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What is the point of recording soccer matches video if players do not use the footage afterwards?
Our goal at Trace is not just to capture soccer games but to increase the chances players will watch the video and learn from it.
Recording soccer games is quickly becoming the norm for youth teams around the country. For coaches and players, recording games is critical for player development and is an invaluable resources for players who want to play college soccer. But for many coaches, the prospect of buying a soccer camera system and the hassle of editing film and incorporating it when coaching can be daunting.
Our goal at Trace is to empower coaches with a valuable tool without increasing work on their end. Using Trace for the first time is an eye-opening experience for these coaches, literally and figuratively.
Why Recording Soccer Games Is Important
It's important to first understand why soccer cameras are becoming ubiquitous on pitches around the country and cameras are rolling at every competitive soccer event.
1.) Game video removes bias and makes the post-game analysis less emotional. Anyone who has watched a televised sporting event in the past 10 years with the rise of instant replay knows “the tape don’t lie.” With an elevated camera angle providing digital records, coaches and players can see exactly what happened during a match to have more productive conversations about improvement.
Without game video, players very often misremember scenarios that happened during games, or coaches forget to bring up issues in the post-game review. Without the stress and emotions of the live event, coaches and players watching game video can see a lot more of what really happened in the fast-paced live event. For instance, the Trace game film system allows coaches to analyze touch chains, progressions, defensive breakdowns, and many other playlists to quickly scan through the important moments of a game. Here is a quick summary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5GETLbUB8s
2.) Video accelerates improvement from game to game. Game film is your digital record of your players, and coaches use this video to hold players accountable for correcting their mistakes. Players often subconsciously justify bad habits or fail to internalize coaches' critiques; it can sometimes take weeks before a player corrects a mistake. But a post-match video reviews highlight areas of improvement and leave a more lasting impression than verbal instructions, increasing chances that players will remember key lessons in future games.
3.) Most people are visual learners, and video is the easiest way to speed up the learning process. If you’re looking for a tutorial on how to do something around your home, chances are you will Google it and watch a Youtube video to see how it’s done.
But when it comes to learning new soccer skills, many coaches are still doing things the old-fashioned way, giving kids verbal lessons and expecting immediate results. If you want to see this in action, try listening to the instructions for fixing a running toilet without having the video to walk you through it (hint: it's very confusing!).
4.) Parents love video. If you want to engage with parents outside of game day, video is the perfect solution for keeping parents invested in your soccer team and help them avoid feeling guilty if they have to miss a game.
Parents want to take an active role in youth soccer. Videos are not only essential memories that parents can keep with them. The video is also useful to parents who help their children navigate the recruiting process.
https://youtu.be/bo0Hsi5Miz4
4.) Save and share your best moments.
Whether your team is competitive or just learning the fundamentals, players and coaches love sharing their best moments. Recording every moment means you never miss a highlight or blooper that you might later want to share on social media. These moments could be the key to catching the attention of a college coach if you're thinking about playing after high school. In any case, recording soccer means you'll have access to all those memories forever.
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Trace's AI-Powered Camera, Automatic Edits, and Personalized Moments Are Designed to Increase Engagement
- Trace delivers personalized content to each player, automatically. This is key to getting kids engaged with game video. No one wants to watch full-length game videos, and no coach wants to spend their time tagging people in videos and cutting clips to send to individual players. We’ve heard countless stories of coaches who’ve bought expensive cameras only to leave the camera on a shelf because it’s more work than it’s worth.
For soccer game video to be effective, it has to be edited, personalized, and delivered in the right format. Coaches don’t have the staff of a college film crew; most are doing all the work themselves and definitely don’t want to spend their precious free time editing videos. After games are uploaded, Trace delivers each player’s best moments directly to their inbox.
- Trace delivers short-form content. More is not always better, especially when it comes to game video. As any coach knows, players get bored and lose focus when forced to watch full-game videos.
In some cases, youth soccer players are forced to watch more game film than college athletes. College coaches know that overloading players with information can be detrimental to their performance and cause them to lose interest in the game, so they are extremely selective about the information they convey with game video. Some college coaches even limit the amount of game video they assign their players to under 15 minutes in order to prevent over-analysis.
- Trace gives players the power to save, share, and spotlight their best moments. Players can add their best moments to their Trace iD, download moments to post on Instagram, or share the URL of their moments or games with family members via email. If a player is planning to play college soccer, Trace provides the most comprehensive format for sharing moments and data with college coaches.
- Trace is the cheapest way to have a videographer and editing team at your fingertips. As one Trace parent stated, “I never thought this was possible for us; I thought only professional teams could afford this. But for about the cost of a Starbucks drink per week, we can get all our kids’ moments and see massive improvements in their performance.”
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