Studying Film

One of the things I like to do with the kids I train is video them while they train.  In today's day with all the technology around it is easier than ever to do so and the feedback these videos give are priceless.  As a coach or as a player who manages to video training sessions what should you look for?  

To begin with I want to make clear that we are talking about training here and about individual improvement.  A coach will be looking for other things not included in this post if he is filming his team practices, his team's games, or opposition games (we'll cover these in another post).  

With that out of the way, what do we look for when we review a training session on film?  There are a number of things:

  1. Form when performing the drill - how does the form look?  Say you are teaching a reverse layup, how does the kid look when finishing with no one defending?  Does it look effortless or does it look like there is a lot of discomfort when the drill is being performed?  Is the ball being released from the hand properly?  Is he taking the proper angle when approaching the basket?  Is his body properly positioned when he is about to release the ball?
  2. Footwork - how does the footwork look while doing the drill?  Is the player having problems getting his feet in sync?  Are his steps choppy or awkward at the point of attack?  Is he taking off too early or too late?
  3. Performance against opposition - as a trainer it is always a good idea to have a group of 5-6 kids training together.  The reason is that with 5-6 the group is small enough to get everyone the reps they need yet big enough to have them practice the drill while going against each other.  On film what you need to look for is if they have chosen the proper time to use the drill you taught them.  In the example above with the reverse layup, you may have one guy with the ball on the right side of the basket and the defender on the left side.  You can instruct the defender to chose whether he will defend the front of the basket or the back side.  It is up to the offensive player to read the play and make the right move.  Reviewing this film after practice gives the kids the feedback they need about whether they made the right reads or not.

So in wrapping this topic up, I'd like to mention to all coaches and players to not hesitate to video as many of your training sessions as possible and then review them.  The process is nowhere near as expensive as it used to be and the feedback it provides is awesome.

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