Player-Led Video Review
“Hey coach, can we sit down and watch my shifts?”
This is beautiful music to the ears of a coach.
A one-to-one film review can go in many different directions. I wanted to share how I do it most often, especially early in the year.
The inversion(disaster to avoid) is starting from assumptions. Going top-down right away saying, “you shouldn’t have done this here, do this next time” is the wrong direction to head.
Instead, aim for this…
We have to understand and live in the same reality as the player for that time. "Meeting them where they are" is a cliche for most, but here is what it is to me.
Where “They” Are, Not YOU
First, I want to know what the player knows. If I ask detailed questions and get extreme detail back, that is a starting point. If I ask detailed questions and get blank stares, also a starting point.
“Meet them where they are” is a saying thrown around in the coaching community. But if you want to get the most out of video sessions, you have to really know where they are.
So how do we do that?
When they ask if you can sit down and watch their shifts, first say yes.
But before you sit down with them, tell them to watch their shifts first, timestamp plays, and write about:
3 plays they were unsure of and why
3 great plays they made and why they think so
1 concept they are struggling with and why
Where they think their strengths are
Where they think they are weak (could be areas of the game, certain skills,etc)
This gets the player in the habit of doing due diligence on things that are important to him. A life skill he will need far beyond hockey. It will also get them thinking about their own game.
And writing about it forces them to clarify what they are seeing out there and take additional mental reps. Writing is a more demanding cognitive task than just talking it out over coffee. Encourage them to write reflectively on it before your meeting.
You can do some prep ahead of time as well. Pull maybe one clip that can impact them the most. Something with high leverage. (one skill they are good at and they could make happen more often)
See if they timestamped that one to talk about.
Jot down or if you’re far enough into the season, talk about where you think they are strong and how they can create more using that strength.
Listen when they talk about plays. How much detail do they think about? What is their mindset? Is he too hard on himself when he talks about mistakes? Does he have resets in place to get back to his game?
The more you know, the more you can help.