Start Saving Your Child’s Soccer Highlight Videos Now! Here’s Why
How highlight videos can help your youth athlete get ahead
If you want to support your youth player in constantly improving, and in reaching a spot on an elite youth team or even college, soccer game videos are one of the most important tools you have.
In this blog we’ll tell you all the top reasons why video highlights of soccer games are so useful. And, a little about the technology teams like Centaurus FC are currently using to capture games.
Reason One: Analyze and Improve Kids’ Skills
There is nothing like seeing themselves playing on video, for youth athletes to understand what they’re doing well and what’s still missing.
Reviewing videos in a training session can be a huge visual help to point out better positioning. Think of it this way: When younger players are on the field, they’re concentrating on so many different things. They are likely to miss some of what was happening around them, until they can see it recorded.
Especially with a panoramic video, explaining abstract ideas like, “You need to switch the field,” or, “Come out of the goal sooner,” is much easier. A youth player can clearly see that moment —and their tactical understanding will likely grow by leaps and bounds.
Being able to slow down the tape also helps with analyzing technique, for example shooting. Is the player’s ankle locked? Body continuing forward after the strike? On a video, it’s much easier to see.
Reason Two: Boost Private 1-to-1 Training Session Success
Parents often tell private trainers what their kids need to work on. But if you can share a video with them, they’re likely to come up with a better training plan.
Seeing a kid playing in a panoramic game video actually helps a coach more than if they were to watch a game from the sidelines.
Noticing lack of courage in taking on defenders, or a failure to make runs in time, is something that an experienced private coach will quickly see on a video. They can then create drills tailored just to your child.
(To book private sessions with Centaurus FC coaches, find out more here.)
Reason Three: To Pre-Qualify for Tryouts for Elite Teams, Talent ID Sessions and Elite Camps
Nowadays, as your youth athlete grows, having a strong video portfolio ready and updated at all times is a definite advantage.
That’s because elite teams past age U12 now often ask for player video to pre-qualify for tryouts. Talent ID events? Same thing.
Even having strong video clips on their soccer-dedicated social media account (for example an Instagram they use only for soccer) can help young players be invited to elite summer camps or other training opportunities.
It’s always better to collect and organize video highlight clips over time, and have them ready, than to need to scramble or pay someone to take extra video at the last minute.
With clubs like Centaurus FC that take panoramic game videos each week, you’ll have access to lots of clips to make your soccer parenting life much easier.
Reason Four: Quality of Play Rankings
MLS Next is one of the U.S.’s two most elite youth soccer leagues for U13 to U19 players. Yet, as of April 2025, their new U13 and U14 rankings completely ignore wins and losses.
Instead, their new “Quality of Play” system has experts from the analytics platform TAKA watching teams’ panoramic game videos, to take note of great moves—including movement without the ball and defensive tactics.
Even if a player’s creative pass doesn’t result in a goal, they can get points for their vision and technical skill. U13 and U14 teams will be ranked only on their players’ Quality of Play points.
At this age, wins and losses “should play less of a role. It should be more about…the technical ability, the formation of the player, helping them understand the game," MLS Next’s Technical Director Luis Robles said to USA Today in a recent article on Quality of Play.
All of this means smart highlight video reels will likely become even more important in gaining a spot on an elite team, as coaches look for technical, high soccer-IQ players who can boost their team’s Quality of Play rankings.
So remember to include not just your child’s goals in their soccer video portfolio, but also smart movement off the ball, and them performing the key skills of their position.
You can see an example of this kind of highlight reel here at right 👉🏽.
TAKA videos will be available to coaches, players, and MLS scouts. For a fee, players can also download clips to send to college recruiters.
More about this next!
