Avoid These Four Video Study Pitfalls

Posted August 31, 2010 by Tony Sanchez
Under  • Tips & Tricks  • Guest Post  • Technology

“Detail, detail, detail!” he would say, “the more detail oriented you are as a coach, the more you’re going to win.”

Coach McKee’s attention to detail was phenomenal. He studied film like crazy. In 1998, he was intercutting multiple video angles with VHS.

Film was essential in his overall teaching regimen. But strangely enough, some of the most valuable lessons I learned from him were the dangers of studying too much film.

1. Don’t spend too much time watching film.

Think about what you’re watching while you’re watching it.

If you’re being lazy and JUST watching film and not translating it to anything on the field, you’re wasting your time and the time of the coaches on your staff. 

Avoid getting in a lazy rut. Watching film without critically thinking about what you’re watching isn’t productive, it’s lazy.

2. All that matters is game day.

At that time, it’s not what you know; it’s what your kids know.

Coaches always study way more film than their players and that makes sense. Unfortunately, you can never translate everything you learn. You need to pick the top 5 most important things your players need to know. Write them down. Then translate those lessons clearly in practice and film studies so when kickoff happens, your players are prepared.

3. Kids’ attention spans are short.

After 20-30 minutes, players start losing focus.

Their minds wander. They’ve begun thinking about getting on the field, a date last night, or their Biology exam they haven’t started studying for.

It’s just like teaching in the classroom—get your points across quickly.

Share out certain clips to certain players at night so they can absorb the information when they’re ready and willing. Forcing them to sit in a film session for hours is just plain ineffective.

4. Make the investment in film worthwhile.

Take advantage of the availability of your film and your opponents’ film.

When I was growing up, we rolled the TV in on a cart. One day a week we watched an hour of our upcoming opponent’s film. Now, we spend time each week watching only the key plays from multiple games of our opponents.

Take advantage of the film and technology that surrounds it. Make every moment you spend studying video worth it.

We use our video to give our kids a lot of mental reps rather than physical reps.

For example, as we watch video, our defense will say their checks aloud to everyone in the room every time our opponent lines up. If they verbalize their checks on the formation we built in for that game “Ringo, Ringo! Strong left!” we know they comprehend what they’re seeing on film. If they don’t comprehend the film–why are you wasting time watching it?

Thanks, Coach McKee.

Kelly Mckee was the head football coach at Onate High School in Las Cruces, NM. I consider him the most influential coach so far in my career. When our team won the New Mexico State Title in 2002, I had the privilege of coaching on his staff.

He was the first to teach me about the importance of studying film. I’m fortunate he also warned me about the pitfalls.