Use Video for Performance Skills

Coaches have been using video for many years to help players work on their skill development, things like hitting and pitching, but what about other skills like squatting, stealing, and agility. Using video to evaluate any skill can help the coach or trainer increase production from the player. The video can also be saved and re-evaluated when needed, and used to demonstrate progress.

In the last 10 years functional movement assessments have moved to the fore front and many trainers and strength coaches have been using these types of evaluations to judge the starting point of some athletes programs. These are great tools for evaluating an athlete’s movement skills and great information for the performance staff, but can the athlete or coach understand what we are looking for in the terms we use as professionals? Video in many instances can bridge the gap in understanding for the athlete and coach. Showing an athlete how he or she moves can help them understand what they are doing in space. This understanding can have great impact on the progression an athlete has. I know that nearly every trainer has been frustrated when correcting an athlete’s form and they reply by saying that’s what I was doing, the video doesn’t lie.

We have been recently using video in all of our new functional assessments and have had great successes with understanding from both coaches and players. In our evaluation procedures we use movements like the deep overhead squat, lunging, broad jump, vertical jump, pro agility, and sprinting just to name and few. In all these evaluations we use video to not only give us another eye, but to demonstrate to the athlete things that we see as potential problems or skills we need to work on.

Using video is not just for specific skills like hitting and pitching, but can be very helpful in helping athletes and coaches understand what an athlete is doing and how we can change it. Get that camera out and see how this tool can help you as a performance staff member as well.

Brian Niswender, MA
Co-Founder BaseballStrengthCoaching.com