Here to explain: From VHS to AI - how video analysis makes a team better
HERE TO EXPLAIN is a new series before the Men’s EHF EURO 2024 in Germany, focusing on the “teams behind the teams,” those extra-ordinary essential staff members who are usually hot under the spotlight. The series starts with Vincent Griveau, the video analyst of the French team. He explains how digitalisation and technology changed his job and how his analysis helps the coach during the match.
It was back in 2004, at the Olympic Games in Athens, when Vincent Griveau started as the video analyst of the French team. Skilled as a handball coach and using a video camera, he became a staff member in the men’s squad – and still does this job today under constantly changing technical environments. “In 2004, we filmed the matches on VHS and had to pay for the DVD of the matches. You definitely cannot compare it to today’s work.”
After the 2007 World Championship, the French federation started a project for a new way of analysing the matches, players, and upcoming challengers. Vincent Griveau was part of the team, supported by technology and software experts – and after one year of testing, the system worked. Mainly, it was about implementing new servers and data storage, but also the best use of our video analysis software. “It was a technical revolution of my work and a key moment when we realised what is possible with the new technology, as we could store huge amounts of data now and had a new way to tag the matches.”
Today, players and coaches use cloud-stored match analysis combined with other tracking data daily. “They are used to it, and our coach Guillaume Gille is a king of technology,” says Griveau, who constantly prepares videos for every player to prepare him for upcoming matches and improve his performance.
Currently, Vincent Griveau is working on the videos of the EHF EURO opponents, not only from national team matches but also using all accessible data from club matches.
“In those club matches, you see the current evolution of the playing systems and the tactic. Our players and opponents are part of this system, so I have to analyse national teams and clubs to have an up-to-date database.”
Every week, Griveau has online calls with the coaches to present and discuss his videos and data; in the upcoming weeks, there will be individual online meetings with every player to review the crucial parts of his analysis. “For example, Ludovic Fabregas and I will meet this week to discuss defence only. We will go through many clips, and of course, the players can access this database permanently with their devices like smartphones or iPads whenever they want to check something.”
Supported by an IT engineer, Griveau has just set up his newest “baby”, an AI-supported way of filming, tagging, and composing the clips. “With artificial intelligence, our work changed completely. We can analyse loads of data now within seconds; the only job we had to do before was to ‘feed’ the AI program with exactly the situations, sequences, or movements we want to analyse. Before, I checked a play movement with my eyes. Now AI is doing that job – much better than any human being could do, and of course, much faster. So every player receives customised information on everything he needs.”
These new technologies allow Griveau to do his job almost live during the matches. With an AI-programmed camera in the stands that immediately tags the situation it recognises, Griveau informs the assistant coach Erick Mathé via radio and shares the clips. On the bench, the coaches can see what needs to be changed or use the clips during timeouts or half-time.
“As I am also a handball coach, I know what input I should deliver,” says Griveau. “And I hope the coaches make the right decisions with my support. My main job is facilitating the transmission and preparing the data and clips.”
Due to the rapid technological innovation, Griveau is not only using video clips but also data from player tracking provided by Kinexon. “In addition to the videos, such data tell you about the endurance level of a player. We can see from certain movements on video, but also from the tracking data, if a player needs rest or recovery. This performance analysis helps the staff decide, for example, the physical preparations during the training and how much to recover after matches.”
As mentioned, head coach Guillaume Gille is a fan of using as much technology as possible: “He knows that those clips and data help him a lot, but still, the players win a game, not the technology or the video analyst. I am only part of the puzzle.” But this part of the puzzle is digital today.
Photos: Fédération Française de Handball (FFHB) (title picture) & Kolektiff Images (in text and bottom banner)
