For Coaches: Using Video to Coach Better
Updated: 23 hours ago
I didn't recognize my own snatch. That was my honest reaction the first time I watched it on video. In my head, the bar was traveling straight up and I was fast under it. On the screen, my hips shot up early, the bar looped out in front of me and I was diving after it. I'd been told about that fault. I hadn't believed it until I saw it.
That clip changed how I coach. The most useful tool I own fits in my pocket and costs nothing extra. A phone camera, used with a little discipline, shows athletes what my words can't. I can tell someone their hips rise early in the clean ten times. One three-second clip, paused at the right frame, does it once and for good.
Video also coaches the coach. Movements happen fast, and the human eye misses a lot, especially when you're watching twelve athletes at once. Reviewing footage sharpens your eye so that the next time you see the fault live, you catch it without a camera.
The problem is that video used carelessly becomes noise: hundreds of clips nobody watches, athletes self-conscious about being filmed, feedback so detailed it overwhelms. What's worked for me is a simple, repeatable workflow. I'm a newer coach still refining it, and coaches with more years behind the camera may do this differently, but here's mine, in the order I use it. Take what fits your gym.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Stage One: Decide Why You're Filming
Before you pick up the phone, know what question the clip needs to answer. "Let me film your snatch" is vague. "Let me see whether your bar drifts forward off the floor" is specific, and it tells you where to stand and which frames to watch.
Good reasons to film include checking a fault you suspect but cannot confirm live, showing an athlete a position they cannot feel, creating a baseline before a new skill cycle and tracking a lift over several weeks. Poor reasons include filming everything just in case, or filming a workout with no plan to review it.
Always ask permission first, and follow your gym's policy on filming. Some athletes are uncomfortable being recorded, and that deserves respect. I get it. Seeing yourself on a screen can feel exposing, especially when you're new and already self-conscious. Never share or post footage of an athlete without their explicit consent.
Stage Two: Capture Clean Footage
Bad footage wastes everyone's time. A few rules make a large difference.
Angle. For most barbell lifts, hinges and squats, film from the side, level with the hips, so you can see bar path, back angle and hip and knee position. For knee tracking, foot position or symmetry, film from the front. For gymnastics on a bar or rings, film from the side with the whole body and the bar in frame.
Framing. Get the whole body and the equipment in the shot, including the feet. A clip that cuts off at the knees can't show you foot pressure or bar contact. I've wasted plenty of my own sessions on clips like that.
Stability. Rest the phone on a box, a plate stack or a small tripod rather than holding it. A steady frame makes positions much easier to compare.
Slow motion. For fast movements like the snatch, clean, jumps or kipping skills, slow motion helps enormously. For slower lifts, normal speed is usually enough.
Keep clips short. Start recording just before the rep and stop just after. Long clips of athletes chalking up and walking around make review tedious.
Coach's cue: Film it. Show it. Then let them feel it.
Stage Three: Review With a Plan
When I review a clip, I watch it three ways. First at normal speed, to get the overall impression and see the rhythm of the movement. Second in slow motion or frame by frame, looking for the specific question I set in stage one. Third, I pause at two or three key positions: the start, the moment of the fault and the finish.
I try hard not to catalog everything I see. Early on, I'd send athletes paragraphs about one clip. They'd try to fix five things at once and fix none of them. Pick the single fault that, if fixed, would improve the most. Often a later fault is caused by an earlier one: a forward bar path in the second pull may start with a poor setup. Fix the earliest cause first.
Comparing clips side by side, either from the same athlete over time or against a clean reference rep, is often more powerful than any explanation. Many phone apps allow you to draw lines or play two clips together, which helps athletes see changes in back angle or bar path.
Stage Four: Show the Athlete
How you share the clip matters as much as what you see in it. I show athletes the clip immediately when possible, while the rep is still fresh in their body. I pause on one frame, point to one thing and give one cue. Then they do another rep, ideally on camera again, so they can see the change.
Keep the tone constructive. Start with something they did well before showing the fault. Athletes who are new to seeing themselves on video can be surprised or self-critical, so frame it as information, not judgment.
After the athlete has seen the fault, connect it to a feeling. "See how your hips rose before the bar moved? That's the feeling of your chest dropping. Next rep, keep your chest up as you push." The video creates the understanding; the feeling creates the change.
My favorite part is the next rep. The athlete watches the clip, nods, lifts again, and you both see the difference on the second recording. The look on their face when they see the fix for themselves is one of the best parts of coaching.
Stage Five: Track and Follow Up
The value of video grows over time. A clip from week one and a clip from week eight, side by side, is one of the most motivating things you can show an athlete. It proves the work is paying off in a way numbers alone sometimes cannot.
Keep a simple system: a folder per athlete, clips labeled with the date and the movement, and a short note of the cue you gave. Before the athlete's next session on that movement, look back at the last clip so your coaching continues where it left off rather than starting over.
Delete what you no longer need. Old footage has no value if nobody watches it, and storing athletes' clips indefinitely is a privacy responsibility you don't need.
Where Video Fits in Remote Coaching
A lot of my own coaching is online, and it runs on this same workflow. Athletes film their own sets following clear angle and framing instructions, send them in, and receive feedback focused on one or two priorities. At ATHLETESPHERE, video review is built into individual coaching through the member app: Sphere Individual includes one video review per week, and Sphere Performance includes up to three per week, alongside weekly check-ins.
Whether you coach in person or online, the discipline is the same: film with a purpose, review with a plan, show one thing, follow up. Respect the details of each clip, keep showing up with clear feedback, and what I'm seeing so far is athletes improving faster than words alone could manage.
If some of your athletes want regular video feedback beyond what class allows, compare the ATHLETESPHERE coaching options here to see which level of support fits them.
Your turn. I'm still learning as a coach too. If you run this differently in your gym, share it in the comments below. I read every one and would love to learn from you. If it was useful, tap the heart so more coaches find it.
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Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online
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