Using Video on the Field to Teach

[omg]

Does anybody use video on the field during practice or games to teach? If so, do you use an Ipad or what? Does anybody show short, motivational video just prior to a game or even practice? Not talking about just taking video but primarily showing video of either motivation, how something should be done correctly, or even analysis of a player.

[Mur5]

I've only been coaching a couple years so I don't have the veteran opinion, but after my son got an iPad for his bday a couple months ago the thought has ran across my mind. I coach 8U and it would be nice to be on the diamond and whip out the iPad (real quick) with a Ripken fielding clip loaded up to demonstrate the correct way to field a ground ball.

[mudvnine]

Does anybody use video on the field during practice or games to teach? If so, do you use an Ipad or what? Does anybody show short, motivational video just prior to a game or even practice? Not talking about just taking video but primarily showing video of either motivation, how something should be done correctly, or even analysis of a player.

Yes, we'll video BP (of only a few hitters at a particular practice), and review the video with them in between rounds to let them see if they're actually doing what they have been working on, and/or.....if what they are doing, is what they think it is when up at the plate.

I use a Sanyo Xacti E1 camcorder (because that's just what I have), and view the clips in Quicktime (nice because it's free and you can go frame-by-frame if you want), on an Apple Macbook (small laptop).

Only use motivational or instructional clips in predesignated classroom sessions....nothing on the field or pregame.

[Chris O'Leary]

Does anybody use video on the field during practice or games to teach? If so, do you use an Ipad or what? Does anybody show short, motivational video just prior to a game or even practice? Not talking about just taking video but primarily showing video of either motivation, how something should be done correctly, or even analysis of a player.

I use an iPad to show the kids pictures and image sequences.

The idea is to get them to understand why I'm teaching them what I'm teaching them.

[Cannonball]

A few years back my daughter went to a recruiting visit/camp and they rotated cameras on hitters. When a hitter was finished, they popped one camera off, the player took it to the dugout and the coach inside the dugout critiqued the swings. I thought that was fantastic. I had a tremendous assistant coach who could take the video of the players and do the same regardless of who was throwing BP. I think it was of great benefit. However, imo, you have to have the right staff to do it.

[raptor]

We taped every swing tonight for two 11u teams in the main cage while a few other stations were going on...3 rips each then a few rounds of five pitches total..a pitch each on five different situations...then five 3-1 counts..the guy had a little wireless camera with a hard plastic case..might have been Go-Pro?...anyway the camera is tough enough to sit right across from the hitter a couple feet outside the other batters box. It was convenient to have it inside the cage as space is limited for filming. The tripod is so light when a lefty comes up he just moves it himself..it's very cool and I am looking forward to seeing his editing and how it comes out!

[pthawaii]

Does anybody use video on the field during practice or games to teach? If so, do you use an Ipad or what? Does anybody show short, motivational video just prior to a game or even practice? Not talking about just taking video but primarily showing video of either motivation, how something should be done correctly, or even analysis of a player.

iPad and free app called Ubersense (Google it). Works great for free. Used for batting and pitching. Can also load MLB swing and throws for comparison.

[MD Diamond Sports]

I offer video analysis through my academy. Also, if I see my players making the same mistake I will take out my tab and video. I use a program called Vstrator to do all the analysis. We are not able to take video during a game due to a NFHS rules. Plus, during a game is not the time to make changes. However, we have a videographer that records the games and we analyze from that.

[jbolt_2000]

Does anybody use video on the field during practice or games to teach? If so, do you use an Ipad or what? Does anybody show short, motivational video just prior to a game or even practice? Not talking about just taking video but primarily showing video of either motivation, how something should be done correctly, or even analysis of a player.

I think it depends on the age, level of play and if you are talking about showing during practice (in between plays) or as a separate sit down class (meaning everyone sit down and review the "tape").

My reasons:
Age - the younger they are the harder it will be to keep their attention. It might work if you show a short 15 second clip, but if you are trying to show a motivational clip from youtube that is 5 minutes long, they probably will tune out after 30 seconds.

Playing Level - Are you looking to do this for Little League players or travel ball? Their dedication and interest in the sport will also determine how much attention you will get. My 7y.o. loves the game and will watch clips with me for at least a few minutes. My 14 y.o. could care less and will watch about 3 seconds of a clip and walk away.

When and Where - If you are showing a quick clip after a drill or before a drill, it might work (depending on age and interest) but I would keep it short. The biggest thing you are fighting with is attention span - IMO
Edit: now if you are talking about sitting down in a facility or in your living room for a "video night" practice or something, then you might get more out of it.

[shake-n-bake]

I've used a Flip recorder several times with my son at the field. Where it works best is when you watch some "before" video at home. Pick out specific adjustments. Get to the field and take video of the adjustments at work. Then I let him watch it and we talk about how it's going to work going forward. Throw some ideas around. Then we put it away and only take it out again near the end if we want to get some video to watch at home.

