Using a Digital Camera to Boost Your Business
Published in Tennis Industry Magazine, February 2003
by Joe Dinoffer -
February 01, 2003
In the late 1960's tennis teachers first started using video replay for stroke analysis. If you were around during those years you'll recall that players were filmed on-court and then brought inside for viewing and commentary (often long-winded). Then, around 1990 the first single unit video camera was developed by Sharp Electronics. The Sharp Viewcam quickly became the leader of the pack. This technology was quickly replicated by many different manufacturers, since it conveniently allowed for quick video feedback right on-court, even including slow-motion replay. Today, video cameras have gotten more and more compact and pricing has continued to drop, even for digital versions.
While still cameras don't bring the drama of video replay to the courts, many teaching pros have used Polaroid snapshots to augment their teaching program, by giving students take-home photos of themselves looking good on-court.
The point of all this history is to demonstrate that the old adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" still holds up to scrutiny. In recent years, however, technology has taken another huge leap forwards with the advent of the digital camera. If you're not yet taking advantage of this relatively affordable technology, but are sitting on the fence of indecision, this article may convince you to jump on the bandwagon. Certainly the following benefits of using a digital camera are quite compelling. Before starting I want to acknowledge the work of veteran teaching pro Andy Ventress, who has led the way in educating tennis teaches on the benefits of digital technology.
The point is that hundreds of teaching pros and coaches are starting to use digital cameras to add value to their teaching and coaching. How and what do they do? Besides the basics of shooting members and club events to post on your website, here are a handful of ideas to get you started. Remember that most digital cameras these days have the ability to shoot short video segments as well.
- Consider that most students need video for something far more important than just seeing their strokes. What could be more important than seeing their strokes, you ask? A clinical study conducted by Dr. Jack Groppel of LGE concluded that most tennis players actually will not believe that they are doing something wrong until they see it. In fact, I remember him joking that one student, upon seeing the way their backhand looked on camera, went so far as to deny it was even them on the screen! Therefore, since (generally speaking) seeing is believing, getting them to believe that they need help is the first priority to speed up the learning process. One more reason and proof why verbal instructions are limited in effectiveness.
- Here's another interesting idea for teaching. Just film the flight of the ball to demonstrate how effective or not effective various shots are. For example, when working with students on hitting more penetrating groundstrokes, you can film the arc of the ball over the net and the peak of its flight in relation to the bounce of the ball. Keep in mind that with today's digital cameras it is very easy to shoot a quick segment and, either erase it or save it, and then shoot another depending on the amount of memory on your disk. Plus, remember that today's cameras often have the capability of replaying in both slow motion and frame by frame, both especially helpful in evaluating tennis strokes.
- Since you can easily download digital images and mpegs onto your computer, you can also create a convenient library to track and document your students' improvement. Then, at the right time, you can either send the images or show your students their progress under your tutelage.
- On an even more creative note, how about taking digital images of special members or players in action and then sending them in an e-mail attachment as a birthday gift? Or, better yet, send them to the parent or spouse weeks ahead of the birthday so they can use the images themselves for invitations to a birthday party they may be planning. Great way to deepen their appreciation of the job you do at their facility.
- Finally, consider that every facility has special events, whether they be club dinners or an annual awards banquet. The pictures and video footage you take through the year can easily be incorporated into a PowerPoint presentation that everyone will enjoy. When it comes to this new technology, you are really only limited by your imagination!
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