Filming Soccer Games, Staying Ahead

2/5/2020

How to Film a Soccer Game and Stay Ahead of Technology Needs

Soccer is a growing game in the U.S. (although it’s enormously popular throughout the world), and there’s a steady trend of people getting interested and invested in the sport. It’s an awesome game for fans of all ages, with a simple set of rules that can be understood fairly quickly, but strategies and tactics that can take a lifetime to master.

With more people learning the game and wanting to get better, there’s a bigger demand for getting important matches recorded to watch later. Days spent watching game film, while physically relaxing, can be just as valuable as practice time in the gym lifting weights or on the field.

But what exactly are players getting from spending valuable time sitting and watching a screen? Film isn’t a digital scrapbook there to remember the good times—it’s an important tool to learn from. It gives your team time to work on unity, learn strategy, and invite internal criticism.

Team Unity

Gathering together in a room to study a film can actually be a valuable team-building exercise. The unity and camaraderie grows, no matter if you are watching a win or a loss. By studying the wins, your team will be able to see the importance of working as a team and the strengths that led them to victory—which will bring everyone closer together. Even in studying the losses, teams can bond by commiserating with each other and looking to find ways to raise each other up.

Strategy

Sometimes when a player is on the field in the heat of the moment with the ball at their feet, it’s hard to see the bigger picture. It’s difficult for them to conceptualize where defenders and attackers are, and see what options are available. Without a better understanding of the game and the position of the teams, players aren’t always able to make the best choices while on the field. With a recorded game, the team is able to do something they could never do on the field: Pause the game and study.

With some planning, a coach can pause at key moments and start a discussion with their team about what could be done and their overall strategy. Studying and learning from film gives players the ability to see the field and layout while giving them time to develop better playmaking skills. With enough study of strategy and game mechanics in the film room, mindful play becomes second nature on the field.

Self Criticism

Film offers the chance for reflection and improvement. Even if a coach says nothing while watching the film, a smart player can look at their performance and see the mistakes they are making. These mistakes can lie within their decision-making processes, or even their technical skills with dribbling, passing, defending, or shooting.

Film gives your players a chance to see room for improvement in their abilities and skills. Just like professional dancers practice in a room with mirrors so they can see their movements and make adjustments, studying film gives your players the same chance to see their progress and gaps in skill.

How to Film a Soccer Game

There are a few options for recording a soccer game, but some are easier to set up and better for the players than others. When you’re determining how to film a soccer game you need to consider the cost, accessibility, and range of sight of the camera.

The cost of a camera can range drastically. You can use everything from a personal phone to a professional HD camcorder. While small handheld cameras are inexpensive, cheap video quality can sometimes get in the way of thorough game analysis. If a player can’t see what they’re doing on the field, the entire purpose of filming is ruined.

Accessibility is important because you don’t want to have a complicated set up that is impossible to use. The more time you spend learning your camera setup, the less time is left for working with your team and helping them improve in meaningful ways.

The angle film is taken is one of the most important aspects of recording a soccer match. This allows the viewer to understand spacing and distance - which cannot be seen from the field level. This elevated view also allows the viewer to see the different players and their placement in relation to each other. Soccer is a team sport, and the team needs to look at how they are doing on the field, even when they aren’t at the center of action. The ability of a defender or a forward to position themselves in preparation for what might be coming their way matters and can be improved on. Some additional help on recording soccer can be found in this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9q5jUlnkXw).

Handheld

You can always grab a small handheld camera, sit on the sidelines, and hit record. While this option is cheap and easy, it might not be the best choice for your players. When you’re sitting on the sidelines, or even in the bleachers, your view of the field is limited. You might be able to focus on the action surrounding the ball, but soccer is complicated and a lot of the most important movements and actions are done when the ball is nowhere near the player.

Another downside of using a handheld camera is stability in the video quality. Soccer games last at least 90 minutes, and managing a camera for that long can become a feat of strength. Your arm will start to droop and wobble, and it can become tiring trying to keep up with the action. Players can’t learn how to be better if the footage lacks focus or stability.

Tripod

A handheld camera on a tripod gives you the stability to record for a long period of time with a stable shot at a cheap cost, but it also has one major downfall: the angle of the recording. Most camera tripods on the market only raise up to about five feet. This means that while the shot might be more stable than a handheld camera, the film is still going to have an extremely limited range of sight.

