Coaching 101 - Bridging the Gap Between "Feel" vs. "Real"
Feel vs. Real
Coaches often reference the gap between "feel" and "real".
In other words, often there is a large disconnect between when the athlete “feels” they are doing the right movement, though in reality they lacked proper form.
This gap can be vast, especially for beginners who lack the self-awareness or direction to know exactly WHAT they should be improving.
In fact one of the hallmarks of elite athletes, like Olympians or PGA tour players, is their ability to align feel and real. Often, professionals can pinpoint where they might have gone wrong without even viewing a playback.
But getting there required years of training, and TONS of objective feedback, be that from a coach or video playback of their movement. And even then, they still rely on video feedback to validate their feelings and to ensure their perception aligns closely with reality.
Why Feel vs. Real Matters
In my opinion, a coach’s primary job is to help athletes identify and overcome the gap between feel and real.
The first step in any athletic journey is giving them the tools they need to think objectively about their performance, so they can improve every time they practice, even if you aren’t there with them.
And, of course, at CoachNow we help you bridge the gap between Feel and Real with the use of our industry-leading Video and Image Analysis Suite.
Video Analysis offers an unfiltered view of an athlete's performance, giving both coaches and players the opportunity to analyze and correct their actions.
Utilizing CoachNow to Bridge the Gap Between “Feel” and “Real”
In fact, all our video features were specifically designed to help athletes bridge the gap between feel and real:
How to Use: This advanced feature allows for a detailed study of movement angles. The app will automatically overlay a “skeleton” over the athlete, which shows key movements throughout the body in greater detail. When in Skeleton mode, tap any joint to view its current angle. Enable this feature to capture angle changes as your subject follows through on a movement.
Benefit: The Angles of an athlete’s joints can play a crucial role in understanding movement dynamics. This feature offers insights into the nuances of movement patterns, making corrections more intuitive.
VS Mode for Self-Comparison and Professional Comparison:
How to Use: Through CoachNow, athletes can compare their videos to their past performances or benchmark against professionals. Just choose two videos and put them side by side to compare. You can also overlay videos on top of one another, enabling a clear comparison between movements in both.
Benefit: VS Mode helps in recognizing patterns, understanding progression, and striving for improvement.
Slow-motion Playback:
How to Use: Once a video is uploaded, you can activate slow motion (up to 240 FPS). This allows athletes and coaches to analyze the video frame-by-frame.
Benefit: Real-time actions can be fleeting and hard to grasp fully. Slow-motion playback ensures every detail is captured, from the stance to the follow-through.
And, of course, you can bring it all together with a voice over (+ CoachCam) while you conduct the analysis using the tools above.
Doing so allows you to explain in detail exactly what YOU see happening and how it may differ from what the athlete THINKS they are doing.
And, importantly, you can use these tools with your athletes at any time without needing to meet up or hop on a call. This ensures that they get their feedback right when they need it.
Wrapping Up
Every athlete, whether novice or elite, embarks on a journey of self-discovery and growth in their chosen sport.
While the path may be riddled with challenges, tools like CoachNow help bridge the gap between “feel” and “real” in a super intuitive and powerful way.
As you integrate CoachNow's features into your coaching, recognize the profound impact it has.
Every frame you analyze, each angle you measure, and every voiceover you provide guides your athletes closer to clarity.
By aiding them in bridging the gap between 'feel' and 'real', you're equipping them with more than just refined skills; you're empowering them to take ownership of their development.
In fact, all our video features were specifically designed to help athletes bridge the gap between feel and real: