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In today’s issue…
5 ways to level up your use of film
What the top coach in college basketball is doing
And more…
🖼️ IMAGE
Coaches and athletes both know the value of film study for sport development.
But too few coaches give the delivery of film the consideration it deserves.
Done well, film has the power to improve athletes’ self-awareness, increase their understanding of individual and team Principles of Play, help athletes better attune to the information they will encounter in competition, and so much more.
So how do we use film effectively in our coaching?
I’ve been using film extensively for the last decade on school teams, club teams, and at our NIKE Sports Camps.
Here are 5 principles for using film effectively:
#1: K.I.S.S. - Keep it Short & Simple
Too many film sessions consist of 20-30 minutes of a coach talking at athletes.
The coaches attempt to correct or teach 50 different things, and the athletes are glazed over and confused five minutes into the lecture.
Instead of this, limit your film sessions to 12-minutes max and focus on a maximum of three concepts in those 12 minutes.
#2: Focus on Principles of Play
Use your film sessions to teach and reinforce your Principles of Play.
Principles of Play are the shared intentions of the team in the various phases of the game.
In basketball, there are four phases: transition offense, half-court offense, transition defense, and half-court defense.
There are 3-5 different Principles of Play in each phase that I teach players on my team or we teach athletes at our camps.
For example…
Transition offense Principles of Play:
Peek, peek, and peek again (look for open teammates down the floor)
Race the ball from arc to arc (go fast)
Clear the highway (spread out and let the ball be in the middle)
Eagerly hunt the paint (look to get the ball into the paint to draw defenders in)
Finish with a 7 or a 9 (get high quality shot)
Half-court defense Principles of Play:
Be a pest (pressure the ball)
See both (ball and your man)
Get “off to the ball” (get about halfway between where your man is and the ball is)
Communicate E.L.O. (early, loud, and often)
The most effective film sessions I’ve run or witnessed focus in on a few Principles of Play and show examples (a team doing it well) and non-examples (a team not doing it well) of those principles.
First, clearly define your Principles of Play, then start building your film sessions around those areas.
I could, for example, hold a film session focused on “See Both” and “Get Off to the Ball” from my defensive Principles of Play above. I would pull examples and non-examples of these concepts and group them by concept.
Keep reading for an example of one of our camp film sessions that you can watch.
#3: Show the Clip Multiple Times
Most film clips are 20 seconds or less.
I’ve found it most effective to show athletes the same clip three times.
This means only showing 4-6 clips in total.
It allows them to orient themselves to what’s happening better and give me more opportunities to pause, question, and check for understanding.
I let athletes know that we’re going to watch the same clip multiple times, and I tell them what I expect each time.
For example:
First viewing - Watch silently
Second viewing - Turn and talk to a partner about what you noticed
Third viewing - I’m going to pause it and ask a question or teach something
Group the clips by concept, then show each clip multiple times.
Here is an example of one of our NIKE Basketball Camp film sessions focused on the defensive Principles of Play I shared above:
#4: Plan Pause Points and Questions
Planning your pause points (when you will pause a clip) and questions (what you will ask about it) will level up your film sessions significantly.
Consider these questions when planning pause points and questions:
What is the important information I want them to notice or pay attention to?
What could I ask that would demonstrate they understand this concept or principle?
For the clips in the example above, I pause strategically at points where I can show or ask the players about being “Off to the ball” or “Seeing both.”
Questions to avoid asking:
“Does that make sense?”
“Does anyone have any questions?”
Anything that can be answered with simply yes or no
Some of my favorite questions to ask:
What do you notice here?
What do you see away from the ball?
What is wrong with this picture?
What are they doing well here?
How did they create ____?
What led to _____?
Why didn’t that work?
Why did that work?
The goal of this is to direct the athletes’ attention to the most important information in the clips so that they can attune to those areas when they’re in practice or in competition.
#5: Clear MOPs
MOPs = Means of Participation
How will the athletes engage with you and the film?
Planning this ahead of time and communicating it clearly can significantly improve your film sessions.
Here are some MOPs I use in film sessions:
Stop and Jot - Athletes write down what they noticed in a clip(s)
Stop and Think - Athletes sit in silence for 10-15 seconds thinking about a question
Turn and Talk - Athletes talk to a partner about what they noticed or a question that was asked
Partner Report - After a Turn and Talk, one athlete must share what their partner said
Cold Calling - Call on athletes at random to share what they wrote, noticed, or discussed
Volunteers - Ask players to raise their hand to share what they wrote, noticed, or discussed
I listed volunteers last intentionally, it’s often what coaches and teachers default to, but it’s often the least effective. The same 2-4 players or students answer most of the questions, and it lets the rest of the learners off the hook.
We want athletes to be engaged, not passive in these film sessions.
When used well, the MOPs help create a learning experience where everyone is learning, engaged, and accountable to be prepared to share their answers or thoughts.
Don’t just take my word for it on film, these principles are what some of the top coaches in sports are using to run better film sessions.
Here is an article about Dusty May working with Doug Lemov to implement many of these same principles into his teaching and use of film.
If you’re interested in diving deeper into these concepts on effective film use, I have multiple resources (webinar recordings, slides, and notes) in the community classroom from some workshops I ran with Doug Lemov a few years back.
You can access the film resources HERE for $27.
If money is an issue, reach out to me directly.
🧠 COACHING APPLICATION
A few thoughts on applying this…
Write down your Principles of Play for each phase of your game
Pull 3-5 film clips for one of your Principles of Play and organize them into a video (use a free tool like Canva)
Plan a question for each clip, a pause point, and your MOPs
Run a 12-minute film session with your team
Thanks for reading, I hope this serves you on your journey.
To your growth,
Luke Gromer, RYG Athletics | A NIKE Sports Camp Provider
P.S. You can access the resources on using film effectively HERE.
P.P.S. If you’re interested in becoming one of our NIKE Sports Camp directors, learn more or apply HERE.
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