Camera Pole and Tripod

For some teams, especially high school teams, they practice and play on the football field that is surrounded by high bleachers and set up a tripod at the top of the bleachers. They do this because a camera that is high over the field is able to give the best view of the action. The camera can easily see the full field, and give stable footage tracking the action of the game as a whole. But what about the majority of teams that don’t practice or play in a football stadium?

For those who practice in open fields that might have a small set of bleachers nearby, a camera pole and tripod is perfect for you. The camera pole allows you to have a camera 16 feet above the field which gives you better angles to see all of the action in HD quality.

So, what is your best option for recording a soccer game? Check out SVT Advantage.

Why Choose SVT Advantage?

While there are a few other options to record your games, SVT is the best choice for you and your team. With our different package options, there is a solution ready for you.

Easy to Transport

SVT’s camera system, pole, and tripod are made from heavy-duty poly-webbing with water-resistant metal parts. Despite the amount of quality materials that we include in our packages, our system also breaks down so that it can fit in the back of your car. At only about twenty pounds, it’s easy to carry from your car to the field.

Easy to Use

You don’t need a background in film to understand how to use our products. Once the system is set up on the field, it can be managed by anyone. That means that if you’re a coach, you can choose to spend your time on the sidelines coaching your team where you are needed, rather than huddled by a camera.

Quick Setup

No one wants to have to show up super early just to set up a tripod or have to spend an hour alone on the field putting everything away. That’s why our system is quick to both set up and take down. Within minutes, you can be ready to record your soccer match and get professional quality video.

Fast Pan and Tilt System

Soccer is a fast sport and with a few quick passes, the ball can bounce between players and be a headache to track. That’s why our product has a fast pan and tilt system. No matter where the action is taking place, the Tournament Traveler 4 system from SVT Advantage is able to keep it in sight so you don’t miss a single moment of action.

Your team can benefit from having a film day. With even a few hours spent analyzing and looking over game footage, you will be able to find where you need to focus and improve your game. There’s one clear best option when it comes to recording soccer games: Turn to SVT Advantage. Our products are made with quality and cost in mind so that you can get HD footage from your game to study and learn from. Contact us to learn how you can easily and affordably record your soccer game.

Get the Most out of your Game

1/20/2020

How to Get the Most Out of Your Game with a Tower Camera Mount

Every athlete wants to get better, and every coach wants to help their players get better. Video has proven to be an adept tool for helping players improve. It helps provide honest, detailed feedback on an individual level, and a comprehensive view of a team’s performance that helps coaches better teach game strategy. Video also benefits parents, friends, and can be used for recruiting.

Not all videos are created equal, however. Get the most of any game or practice with a tower camera mount.

Benefits of Using Video Analysis

It used to be that the equipment and technology for video analysis in sports was only available to programs with big budgets, like college, elite, or professional level teams. But with advances in technology and lower costs, video can easily be captured now by any sports program. This allows coaches and athletes of all levels and sports to take advantage of video analysis for practice and games.
Here are some of the benefits of incorporating video into your practice and game performance.

Provide Visual Feedback

Hearing someone tell you what you’re doing and how to improve is different than actually seeing it for yourself. The brain processes visual information 60,000 times faster than text, and on average people only remember about one-fifth of what they hear. Through video, coaches can show and correct mistakes much quicker and more efficiently than trying to explain things. And chances are players will remember it better.

Improve Technique and Performance

Video helps coaches and athletes get on the same page visually, which opens the door to more effective analysis of technique and performance. They can look at highlights of a player’s execution in practice and in a game, picking out specific moments to identify where and how the player can improve.

Individual or Team Analysis

Video can be used to help athletes improve their individual performance, or video can be used to analyze a team’s performance as a whole. In sports like football, it is very difficult to pay attention to the movements of each individual player. Video can help coaches do that afterward. This versatility is valuable for developing team strategy, as well as evaluating competition.

Track Progress Over Time

Video also makes it easier to track progress and individual skill development. Players and coaches can see how and where they have made improvements. This can motivate athletes, because sometimes it can be hard to tell if they’ve been making progress without looking carefully.

