Feedz Testimonial: James Venn, Dulwich Village FC

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James Venn, a coach at Dulwich Village FC, explains how Feedz lets him write half-season reports in about 90 seconds per player, and how two of his players acted on their reports in the very next match.

Before you started using Feedz, what pain points were you facing?

Before the club started using Feedz, player feedback was an area which was pretty much overlooked. Coaches were provided with a piece of paper to fill in for players on an annual basis. Most of the coaches didn't fill in the paper and provide feedback to parents and players, and for those that did, the quality of the feedback was not at the level it should be. We scored players based on tactical, technical, and physical, and there was a lack of qualitative feedback, or real depth and substance, to the reports. So, a scenario whereby 50+ coaches were being asked to provide feedback and probably less than 10 were actually doing it. This obviously provides a lack of engagement with parents, and in some cases, a lack of motivation for players who were not receiving the right feedback, whether positive reinforcement or constructive criticism, on a regular basis.

Because we operate multiple teams at each age group level, at the end of a season, players were also being moved up and down between the teams within the club. These conversations were hard, parents often citing the lack of feedback during the season, and therefore were surprised that their son or daughter was being moved down a team. So using the app mitigates against this; regular feedback can provide parents with a good, a better, sense of how their child's doing on a more regular basis, and therefore managing these conversations at the end of the season can be a lot more straightforward.

How has Feedz elevated the overall experience within the club?

As one of the few coaches at Dulwich Village who was providing feedback to parents, I'd resorted to offering telephone calls to parents at Christmas and at the end of the season. These telephone calls, of which maybe half the squad, maybe 10 of the parents would take up, tended to last about 20 minutes to half an hour for each call. Therefore, [this] took up quite a substantial period of my time alongside all the other duties with volunteering to manage and coach football teams.

The biggest benefit for me with Feedz has been the time-saving factor. The fact that I can create these half-seasonal reports in about 90 seconds per player, and also the quality of these reports, both in terms of the depth that we can go into very, very quickly, and the level of professionalism, how the reports look, and how they sound, and the extra value that parents and players feel that they receive. I've also noticed that players are reading and responding to the reports and responding to the points made in the reports at matches and training sessions following the distribution of the reports to them. So, beyond the word in the ear on the touchline, which happens sporadically across seasons, there's now a sort of comprehensive and structured report which players are looking at and thinking about how they can address both in training and in matches.

Feedz is big for saving time, but also it looks like players are motivated by these reports and actually, it's having an effect on their development as footballers as well, which is really, really important. It's just a more professional service. And a service that is engaging with parents and players and having an impact in terms of their motivation as young footballers as well.

What kind of feedback have you received from parents and players since you implemented Feedz?

Since producing the reports, I've had great feedback from parents, thanking me, saying they'd never seen anything like this before, and also parents agreeing with the points that I've made in relation to their child and their child's football development. And advising me that they'd be looking to reinforce these points over the coming days and weeks with their sons. So really great feedback from parents, but the best examples have come back actually from players themselves. So two examples, one relates to a player who plays as a centre back and plays as a leader the way he plays, but he's very quiet around the team and the squad. So one of the constructive points I made to him in his report was that I wanted him to become more vocal because I felt that the way he played was as a leader, and I felt that he had the respect of his teammates and could become a leader in the team. After the next match when we actually lost, it was our first defeat in quite a few games, and at the end of my post-match debrief, when I asked the team if anyone had anything to say, he stepped forward and gave a 45 second overview of the game and how the team shouldn't feel too despondent because they'd all played really well and we could look forward to next week because there are so many positives to take out of the game. The boy is 14 years old, so he really stood up, and he looked at the report and decided he was going to act on it.

And in a similar manner, there was another boy who continued to shoot from outside of the area using his instep as opposed to his laces for extra power. The controlled shots you were taking were not troubling goalkeepers in any way. So I was encouraging him to shoot with more intensity and aggression. In the next match we played, he took a shot from outside the area, and he used his instep again. At the end of the game, I looked at him, and I was like, "That was a shooting opportunity", and he said, "I know, coach, I should have just smashed it with my laces." And I was like, "Ah, you read the report, did you?" And he said, "I did, and you're right."

So again, just a sign that players are looking at these reports and trying to act on them and understanding the feedback that's given so clearly to them and trying to incorporate it into their games.

In what ways has Feedz helped your club stand out?

First and foremost, Feedz provides players within the club with comprehensive and deep reports on their performance and their development as footballers. This builds trust and engagement with the players and with the parents as well, and this is a real core benefit. Other clubs in the area simply aren't using innovations such as these, so it will give the club benefits in terms of attracting and retaining talent and players, and the best talent and players within the region, with other sporting organisations, it's a competitive marketplace. I do think it establishes the club as a leader in using technical innovations. But not just using them for the sake of using them, using them for the benefit and the development of the players that sign up for the club.

What has surprised you about Feedz?

I think the feature, if you like, of the Feedz app, which has most surprised me, is the quality of the reporting. And not just the accurate representation of what you've said, but the app's ability to embellish and amplify what you say, but doing that in a way that still accurately reflects the meaning behind the feedback that you provide. In the case of football, it might use words that you don't use in your report, such as versatile or consistent to describe a player or a player's performance, words that you haven't used in your voice note, but that absolutely accurately portray what you want to say. So, you're creating a 32-second voice note, and you're receiving a detailed, comprehensive report that looks like it's taken 30 minutes to write, and this is hugely impressive and powerful in terms of providing the players and the parents with the feedback.

If you were speaking to an Executive Director who is on the fence about implementing Feedz, what would you tell them?

For sports organisations that aren't supplying their academies and junior players with feedback, they should be. Feedback is absolutely a must-have in all forms of education, and yet sports coaching is an area where it doesn't exist. If it's not happening, it should be happening. And if it is happening, it's probably taken your organisation a lot of time, and there's a massive utility with Feedz in the huge time saving, the huge saving in administration that the app can generate for you and your organisation. It's really easy to set up, really easy to use, and like I said, it saves a whole lot of time and creates a really professional perspective and image for the organisation that you work for.

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