Rewire, Don’t Reinforce: Coaching with Video That Works

Featured Image: Kitzbühel video position. Credit: GEPA

Video Philosophy

Most athletes and coaches agree they watch video to improve technique or tactics. Ideally, that change leads to progress. However, if misused, video can reinforce the wrong habits, leading to undesirable outcomes. Video can be a double-edged sword. To use it effectively, we need to understand how the brain responds. Therefore, let’s first examine how the brain works.

Neurons and Synapses

Think of the brain as a small box filled with wires.  These wires can’t light up or power anything until an electrician connects them to a power source. These wires are neurons and the electrician’s connections are synapses, which determine whether the porch light turns on or the kitchen blender speeds up. The blue wire might power the light and the green wire the blender. If the electrician wants to turn an oven on, he needs to find the correct wire and the specific connection.

Memory Trace

A process called long-term potentiation strengthens synaptic connections, which form neural pathways. Think of these like trails we walk and hike. A new trail might begin as just a few footprints in tall grass. Each time we walk on it, more vegetation is crushed, twigs snap and rocks are displaced. Eventually, only dirt is left. The path becomes clear—just like a well-established neural pathway in the brain.

Engrams

Just as repeated footsteps carve a trail, watching video repeatedly reinforces the actions shown. This builds an engram—a lasting neural pattern. Each viewing activates the same neural pathways, which become more stable and dominant over time. Repetition emphasizes certain traits in the performance and whether good or bad, those traits stick. If the coach keeps pointing something out, that’s what the athlete will repeat when they return to snow.

Mirror Neurons

When athletes watch video, special brain cells called mirror neurons activate. These neurons allow the brain to imitate the actions it sees. Watching a solid performance helps reinforce good habits. However, watching flawed technique can have the opposite effect. If the brain absorbs undesirable movement, the skier may reinforce those mistakes.

Ironic Process Theory

Many coaches rely on video to point out errors, assuming that awareness leads to improvement. This makes sense on the surface, but it often backfires—just like when someone says, “Don’t think of a pink elephant.” You can’t help but picture one. The brain doesn’t handle “not” very well.

The same thing happens in coaching. If a coach says, “Do not lean in,” the athlete hears “lean in.” The brain focuses on the directive, not the warning. This reinforces the wrong habit. Instead of avoiding the mistake, the skier keeps repeating it. Instead, coaches should replace negative cues with positive direction. Say what to do, not what to avoid. The brain wants to visualize a goal—it needs something to move toward, not away from.

Watching Your Errors or Watching an Expert?

If we don’t want to think of the pink elephant, why mention it? The same logic applies to video. When a coach highlights an error, it could reinforce the wrong movement. The athlete’s attention drifts toward whatever gets pointed out.

To develop positive change, show the athlete the improved performance. Help them visualize a cleaner technique to stimulate their mirror neurons and imprint the correct movement in the brain.  Athletes learn best by example, and better examples lead to better results.

Communication

Coaches only need to say what they want the athlete to do. Nothing else. The athlete must follow that rule even more strictly. If someone asks what you’re working on, don’t say, “I’m leaning in, so I need to create more angulation.” That reinforces the problem. Instead, say, “I’m creating more angulation.”

Never say or think the negative action. Thinking about the error reinforces it. Saying it out loud is much worse. Train the brain to take ownership of an action by feeding it the right message.

Viewing Aspect

Camera angle matters. If you want to promote a more vertical spine in slalom, don’t film from the side—where the skier naturally tilts forward. That angle distorts the message. Shoot from above or below the hill to show the posture you want to see.

Additionally, athletes often struggle with reversing images. Watching from the traditional up-the-hill view can confuse the brain. A follow-cam or other down-the-hill perspective works better. Research shows that video matching the athlete’s viewpoint enhances mental imagery and facilitates the brain’s ability to absorb the message.

How Much to Watch

Use video sparingly. Coach Felix McGrath used this strategy when he helped develop Norway’s powerhouse World Cup technical team. He didn’t overanalyze. He didn’t bury athletes in freeze-frames and overexposure. He chose one or two key visuals—just enough to keep the brain sharp and focused.

More video doesn’t mean better results. In fact, it usually means confusion. Pick the right clip. Make the point. Then get back on snow. Less is more—and more is just noise.

Ecphory

If the video session works, the brain rewires. The right images create positive neural change. Ideally, the video shows exactly what the athlete wants in their skiing. But even if it doesn’t, the brain still absorbs what it sees—for better or worse.

That’s why consistency matters. Coaches and athletes should use the same key words, cues, and phrases from video to snow. When spoken on snow, those triggers replay the images stored in the brain. The video loads the file; the snow session hits play.

Depth of Knowledge

Coaches need deep knowledge of both technique and tactic—not just what’s wrong, but what’s better. Spotting mistakes isn’t enough. You have to know what action should replace them.

If a skier keeps dumping their hip in, don’t keep showing the hip dump. That only reinforces it. Show the fix. Present the better option. Highlight the movement you want the brain to learn. If you want a different output, feed it a different input.

Conclusion

The goal of video is to create positive change. That change begins with what you choose to show. The brain builds movement patterns based on what it sees. Show elite performance, and the brain starts to copy it. Show the wrong thing, and the athlete locks it in instead.

With sufficient quality repetition, those new neural pathways become established. They become part of the athlete’s default performance. Whatever you emphasize—good or bad—will show up on snow. Make sure you’re pointing out the right thing.