5 Crazy Simple Camera Recommendations for Soccer Coaches
As a soccer coach, you know the importance of game film for your team. No matter how hard you try, you can’t see everything at once, and breaking down plays that are the result of split second decisions can be difficult under the best of circumstances. But when it comes to actually getting the game film and making the most of it, you may be struggling a little still. And that’s okay! With our recommendations, not only will you be the most prepared soccer coach, you’ll be able to step up your game film without breaking a sweat.
1) Use What You Have
When it comes to cameras, you don’t need the latest in professional film technology. Honestly, you probably don’t even need to go out and get a new camera at all. With all the technology invested in smartphones, the camera on your phone can most likely produce a high quality film that will meet your needs. Make sure the phone you choose to use has a high quality zoom feature so you can get good views of the action. Because soccer fields cover so much space, you should be looking for a phone camera with at least 2X zoom. After all, if you can’t see the players well enough to tell who they are, the game film becomes much less useful to you as a soccer coach. You should also make sure that you are filming in the highest resolution your phone has and that the frame rate has been adjusted so you get good, crisp footage that can be viewed on larger screens for review.
If you want to go for something a little fancier or you want to get something specifically for creating game film, action cameras are a great investment for your needs. The most popular type of action camera is the GoPro, but there are other brands out there as well that also have great reviews.
2) Accessorize
Once you know what kind of camera you are going to use, it may be a good idea to pick up a few accessories. The most important piece of equipment that you can have to go with your camera is a tripod. There’s a lot that goes on in soccer and there’s a lot of moving around. Even if you are focused on filming and trying to make sure everything looks good, chances are you will get excited by the plays your team makes. All of this leads to accidentally shaky footage that can interfere with the quality of your video. Additionally, with most soccer games running for 80-90 minutes of play time, your arm will get very tired if you have to hold a camera up the whole time. Do yourself a favor and pick up a tripod.
Depending on the camera, you may also want other accessories. Camera lens can improve the quality of your film, and external microphones can help you pick up any commentary you want to make as a soccer coach for your team to review later. None of these accessories need to be very expensive and other than a tripod, they are just fun additions that can make your game film even better.
3) Get the Right Angle
Once you have all your equipment put together, you need to pick the right spot to film the game from. If you have a bad angle or you choose an awkward location, you will compromise the quality of your film. The first thing you should do is make sure the camera is placed as close to the midline of the field as possible. This will give you a good view of both ends of the field, without anything getting in the way of the action. It also places the camera close to where you are as the soccer coach, so it can pick up your commentary. If you want a closer look at what is going on by each goal, it would be a better idea to use a multiple camera set up so you can have the larger picture to match the more focused images.
Elevating the camera is also a good way to get the view of the whole field that you want. If the field you are playing on has a commentator’s booth or raised seating, have the camera placed up there to minimize the likelihood of someone accidentally blocking the view. If that isn’t an option, use a box or two to place it on to elevate it enough to get a better view of the whole field.
4) Follow the Action
As a soccer coach, you have probably stressed the importance of keeping your eye on the ball and always making that your focus, even if you aren’t currently the player attacking or defending. While this is good advice for the players, it doesn’t work as well for filming the game. When filming, the ball can be difficult to find and even harder to follow. To avoid losing the ball and having film that isn’t as focused, the film should follow the players, rather than the ball. The action of the players will always match the action of the ball, which will end up giving you the film you need.
Following the action will also allow you to predict the movements of the game more so there aren’t as many crazy swings of the camera to follow what is happening. The camera should be zoomed in enough for the film to be useful and the players distinguishable, but it should still have a wide enough view so you can see what is going on in other parts of the field where the ball isn’t currently, but there is still important action happening.
5) Make It Accessible
Creating quality game film is important as a soccer coach, but if you don’t do anything with it once it has been filmed, your investment has been wasted. Your game film needs to be accessible, not only for you as a soccer coach, but also for your players. So how do you do this?
QwikCut is the easy solution for soccer game film hosting and sharing. They store your film, make it easy to access from anywhere, and even analyze the stats for you. They have everything you need to make your game film investment worth your while.