Tag Archives: coaching

Marathon Training: No Running, Still Plenty to Review

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Last week, my schedule called for very little running since I had run a 10K Sunday morning.  The week mostly consisted of crossfit endurance training and conditioning, but not to worry, good form is just as crucial.  Therefore, video is as important as ever.

As an added bonus, this week some of my friends joined in on the fun.  Without me asking (I swear), my roommate and his friends video taped themselves running, playing tennis, and working out.

Let’s review what we did, how we did it, and what it taught us:

I'm actually embarrassed with the comparison.

Above is video of me performing a clean and press.  For this particular exercise, I needed to do 30 reps as fast as I can.  The picture on the left is video of me during my second rep.  The picture on the right is me at rep 26.  It’s painfully obvious that my form deteriorated as I got further along in my workout.  What’s even more embarrassing about this is, I was doing the exercise in front of a mirror.  Theoretically, I should have realized my form was failing and corrected.  However, I was sure my form was close to flawless.  Again, video doesn’t lie.  What this tells me is that I need to lower the weight, and focus on form, not weight.  I won’t be able to make the type of gains I want, if my form is failing.

Also, this week my roommate posted some videos of himself working out, and playing tennis.

Ted, doing pulls up, and serving.

Ted, a new crossfitter, has been focusing on his pullups.  This has been a weak area for him, and he knows form is a key factor.  Without any push from me (again, I swear), he decided to film himself.  Also, to the right, is his form while serving.  We reviewed the video, and noticed a few holes in his serve he plans to correct his next time out.  For instance, in the above video you can notice how close the ball is to his body.  The ball needs to be further forward.  While I’d love to take credit for realizing this, it was actually a friend more familiar with tennis who pointed this out.  If you invite the right people to analyze your video, you can get tremendously valuable feedback.

The amazing thing about all these videos is how easy it was to do.  It didn’t take an expensive camera, or a team or videographers.  Ted used a flip cam on a tripod (he’s a video producer, so he has these things), and I used my iPhone.  I leaned it up against the wall and filmed myself.  Uploading it to HomeField took a few minutes, and afterwards I was able to see things I would only have been able to notice with a personal trainer by my side.

It was easy, it was fun, and watching the video afterwards is addicting.  I plan to start filming myself in the gym more often during this marathon training stretch.  I’ll even invite a new group of people to review my form; people who are more familiar with proper crossfit technique.  I’m sure the things I’ll learn will be invaluable, and it’ll just be another push towards my goal of a 3hr, 10m NYC Marathon.

I invite any of you start a personal HomeField account.  Sign up for a free account, and you and your friends can start analyzing your form in whatever area you want to improve – golf, swimming, running, crossfit, etc.  Email me after you’ve created your account, and I’ll set you up with a special personal account.

New Feature: Gamebreaker Edit List Import!

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We think the HomeField online editor is the easiest way to break down your game film, but we know many of you like using GameBreaker from your desktop. That’s why we’ve built a new feature, that allows you to import your GameBreaker edit lists, so you can take all the edits you’ve made in GameBreaker and share them with your team on HomeField.
Here’s how:
1. Upload your film to HomeField as usual.
2. Open your edited timeline in GameBreaker and then export your Edit List by going to:
File > Export > XML edit list…
Be sure to note where you’ll save the file to, and click save.
3. In HomeField, open the video that you uploaded in step 1 and click “Import Gamebreaker Editor Tracks” – located just above the editor for the video.
4. Click Choose File and select the XML file you just exported, then hit Upload and Import.
Your Gamebreaker timelines and clips will appear as normal HomeField editor tracks, so that you can go ahead and share them with your team.
This feature is already live in your account. If you like using Gamebreaker, give it a shot and let us know what you think!
P.S. – Also new in HomeField, is a quick link to maximize your browser’s real estate for the HomeField Editor. You’ll find the link right next to “Import Gamebreaker Editor Tracks.”
Click it, and HomeField will hide your comment stream so you can focus on editing your film.

Make [Editing] Game Film Easy. Use the HF Online Editor.

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Editing game film doesn’t have to be hard… in fact, it shouldn’t be.

Some coaching software gets really complicated with all sorts of bells and whistles, but we believe in simple.

That’s why we took the essential elements out of your favorite editing software and built them right into HomeField – so you can take any game film in your library and start marking clips for your players to study.

Rather than talk about it, I’ll just show you.  Watch this one minute video on the new HomeField online editor…

Being a player/coach isn’t easy

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Being a player/coach isn’t easy, be it sports, business or life in general.

Last weekend was the annual Cape Cod Lacrosse Tournament. For the past four years, my buddies have registered a team and I just showed up to play. I did my part to lead on the field, but I didn’t feel responsibility as a coach.

This year, I stepped it up. I designed our jerseys (and picked the team socks!), worked on the roster a bit more, communicated to everyone, decided the starters, influenced our style of play, (even took some videos to thank our sponsors) etc… all while trying to play defense and have a great time with friends I only see once a year.

It wasn’t easy.

I’m competitive and I like to win. Last year, we did not win (the championship, nor many games). This year, I was determined to change that.

IMG_5184

But in the process, I realized it’s a really tough position – being a friend, a teammate and the coach. I wanted to win and yet I also wanted all my buddies to get plenty of playing time. I wanted to coach, but I also wanted to just let my team play the game – purely and free – the way it’s meant to be played.

I know I blatantly made some mistakes as a coach (and as a player!), and it was scary in Game 1 when we lost badly, but I’m really proud to say we won every game after that to bring home the 2010 Championship!

Team BH

I think the winning formula was a balance between leadership and letting go. When you put the right team together, give them a problem to solve and the tools and trust to do it… good things are going to happen.

And really important, we emphasized having fun on the field. The team we beat was swearing at one another by half-time, while we coolly joked about the previous night’s shenanigans.

The best compliment on the weekend though was this:

I heard a lot of people on the sidelines saying how funny you guys were and how much fun you all were having during the game…must be legit if you can have fun and win at the same time!

Be passionate about what you do, have fun doing it and it’ll never seem like work. While I know I learned a lot of this through my career in sports, I’ve had a similar experience in business.

When we started working on HomeField, I know I had a tendency to micro-manage, which isn’t great as a friend, co-worker or ‘CEO’ to my cofounders, Dan and Joe and our new guy , Henry. But I’ve learned to let go and the results have been phenomenal. It wouldn’t be possible without the trust that we all have with one another.

This week, we’re in my hometown on Cape Cod to get some great work done on HomeField, but also to think big and have fun building a great company together.

So here’s to Beach House Lacrosse – the 2010 Cape Cod Lacrosse Champions – and to my buddies – Dan, Joe, and Henry – for being awesome teammates, letting me be a player/coach.

[Originally posted at reecepacheco.com]