Are you struggling to get your team’s parents excited about investing in a system to record soccer games? If your club doesn’t bake in the cost of game film to club dues, you’re probably spending time getting your parents excited about filming games, especially if you coach a younger team. Some coaches will explain that game film can enhance player development and recruiting opportunities, but it’s not always clear how parents will interpret that. At Trace, we’ve seen parents become huge proponents of recording games, so we’re sharing what gets Trace Parents calling their coaches when game film isn’t available the night after the game.
What ties all the benefits together is that game film is an essential tool to communicate with parents directly; it is transparent and objective. Game film will increase parent connectivity to the team and contribute to overall positive team culture. We see coaches using game videos to communicate player development decisions, coaching philosophy, and accountability.
Player Development
Today’s players are visual learners. Game film allows a player to re-evaluate their performance more accurately. We all remember being stunned the first time we saw ourselves playing a sport, seeing yourself on video changes everything. It’s also essential for parents to visually see their kid’s play throughout a season, especially if they can’t make it to every game or showcase. Providing a more clear picture of a player’s game performance is a foundational component of further development. Before coaching can create an impact, everyone needs to be on the same page.
Coaching Philosophy
The more your team’s parents understand your coaching philosophy, the more engaged they become in the team and its progress. Video is a great tool to demonstrate your methodology, whether that be possession based or shape based. Parents can see your lessons unfold and their kid’s contribution. If you’re assigning homework for each player via their game film, the parents can take an active role in making sure the work is done and see the results when they watch the next game. The more parents understand the how and the why of your coaching, the more they become your advocate.
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Transparency & Accountability
Parents encourage their players to participate in sport to build life skills. Personal accountability and responsibility are two of the more important ones. After a match, players tend to remember half of the action. Emotions run high, and the more extremely positive or negative events may overshadow other impactful and relevant moments that occur during the game. By removing these biases with video, you present a more objective view of what happened. Clear the way for players to hold themselves accountable for their performance and future development.
Whether a parent wants to develop their kid further or set them up for recruiting, investing in game film rarely disappoints. And they’ll never miss a moment.
