IMPORTANCE OF VIDEO ANALYSIS IN HOCKEY

Feb. 2, 2023, 12:46 p.m.

IMPORTANCE OF VIDEO ANALYSIS IN HOCKEY.

Nowadays, at the level of metropolitan hockey in Argentina, video analysis is a fundamental tool. The competition has grown a lot in recent years and the team that does not have this piece of equipment is giving an advantage to its opponents.

Hockey is a sport that is played with one element (the stick), which requires a very high level of technical skill, but it is also an extremely advanced sport on a tactical level, due to the dynamics and rhythm with which it is played. In this second detail is where video analysis plays a very important role. The best tool that a coach has to raise the level of his team in the tactical level, is through the visualisation of images where they can represent and analyze the successes and mistakes. In this way the player can have much more complete information about what is happening on the pitch. Obviously, we have to find a way to improve it and put it into practice in each training session and match, but the possibility of being able to see it from a third plane is very important.

Currently in Buenos Aires, we don't have broadcasting of the tournament matches, only one match is televised per day. To solve this problem we made an agreement between all the coaches so that each team that plays at home is in charge of recording the match and sharing it with the others. I think this has been a great idea, it has improved the competition because it gave us all the possibility to study our rivals. If we add to that the study of our own team, it makes the competition much better and enriches the competition.

In a normal week of training, we start by doing video training where we visualise images of the game we played last week in order to focus on points to improve, and later in the week (as the next game approaches) we send clippings with key points of our opponents to the whole squad. The idea obviously is to send those clippings, before the last training session on the pitch, in order to apply those details in the last practice.

Personally, having the Longomatch software is vital for my work as a coach. In Argentina, coaches don't make a living from their profession, or at least most of us do, that's why we have other jobs besides being coaches. This obviously takes time away from our work and focus on hockey and anything that has to do with reducing time in processes that can be streamlined is very positive. With Longomatch desktop and mobile, I can have the games cut minutes after they are finished, this reduces a lot of analysis time and makes my task much simpler.

Ezequiel Diamante
Coach at Club Atlético Banco de la Provincia de Buenos Aires