Mental Training

Many athletes watch videos as part of regular training. Seeing how professional or skilled athletes perform can help improve technique and tactics. And players who watch themselves can more clearly understand and see what they need to work on. Video is a form of mental imagery and can be an important part of visualization and mental training.

Injury Prevention

Practice is the perfect time for coaches to find and fix bad habits that may lead to injuries. Incorporating video of practices enhances a coaching team’s ability to keep an eye out and correct multiple players on the team in order to prevent injuries.

Highlight Reels and Scouting

High school and college sports will find additional benefits of regular videotaping of games and practice. In these cases, certain players are looking to impress college scouts or to go pro. When they perform well, those plays are captured and can be used to produce highlight reels to share with family, friends, and recruiters. Schools that take advantage of highlighting star athletes through video attract more talent.

The Best Way to Capture Video for Analysis

Sure, anyone can hold up a smartphone and record a game or practice. And sure, that’s better than nothing. But sitting on the sidelines or behind the goals gives you a limited perspective. You will be unable to see the center of the action and in many cases won’t have an elevated view to be able to look at spacing properly, and will therefore miss valuable information.
The best video is filmed from a high angle, which allows you to see all the action. High angle video that captures an elevated view mimics the filming that can be seen on televised games, allowing for the most effective individual or team feedback and analysis.
In order to get that high angle, the camera needs to be above the field. The easiest way to achieve this perspective is through a filming tower. Tower camera mounts like those offered by SVT Advantage can be lightweight, portable, and easy to use.

Sports That Can Benefit from High Angle Video

While video analysis can be helpful for almost any athlete, there are certain sports where high angle video is especially valuable. When you have a lot of athletes on the field and complicated plays, a comprehensive view can be quite helpful. Sports that can benefit the most include:

Football
Soccer
Lacrosse
Rugby
Baseball
Track

Advantages of a Tower Camera

Compared to using a smartphone, a tower camera is an investment. But there are many reasons why the purchase is worth it.

Bird’s Eye View

Whether you try to film practice or a game by yourself or hire a professional, the truth is that any filming at ground level will be limited. A tower camera mount gives you a crisp, bird’s eye view that provides a fresh perspective. You can see how the team works together, spacing between players and where you can improve, as well as being able to dissect the competition.

See the Field Better

Tower cameras allow you to adjust the height of the camera so you can see large sections of a field clearly. You don’t need multiple cameras in different locations allowing for unparalleled opportunities for analysis.

Versatility

Some tower cameras are meant for one sport because of angle, software or design. While other towers can be limited, SVT Advantage’s tower cameras can be used for a variety of sports to catch a variety of angles to get the film you need to help your team succeed.

Simplicity

When filming at field level, a certain amount of legwork is involved. You have to move up and down the field to try and get the best possible angles for plays, possibly working around a crowd of people. A tower camera only needs to be set up once and is typically quite simple to operate. No specialized knowledge or running along the sidelines required.

Portability

Some tower cameras can be folded or broken down to make them extremely portable. They can be transported by car or taken on a plane for long-distance games or tournaments. A portable tower camera system is very important for those who need to travel from game to game and have limited space for gear.

Avoid Obstacles

We’ve all experienced the frustrations of recording in crowds. The loud person next to you yelling or cheering who will be immortalized in your video, and don’t get us started on the people who walk right in front of the camera during an important play, and a whole host of possible distractions. Having a camera mounted high above all of that avoids these and other obstacles to getting quality video.

Save in the Long Run

Rather than hiring professional video services at each game or tournament—which can really add up over the course of a season—once you purchase an elevated camera mount you can use it again and again. Volunteers or assistant coaches can operate the equipment for no extra costs. Over the course of several seasons, the savings can be substantial. On a side note -be careful of purchasing equipment that requires a subscription to use. These costs add up, and once you stop paying the fees the equipment becomes useless.

Enjoy a Competitive Edge with a Tower Camera Mount

With the many benefits video analysis can provide to sports teams of most levels, a tower camera can give you a competitive edge. Parents, players, and coaches will appreciate high-quality video of players, and it can give an additional advantage with recruiting.
Get your own SVT Advantage camera pole to start reaping the rewards of your own high angle video recording today. Contact us with any questions or to see how we can elevate your sports filming.