coaching decisions. On the training ground Moore and his team use video for swift feedback processes.
“Communication skills are massive, and being organized to make sure that you hit those timelines when you need to have content prepared,” said Moore. “Technology now really is kind of the reason why these roles have evolved and have progressed. We utilize companies like Hudl to provide the kind of coaching to playing staff, with video clips and presentations prior to coming into the organization and to events. We can almost instantaneously drive clips down to the bench or to the training pitch seconds after they're taking place, and this is allowing coaches to review the things that are taking place in front of their eyes almost instantaneously and then replaying that back to the playing staff.”
“Technology now really is kind of the reason why these roles have evolved and have progressed. We utilize companies like Hudl to provide the kind of coaching to playing staff, with video clips and presentations prior to coming into the organization and to events."
Live analysis on match day
Match day is where the week’s training is put into practice and video plays an integral part of how New Zealand Football’s teams can react to different situations and adjust accordingly. Moore goes on to explain how video fits into match day.
“During the game, we're utilizing the product to live catch video, to organize and click video while the game's going on, and to be able to push that down to the coaching staff during the game or to be able to highlight the relevant clips we want to show at halftime is massively important to get those points that the coach has and wants to get across to the players,” explains Moore. “And then after the game, we're utilizing the software really to kind of come together as a coaching staff and analyst group, work out the areas of performance that we feel we excelled in and the areas that we want to tidy up or improve, and then we utilize the product to present that back to the playing staff.”
Moore works with Hudl products on a daily basis and says they are central to excelling in his role.
“The technology now is the reason why roles like mine have evolved and progressed,” he says.
“We use Hudl before, during and after games and training sessions to provide the coaching and playing staff with video clips and presentations. The technology is such that we can almost instantaneously send clips down to the bench or training pitch seconds after they have taken place on the field.”
“During the game, we're utilizing the product to live catch video, to organize and click video while the game's going on, and to be able to push that down to the coaching staff during the game"
It’s not just elite teams that can benefit from the software provided by Hudl though, with user-friendly options also available for those operating at a more grassroots level.
“There are already a large number of federations, clubs and schools around the country that are utilising Hudl’s analysis tools,” says Simon Mead, the New Zealand-based account manager for Hudl.
“As the season looks to get going again, we want to continue to help develop the playing and coaching talent pool by creating a new generation of coaches that have a willingness to engage with technology and embrace video as a learning tool.”
