The Fundamentals of Video Analysis in Soccer

Smartphones and Tablets with wide angle/fisheye lens attachments 

Add an inexpensive wide angle or fisheye lens attachment to your smartphone or tablet. You’ll still get high quality video (an iPhone 6s can capture in 4K) and the lens will allow you to capture more of the pitch for better analysis of games.

Slow-motion capture on an iPhone

For a technical coach, developing players at a young age is vital to their growth. This is a free tool at your disposal that can help players perfect techniques you’d like to see them develop. Something as simple as striking the ball with the instep of your foot is easier to teach with slow-motion video. See who can perfect the Cruyff turn by having your team film their techniques, either as a homework task or competition.

GoPros

If you have a GoPro, use it at practice to capture what your players see on the pitch. Manchester City did this with their players, and you can see the unique perspective, allow you to better tailor training drills. You can also use a clamp or mount to place the GoPro at a high angle, allowing you to capture a wider view of the pitch for analysis of tactics.

Remember, it’s about finding creative solutions that fit your budget and needs. We challenge any coach who says they don’t have the resources to rethink what they already have available.

Analyse

It’s important to understand why you’re analysing video. Are you doing it to be better prepared leading up to a match? Are you doing it to make tactical adjustments? Are you doing it for player development purposes? You should know which tools can be beneficial to you and your club when answering those questions.

For the tactical coach who looks at video analysis to be better prepared in the buildup to a match, Hudl allows you to pull bits from the footage - like opponent playing style, set pieces, strengths and weaknesses of individual players, etc. - for more detailed analysis. This will allow you to be better prepared for anything they might throw at you.

Data has also become increasingly important. It’s critical that you know what you are capturing the data for, so that you can pair it with the right video later. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) paired with video provides specific evidence to help emphasize your coaching points with players. What data is important to your playing style? Is it possession statistics? What numbers are important to you as it relates to that specific data? These are all questions to answer when deciding to use and examine data, but it is critical that you back that data up with video evidence.

For the developmental coach, tools like Hudl Technique give you the opportunity to break down individual tendencies immediately. This allows coaches to analyse and instruct directly with video to make a clear point.

Deliver

Once you’ve analysed the video and data that is important to you, you have to share that in a way the players will understand. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so consider their learning styles. Does your player like to listen, to be shown visually, or to get involved with hands-on experience? Here are a few pointers to consider when delivering video to your team.

At-home review via a cloud-based storage system

With systems like Hudl, you can upload your data and/or video to the cloud so players can access it from home on their own time. You can even upload video of your coaching philosophy and share it directly with your athletes.

Meetings by position group

This is a concept that is widely present in American football. Consider having parts of your tactical review session with position groups to focus on individual instruction.

Sharing video within an app (like Hudl Technique)

Have your athlete film themselves via Hudl Technique and share it directly with you so you can review it and provide feedback. That way the learning doesn’t stop when they are away from the training ground.

Create your own playlists to revisit later with your players. It can be anything from individual player performance on the pitch to your team’s tactical execution. You can make notes and share it with specific players on your team to ensure they understand in detail what you are asking them to do. You can call out specific moments in the game so the players can learn visually and avoid making mistakes in the future.

For individual technique, take the time to show them what they are doing wrong with the video in-hand. Don’t forget it can be reviewed immediately after recording. If players are recording on their own, make sure to review it and take time to coach each athlete individually at your next training session.

We can’t stress this enough: get creative. The same principles and technology can be applied at every level through free apps like Hudl Technique or paid services like Hudl. There’s no reason why everybody in this day and age can’t be an analyst. By following these four fundamentals of video analysis, there’s no telling where video will take you and your club.