Trace Report: 2023 Is The Year Of Video For Youth Soccer

Video is at forefront of player development in 2023; 61% of club directors expect more teams to film games next season

Video highlights focused on the individual player offer the most benefit

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AI–Trace today released its report, 2023: The Year of Video For Youth Soccer, based on a survey of 100 Club directors across the U.S., highlighting the importance of video for player and coach development.

Today, youth soccer players and their parents expect high-quality video to be a part of their soccer journey. Directors who want to keep up with the modern game and grow club members’ satisfaction are under pressure to make video widely available and to use video analysis to improve 1:1 coaching and enable players to track their progress and gain a deeper understanding of their performance.

Report’s Key Findings

• To meet evolving expectations of soccer parents and players, clubs are going all in on video.
  • 61% plan to use video with more of their teams
  • 32% anticipate to increase video budget next season
  • 50% of directors agree that by 2025 all soccer clubs will be filming their games
• Club directors agree that starting players with video at a young age is better than introducing it later in their soccer journey.
  • 38% expect even younger teams playing non-competitively to film games
• Video that is focused on the individual player is more valuable to clubs to help accelerate player development, improve the quality of coaching, facilitate recruiting, and increase member satisfaction.
  • The Visual Teaching Alliance confirms that the brain can process visuals 60,000X faster than text.

“We try to meet kids where they are,” said Tommy Williams, director of coaching at Stones River Football Club. “They want technology. Short reels and individual highlights go a long way in terms of engaging them and helping them learn.”

“There’s no better way to learn than to watch yourself on film. Clubs understand this which is why we’re seeing Trace being adopted from U6 to U18,” said David Lokshin, CEO of Trace. “Coaches often tell us that showing feedback is 10 times more effective than simply explaining it. Trace makes this easy to do. Our mission and product are player focused.”

Automated, personalized, and contextualized: innovative player-focused video transforms youth club soccer across all age groups.

Trace is the only video platform that records the game and delivers short-form video highlights focused on each player. Tactical team playlists and performance data for every match allow players to better understand their performance on the field and how to maximize their potential as they continue to grow.

Soccer clubs use Trace to accelerate player development, improve coaching, facilitate recruiting, and increase member satisfaction – fostering club growth.

“We use it [Trace] for U8-U19. We started with our older players but because they don’t have a culture of self-analysis, they weren’t getting much out of video. We integrated it with our younger teams and now it’s part of their program. It’s a habit for them. It’s helping them grow,” said Greg Rubendall, Livermore Fusion director of coaching.

To learn more about the key research findings:

Download the report.

About Trace

Trace is revolutionizing the way we capture the most important memories of your life.

With Trace, you no longer need to edit raw video footage to find the moments that matter the most to you. We record every angle of the game and automatically deliver a playlist to each player, featuring their highlights.

Every week, thousands of games are traced using Trace’s unique AI technology and thousands of individualized highlights are delivered to players, coaches and parents so they can rewatch their plays, use video to develop skills, and share playlists with friends, family, and recruiters.

Contacts

Maddie Coe

PRforTrace@bospar.com