How Youth Sports Clubs Can Better Utilize Video

Youth sports clubs are finding ways to implement video as a marketing tool, but also as a way to improve player development. With the advancement in video capabilities from VEO, to live-streaming services all across North America, as well as what one can do with their own cellphone, the options are endless.

Video, especially over the past two years, was a way for sports organizations to stay connected. Families and fans shared content on social media and some youth clubs live streamed games so families that couldn’t make it due to COVID-19, could watch. One video service in Brooklyn, NY, Game in Frame, live-streams youth soccer games and amateur NYC soccer games.

Founder and CEO of Game in Frame, Josh Pratt, created this business to offer live commentary and live-streaming services to showcase and connect soccer fans, players, coaches, and parents all over the world. While this video service is a way for people to watch these games from everywhere with enthusiastic commentary and play-by-play analyses, Game in Frame also produces video packages for players hoping to use for recruitment. Game in Frame is an example of a video business helping youth sports clubs both on the marketing side, community side, and player development side.

Here are 5 ways your youth sports club or league can better utilize video.

Using Video To Get The Word Out

Many people are visual learners and with so many emails, news updates, and text messages, sometimes the easiest thing to digest are videos. One of the best ways to get the word out about your sports organization is through video messaging. Have a video on your website that states your mission statement and shows the highlights of your club. One of the best ways to get new families involved in your organization is to feature other families and testimonials through video. You can also dedicate videos around tryout information, coaches’ journeys and ‘about me’ stories. Sharing these videos on social media is also a helpful tool for marketing. Since kids are so accustomed to social media now, they may see an organization’s video on their discovery page and share with their parents.

Using Video For Player Development

Some of the best youth sports clubs dedicate sessions to watch video with their players. These video sessions don’t always mean having the players watch themselves. Some teams may watch other teams or even professional games to better understand how certain formations are played. Players may not all be visual learners, but some are. Having a video session included in weekly and monthly planning is a good way to reach all types of learning styles. Some kids may also not watch sports on their own, so this encourages them to watch and understand with a coaches guidance. If you don’t have anyone in your organization who is filming games, YouTube is a great place to start with introducing videos for players to watch. Set up a Zoom or Google Meet with your team to breakdown some game film. Encourage parents that are involved in film or are taking videos to share with the club. Even if these aren’t high-level filmmaking, sometimes what they capture can be used as a learning tool. This also involves the parents and strengthens the community.

Rain Or Shine

Some sports have to cancel practice when the weather isn’t playable. Rain, thunderstorm, snow, and intense heat waves may result in your organization having to postpone or cancel sessions and games. Instead of chalking up the day as a loss, because of the weather, keep the team together by holding a video session. With programs like Zoom, Google Meet, FaceTime, and more, there are several ways to stay connected that don’t rely on being in-person. Head over to TeamSnap and keep the practice scheduled, but change it to “video session.” If Zoom or a group FaceTime isn’t a possibility, send a video for the players to watch that keep them engaged and thinking about the sport.

Look Within

There’s a good chance someone, a player, coach, parent, or admin staff member has an interest in video or has worked in that world. Look within your organization and see if there’s anyone who would be interested in running with capturing some highlights throughout the season. If a player on one of your teams has dreams to become a videographer, encourage that player to get creative and capture moments for the club. One of the most authentic part about videos, is how it takes a team to make them work. Encourage members of the organization to get involved, whether that’s volunteers taking short videos on game days, or enthusiastic players taking v-logs during warm-ups and after games.

Coaching Development

Clubs and organizations should consider having video animations during coaching and staff meetings to better display the club goals and needs. During coaching meetings, some of the most successful ones include both oral, written, and visual presentations. Even using a slideshow presentation can be effective, but lean in on platform like YouTube and Vimeo to create animations and graphics to show style of play, weekly plan rundowns, and tryout organizations.

Consider these video utilization tips into your club or league.

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