The best thing that I've ever done in a team setting was to record video of all the players in the cage and at practice taking BP. I created a team blog and posted everyone's videos to it. In addition, I picked out some common areas that all or most of the players needed improvement and wrote those comments in the blog. Then I took videos either from here or other sites of a wide variety of players from kids their age on up to MLB players. I used them as examples to help explain my comments and suggestions. It was very well received. I've run into a lot of kids, as well as their parents that don't accept advice well. This way they get the information and a clear picture of what I'm explaining. Then they can do with it what they will, or at least have more familiarity with what I am talking about in future practices.

I did this with pitching and catching tips, drills, and training ideas as well. A lot of times I use players on my own team as examples. I'll pick bits and pieces of their mechanics that I see in their videos and point out their strengths to everyone. This really keeps the kids engaged in visiting the blog and picking up the tips. Also helps to use it as the primary source of information about practice schedules, what we'll be doing, sharing pictures and videos from previous games....the sky is the limit. I even had parents using it to coordinate rides and helping out with the "team mom" type chores. Key is though - getting them to visit it regularly. If they do, they'll look at the videos and read your words of wisdom.

[Ursa Major]

Boy, I would have loved to have had a tablet to pull out to show kids videos of themselves back in the dark ages when I was a hitting coach - three years ago. On a very few occasions I showed kid an obvious issue on the viewfinder of my camera - mostly to show kids who insist that they aren't stepping in the bucket that they in fact are. The problem with any screen on the field is that it's tough to really see detail if there's any sun out, because of glare, etc.

By and large, video is critical for you and for other coaches and knowledgeable parents to look at to slow down and isolate swing issues. Very few kids have the patience, dedication and understanding to glean much from a video. That's your job as the coach - to see the issue and figure out how best (via a drill, mechanical change, etc.) to fix it. Often you show a kid almost as much as a motivational tool as one to directly fix mechanics, maybe using it like MD does, to compare their swings to MLB players to see what they can aspire to and why they need to keep their hands closer to their body, e.g.

Another potential tool is to show them a good swing they've achieved - particularly in a game - and get them to try to emulate it thereafter. For a lot of reasons, one of my most successful approaches has been to tell kids and their skeptical Dads (who likely have been their original hitting coaches and don't think much of our newfangld ideas) that we are not going to try to change their swings but rather to pick out their most successful swings and to give them the tools to repeat that swing over and over. (What this means in practical terms is that sometimes a kid will out of instinct ignore Dad's ignorant teachings and get it right and really smack the ball, and then you get the kid to repeat that mechanic, as he can't argue with success, right?) As we all know, in large part kids will for better or worse teach themselves by trying various things almost by trial and error and then repeating those mechanics that either feel right or achieve success. We can nudge them in the right direction, but they'll invariably try their own path.

On defense, I can see you using a really good video to show mechanical stuff, particularly if you're in an indoor setting (which often occurs this time of year when inclement weather keeps you off the field and you're stuck in a gym). So, you can take your catchers aside and say, "Today we're working on our footwork to throw to second," and then show them the six or seven minutes of CatchingCoach's video that shows the proper mechanics to do so. Billy Stubbs' infielding video would break down to such specific mechanical pieces in a similarly valuable way. I'm not sure if this qualifies as "inspirational", but a kid is more likely to listen to Coach Dave than me, and the nice thing about the Stubbs video is that you can actually see kids doing drills putting the instruction into action, so the value of that instruction is immediately evident.

[Mur5]

iPad and free app called Ubersense (Google it). Works great for free. Used for batting and pitching. Can also load MLB swing and throws for comparison.

Do you use the iPad to record the footage as well? I ask because I assumed you would need a more powerful camera to be able to break down footage frame by frame and still be able to see a clear image.

[djmas]

iPad and free app called Ubersense (Google it). Works great for free. Used for batting and pitching. Can also load MLB swing and throws for comparison.

just downloaded this and it is an awesome app!

Thanks so much!

[djmas]

can someone recommend a good camera with a decent frame rate at a good price?

[omg]

Boy, I would have loved to have had a tablet to pull out to show kids videos of themselves back in the dark ages when I was a hitting coach - three years ago. On a very few occasions I showed kid an obvious issue on the viewfinder of my camera - mostly to show kids who insist that they aren't stepping in the bucket that they in fact are. The problem with any screen on the field is that it's tough to really see detail if there's any sun out, because of glare, etc.

Thanks for all of the responses. My main point was to see if anybody consistently shows video on the field. It appears that nobody consistently does. I know that legendary coach Jack Bergmann, LSU, was big on compiling short motivational videos to his team but I suspect he did this in the clubhouse or locker room, probably on a tv. I guess it is unrealistic to show video, of any type, consistently in an outdoor setting. It's tricky to motivate players in baseball. I sure get motivated, and I'm sure players would too, if they could see baseball highlights of great plays, etc. Of course, there are other video applications as well. I also know that if I give, say, a hitting tip, that the same exact tip would carry more weight with a player if that tip came from a good big leaguer or a big league coach. I might play around with the whole idea some with an ipad or laptop. Maybe it will be more trouble than it's worth.