In sports, coaches search for a variety of different techniques to improve their athletes’ skills.  Filming practices and games are a new and growing trend in college and high school sports.  It gives players a visual on what they can improve on.  Over the years, many high school coaches have started using this technique in order to enhance the skills of their team.     

Briar Woods Softball coach, Coach Jennifer Traina has recently started using film this season.  Coach Traina evaluates the film on what the team can improve.  The team has taped both practices and games.  “Film is very beneficial to athletes,” said Coach Traina.  “With a classroom approach you have visual and auditory learners.  With the auditory learners you can just talk to them but then you have the visual learners.  Some need to see in action for help, otherwise they might be missing out.” 

One thing that has been beneficial to the softball team from the use of film has been a lot of fine tuning.  Hitting can be difficult, and the coach Traina noted that she has seen a lot of improvement on not just the big issues, but the smaller ones as well.  “There is a big difference between this year and last year,” said Coach Traina.  Despite how helpful the footage can be, it is a time consuming process.  After filming takes place coaches have to stay after and watch the entire practice or game in order to use the footage. 

Girls Soccer coach, Coach Ann Vierkorn is another advocate of using film to improve athletes.  Though Coach Vierkorn has not yet received the tapes, she has had parents filming games and she plans to use the film footage in the future once she receives the film.  “It gives players an opportunity to visualize and see not only what they can do to improve, but also see what they did well,” said Coach Vierkorn.  “They can see the whole picture, and how each player fits in to it, and what their role is.”

BWHS has a type of software where coaches can put film on the promethean board and pull out clips of a certain game to illustrate their athletes’ strengths and weaknesses.  Coaches can pick out clips from the game to show so that players can better visualize them.  This is a practice that is very popular with college coaches.  “A coach has to pick out clips that are going to be beneficial in improving play in their game,” said Coach Vierkorn. 

Filming games seems to be a growing trend in sports.  Though it does have the downside of being a time consuming process, the benefits are well worth it.  As long as Coaches have someone who knows how to film, the equipment needed and most importantly, funds, filming should not be a problem.  If these things are not problems, then filming might be the next step in taking one’s team to the next level.