How to Film Your Child's Football Technique on a Phone

You don't need a tripod, a fancy camera, or any filming experience. But the quality of your AI feedback is only as good as the clip you upload - so a few small filming choices make a big difference to how precisely the assistant coach can read your child's technique.

Here's what we've learned from analysing thousands of grassroots clips.

The basics (get these right first)

Film for 5 to 15 seconds. Shorter is better. The AI doesn't need a full match - it needs a clean look at the specific technique you want feedback on. A 10-second clip of one shot, one pass, or one first touch is ideal.

Hold the phone still. You don't need a tripod, but a steady hand helps. If you can, brace your elbow against your body or rest the phone on a fence. Shaky footage makes the AI work harder to track body movement.

Keep the player's full body in frame. Head to toe, the whole time. The AI looks at plant-foot placement, knee angle, hip rotation, and follow-through - if any of those are cut off, the feedback gets less precise. Frame slightly wider than you think you need to.

The angle matters most

This is the single biggest thing parents get wrong.

Film from the side, at a 90-degree angle to the direction of play. If your child is shooting toward a goal, stand to the side of the goal - not behind it, not in front of it. The side angle lets the AI see body shape, knee drive, and follow-through clearly.

Film at their height, not yours. If you're an adult filming a 12-year-old, crouch down so the phone is roughly at their chest height. Filming down from full adult height distorts the proportions and makes technique harder to read.

Avoid these angles:

• From behind the goal - you'll see the ball flight but not the body mechanics.
• Straight-on from the front - you lose the side profile of the kicking leg.
• From far away - if you can't see their feet clearly in the frame, the AI can't either.

Lighting and conditions

Film in daylight when you can. The Gemini vision model is genuinely good, but it can't analyse what it can't see. Overcast days are actually ideal - even light, no harsh shadows.

Avoid backlight. If the sun is behind your child (so they're silhouetted), the AI will struggle to pick up body landmarks. Move so the sun is behind you, lighting your child's front.

Artificial floodlighting is fine. If you're training on a club pitch at night under floodlights, that's perfectly usable - just get as close as your phone's frame allows.

What to film for different techniques

Shooting and finishing: Film from the side, the full approach and follow-through. One shot per clip is ideal.

Passing: Film from the side, showing the plant foot and the passing leg's swing. A couple of passes in a row is fine.

First touch / ball control: Film from the side, with the ball being played in to your child and their first touch. A serve from 5-10 metres away works well.

Weak-foot work: The same as above, but make sure the clip clearly shows which foot they're using - a side angle does this naturally.

What to tell the AI (the focus field)

When you upload, you can tell the assistant coach what to focus on. Use it - it sharpens the feedback considerably. Examples:

• "My 13-year-old's right-foot shooting technique - focus on the plant foot and follow-through."
• "First touch with the left foot - is the ball getting away from them?"
• "Passing technique - why do their passes keep going to the right?"

A specific focus prompt turns a good analysis into a great one.

The honest bit

Even with perfect filming, the AI is an assistant, not a definitive scout. It's excellent at spotting technique mechanics - body shape, plant-foot placement, knee angle, follow-through. It can't read the tactical context of a full match, and it can't replace the human relationship between a player and their real coach.

But for a parent standing on a Saturday-morning sideline who wants to help their child improve between club sessions? A 10-second clip and 90 seconds of feedback beats guessing every time.

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Ready to try it? Film a short clip of your child's technique using the tips above, and upload it for a free first analysis - no credit card required.