I got the following email from a colleague in the UK today. I just wanted to share it with everybody.

“I received a call a few weeks ago from an Track and field agent. He said one of his athletes had specifically requested the use of Dartfish and would like to meet.

A few days later I demonstrated Dartfish to the coaches/athletes and management team.  I showed two runners in the analyser and concentrated on the side by side/blend and reversing one picture to synch up their direction of travel.

They are now the proud users of 3 Team Pro’s

The athlete in question:

 Mr Usain Bolt. Olympic Champion and World Record Holder for the 100m and 200m.

It is marvellous to see an athlete who has ran 9.69sec for the 100m and 19.30 for the 200m still believes he can improve.  Complacency is the downfall of any champion and it is a scary thought for others who do not see the benefit of analysing their technique leading up to the 2012 Olympics.

This man will go faster with the help of Dartfish.”

If you need help getting more out of your Dartfish system or want to get started with Dartfish, drop me an email. robert.carroll@tocasports.com

Tags: athletics, Dartfish, performance analysis, Video Analysis
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Here is a YouTube clip of the New Zealand All Blacks getting fitness tested. As you will see they are using Smartspeed for their tests.

Check out the fitness testing section on our website fo more info about getting tested using the best technology inthe world.

Tags: Fitness Testing, performance analysis, rugby
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The power of Motivational movies is tremendous. In a previous post I gave you a idea of one I produced for the DCU Gaelic Team. Here is one I came across on YouTube. Think about how you might apply something like this with your team. It can be done with a simple video camera and some free editing tools. Or if you would like one done for your team. Give me a shout.

Tags: motivation, performance analysis, video analyis
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This an idea of having a few key players involved in a ‘tactics team’. A group of players who the management discuss openly the tactics of the team and how to achieve the best results.

Basically a few players are chosen from the team, for example in rugby a few from the backs and a few from the forwards, to represent the players on a tactics panel. I think this is a fantastic idea for a number of reasons.

1. Not every player understands tactics. I know they all should but we all know the players, in any sport, who just seem to get things done. Sometimes those players work best with their head clear of information.

2. Not every player likes responsibility. Although all players should (and the top ones do) take responsability not all players like it. Removig this burden might free up some people to play in a more relaxed state.

3. Too many cooks…. maybe only having a few players fully immersed in the tactics along with the management and staff means that more can be achieved in a shorter period of time. Leaving more time to practice what you have learnt.

4. By having a few key decision makers on the pitch means that the responsibility does not just lie with the captain or the manager. In any sport the possibility of picking up an injury is common, it’s important to have a number of key decision makers on the pitch at all times.

5. The players have a say! Having a small group will probably invite more interaction between players and coaches and should lead to more formulated plan on how to play the game.

I know many teams will have an informal ‘Tactics Team’ but maybe you should make it more formal and announce to everyone who is on it and the function it is there to serve. Organise to have at least one tactics meeting with the panel between big games. You don’t have to break out the video analysis each time maybe a whiteboard and some markers will help get the point across.

Tags: performance analysis, Video Analysis
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Performance Analysis in Sport is certainly a growing area. Although we are not seeing the end of the days where the role of the performance analyst is attached to that of many other jobs in the backroom staff, it is changing.

A big reason, I think, Performance Analysis is behind other areas like Physio Therapy is because of the lack of formal education in the area. It is only in the last couple of years that colleges here in Ireland like CIT, Tralee IT and UCC have dedicated modules to the area of Performance Analysis in Sport. I think the more of these colleges that embrace performance analysis as a genuine elemnet of coahing and sports science the higher the standards we can expect in the field.

At present there is only one University in the world offering Performance Analysis at Masters Level. While it is certainly not a prerequisite that you must become qualified at masters level to be a performance analyst it would be great to see more college offering this level of qualification, as it can only improve the standards.

There are a couple of organisations looking to achieve some form of accreditation and training in the area but nothing concrete yet. The only two I know of are ISPAS (International Society of Performance Analysis in Sport) and thevideoanalyst.com

I think it’s important that more people join the debate and raise the standard of Performance Analysis in Sport.

Any thoughts?

Tags: ispas, performance analysis, performance analysis in sport, thevideoanalyst
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A lot of people think Video analysis is just for Senior inter-county teams but that’s not true at all. I have been involved in video analysis since 2003 and have carried out a lot of analysis and presented back to teams of all levels and age groups. I think video analysis, if used correctly, can have the biggest impact on juvenile players. They are much more receptive to new things and they love being able to see themselves on TV - it adds a great level of motivation for the players. 

Cost will always be an issue for any club. I have recently installed Dartfish into a club side in Meath. They very early understood that the software could be used by much more than just the senior team. They only have Dartfish 3 months but have already had 5 people trained up on the system and are using with football, hurling and juvenile teams. When you spread the investment in video analysis throughout a club like Donaghmore Asbourne have you are not long in getting your money back in spades (or trophy’s).

The other thing is that if you don’t want to take the plunge and invest in performance analysis software at this stage you can always get a game analysed. Simply send us a DVD of your last mach or maybe an upcoming opponent and we can analyse the match for you. A cheap and effective way to get involved in video analysis.

Tags: gaa, performance analysis, Video Analysis
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