How to film a youth football match (U5–U10) so the video is actually useful

Step by step

1. Where to stand

   This is a typical small-sided pitch for seven a side: about forty-five metres long and thirty wide, with the little goals. Under eights play even smaller, five a side. On a pitch this size a single phone can cover everything, as long as it is in the right place. The right place is the halfway line, outside the touchline, five to ten metres back from the line. From here both ends of the pitch are the same distance away, and the whole pitch sits inside one frame. Look at what the phone sees: both halves, both ends, every player. The spot everyone chooses is behind the goal, because it looks like television. But the phone is at eye level, so the players line up in front of each other. The far half of the pitch becomes a strip of colour, and the attack at the other end is a few pixels. The same goes for the corner. Halfway line, every time. And do not stand on the line itself. From there the near side of the pitch is below the frame, and every time the play comes to your side, the nearest players walk out of the frame. Five to ten metres back is the sweet spot: everything stays in, and nobody bumps into the tripod.

   On screen: 45 × 30 metres · One phone covers it

2. How high

   Now the height. At eye level, about one metre sixty, the kids overlap. A player in front hides the one behind, and you cannot tell how deep the defence stands. For a coach, that is the one thing that matters most. Lift the phone to three or four metres. A tripod with a pole, a telescopic mast, or the top of a small stand. Now every player stands on their own patch of grass, the lines separate, and the gaps between them become visible. Height is the single biggest upgrade, and it costs less than the phone.

   On screen: Eye level: players overlap · You cannot read the defensive line

3. The frame

   The frame itself: both goal lines inside the picture, a little grass above the far touchline, and then lock it. For under tens, do not follow the ball. The ball is small and the game is the team. A fixed frame with everyone in it teaches more than a moving frame with one child in it. On a bigger nine a side pitch, the whole field no longer fits. Then you turn with the play, slowly, from the halfway line. Keep every player in the frame, lead the ball by a little, and never zoom. A slow turn is good footage. A fast one is unusable.

   On screen: Whole pitch, locked · Do not follow the ball

4. The phone

   The phone settings, once, before the season. Landscape, always. Ten eighty p at thirty frames per second; four K only if your storage allows it. The main lens, not the wide one, and no zoom. Lock the focus and the exposure with a long press on the pitch, so the picture does not pump every time a cloud passes. Airplane mode, so that no call ends the recording. And the sun behind the phone, with the lens wiped first. Before the game: the battery at one hundred percent, and a power bank in the bag. About ten gigabytes free for every hour of ten eighty p. A tripod with a pole, three to four metres. Record a ten-second test and watch it before the game starts. And a rain cover; a freezer bag with a hole does the job.

   On screen: Once, before the season

5. The mistakes

   The mistakes, so you can spot them. Following the ball: the shape is gone. Zooming in: blur and shake. Filming in portrait: half the pitch is missing. Holding the phone in your hand: fifty minutes of shake. Standing behind the goal: the players hide each other. And stopping the recording at half time, and forgetting to start the second half.

   On screen: Six ways to waste a match

6. The children

   These are children, so one more set of rules. Ask the club first; its policy comes before anything in this film. Get written consent from the parents, once, before the season. Film for coaching, not for social media. Share privately, with no public link and no names. And when the season ends, delete what you do not teach from. The rules differ by country; the club will know its own.

   On screen: Consent, privacy, deletion

7. From video to lessons

   Then the video goes into Tactical Snap. Import the file, and the app finds the players, the pitch and the two teams on its own. Freeze any moment, draw the pass that was on or the space nobody attacked, and show it to the kids on Monday, in thirty seconds, on the phone that filmed it. So, what gets in your way where you film: the sun, the fence, or the parents in front of the lens? Tell us in the comments, and we will cover it next time.

   On screen: Import · freeze · show · The app finds players, pitch and teams

What you need

• A phone, and ideally a tripod or pole that lifts it to three or four metres.
• TacticalSnap from the App Store. It is free to download and every analysis tool is free.