VOD Reviews: Let’s Talk About What They Are And Why You Should Be Doing Them More Often
“Sometimes players have a hard time remembering what emotions they felt when playing a game so VOD reviews can help spark some of the feelings that they felt during the set itself.”
Talk to the head coach or analyst for any professional or collegiate esports team and you will learn that VOD reviews are a key and integral part of the coaching process. For those who don’t know what a VOD review is, it is a form of practice where a team sits down for a session and looks through their footage from previous scrims or matches to identify their mistakes and improve upon them. For many teams, this takes place daily or multiple times a week.
We reached out to Steven “Flubby” Coronel, the current head coach of the Vancouver Titans; Mason “Locus” Charlton, an ex smash player and current coach; Peter “Panders” Anders, the University of British Columbia’s (UBC) competitive team manager; Coach Josh “Thumper”, the head Overwatch coach at the University of Oklahoma; and Kyle “A_D1R3W0LF” Burton, a Mizzou Esports Analyst to see how they utilize VOD reviews with their respective teams and players. Here’s the breakdown of what they said:
VOD reviews provide a fresh perspective of each player’s game play
VOD reviews provide individuals with the opportunity to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of previous game play performance. When players are immersed in moments of game play, coaches and players are left with a limited perspective on what is happening in the match. Players cannot have a third-person perspective on the entire game since they are limited to what they can see on their own screens, and coaches are not engaged directly in the game play. Like a story, one needs multiple perspectives to piece together what actually happens.
VOD reviews offer a solution to this limited perspective bias by allowing teams to sit down and analyze exactly what happened in a match — thus allowing them to see what mistakes were made and what measures they can take to avoid a loss when faced with a similar situation in the future. Furthermore, the availability of these multiple perspectives allows coaches to understand what their players were thinking during the match and analyze what information the players had at hand before they made that decision. A Lack of information or incorrect information can make a difference between whether a fight is won or lost in most FPS games; so having the ability to put oneself in the shoes of their players can help coaches understand why mistakes were made and how to avoid them in the future.
When asked about how VOD reviews can offer new perspectives on game play, Vancouver Titan's Head Coach, Flubby reaffirms our views by saying:
“VOD reviews are a way that teams can improve on their macro and micro gameplay. The reviews provide coaches and analysts the chance to go through each match or fight in detail from their team’s point of view or from their enemies’ point of view.”
VOD reviews are crucial for a team’s improvement and success
VOD reviews are crucial for a team’s success because it allows them to plan out what needs to be done in order to improve. There is no point in having the team watch all their footage only to go into practice the day having learnt nothing. In a VOD review session, it is imperative that the team engages in discussion about why certain plays were made and talk about what options they can choose in order to win when faced with a similar situation in the future.
UBC’s Team Manager, Panders echos this sentiment by telling us about this experience as a competitive team manager:
“ It is through VOD reviews, the team can better understand what happened and what could have happened if they had played differently. It benefits the team by letting them see what all their options were and what the best option actually was. So when players are faced with a similar situation in a future game, they will know what their best option is and how to execute it.”
VOD reviews can help teams set goals that will help them improve
When VOD reviews are done well, teams can clearly establish what their main issues are and what they can do in order to fix them. Identifying these mistakes is incredibly useful for goal setting and allows the team to plan what needs to be practiced and what strategies need to be in place in order to succeed in their next matches. After goal setting, all that’s left to do is to practice so that teams can succeed in future matches.
When asked how he implements VOD reviews in his coaching, Mizzou Esports’ Analyst, A_D1R3W0LF mirrored this sentiment, stating that:
“A team VOD review gives coaches the chance to go over things like team composition, positioning and set plays with the entire team, which is very important if the team wants to improve and avoid repeating the same mistakes.”
University of Oklahoma’s Head Coach, Thumper adds:
“A VOD review is a tool to show both individual and team based concepts, mistakes and strategies. It is the most efficient tool for Overwatch coaches as it allows for in-depth analysis of a variety of different approaches. It allows coaches to take specific angles or fights and break them down. In addition, it allows the players to watch their own performance without having to be engaged with it at the same time.”
VOD reviews can help players better understand and process the emotions they experience in game
A perspective not always considered in discussions of improvement in game play is how mental and emotional processing can have significant effects on player performance. It might be surprising to hear that re-watching previous game play during VOD review sessions can help players improve, but Locus, a mental and performance coach assures us that it is something he does with most of the players he works with.
When asked to elaborate on how VOD reviews can help players with mental and emotional processing, Locus tells us:
“Sometimes players have a hard time remembering what emotions they felt when playing a game so VOD reviews can help spark some of the feelings that they felt during the set itself. Re-watching previous matches help jog their memories on how certain interactions made them feel. Since esports involves a lot of high pressure situations, when emotions are involved, players lose their focus.”
As a coach, Locus believes that by further analyzing one’s emotions in high pressure situations, players can avoid triggers for emotions that would hinder their performance in the future, or they can work on removing the power of those emotions so that they can stay focused on the task at hand.
Do you have any advice for new players or coaches on how to better utilize VOD reviews?
Flubby: The best piece of advice for new coaches who want to use VOD reviews is to stay organized. Knowing what exactly you want to cover when talking to your team or knowing what examples you want to use can be greatly imp
Locus: Like the gym, even for beginners, just trying it out and doing whatever they are able to do is going to be a massive help, even when you are starting small and are slowly working up to things. The way I use VOD reviews varies from each student as there are different areas for each student that are important to focus on. So I’d say you should familiarize yourself with your players’ weaknesses and strengths and use VOD reviews to help them improve accordingly.
Thumper: Show your players, don’t tell them. One of the main advantages of a VOD is the ability to slow it down and even draw to make a point both visually and aurally.
A_D1R3W0LF: I would say that the most important thing is to keep things simple and only focus on one or two things at a time. If you try to discuss too many things at once the VOD review will take too long and your players might get burnt out and might learn less optimally.
To learn what the Pros are using for VOD Review, check out our introductory blog post here!
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