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Kickstart your career as football scout
Video Scouting Basics
A comprehensive introduction to the essential foundations of video scouting.
Course overview
Marco van der Heide, a former professional football player and founder of 360 Scouting, brings nearly a decade of hands-on experience working with top-tier clubs. He shares his expertise in video scouting and match analysis.
Kickstart your career with 10 on-demand lectures, offering a complete introduction to football video scouting, from player evaluation to team tactics.
Unlock the secrets of effective scouting with advanced methods like data-driven analysis, positional expertise, and tactical alignment using tools like Wyscout.
Learn how to analyze players and report actionable evaluations to support recruitment decisions, gaining skills used by professional scouts worldwide.
How you benefit
Launch your
scouting career
Learn from an
industry expert
Master key
tools & concepts
Boost your
personal impact
Who is this course for?
Beginning scouts worldwide
This scouting course is specifically designed for those who want to begin a career as a football scout. You will learn the fundamental concepts of scouting and the skills needed to excel in this field. It doesn’t matter where you live or what your background is; all you need is a good understanding of English, a laptop with a reliable internet connection, and a passion for the game.
Taught by an industry expert
With years of experience across various clubs, settings, and levels, Marco has deep knowledge of what it takes to excel as a video scout.
Marco
van der Heide
Tutor of this course
Marco van der Heide is a former professional football player and the founder of 360 Scouting. After his active career, Marco has become a video scouting expert, spending thousands of hours analyzing matches and players.
For almost ten years, he has worked for professional clubs, individually or through 360 Scouting. At AZ Alkmaar, he reported to current Liverpool head coach Arne Slot as their opposition analyst. As a video scout, Marco worked for various clubs, ranging from Champions League teams to second-tier clubs.
What others say about Marco
Time investment
This course program includes ten online on-demand lectures with videos that total XX hours. You will need to spend some time practicing the techniques, but you have the freedom to determine how much practice you wish to undertake. You can choose when and where to take the lessons at your convenience.
Course program
The course begins by outlining the objective of scouting, highlighting its importance in assisting the sporting director and facilitating effective recruitment decisions. Scouts are responsible for identifying players who not only possess high quality but are also available and fit well with the club’s tactical and cultural values. Comprehending this foundational purpose is essential for successful scouting.
Next, we explore Player Evaluation Methods, presenting three main approaches: data scouting, video scouting, and live scouting. You will learn how to balance objectivity, context, and qualitative insights to form a complete picture of a player’s abilities. When used in combination, these methods enable scouts to evaluate talent holistically.
In the section on Scouting Strategies, we introduce three essential scouting methodologies. These strategies provide structured frameworks for identifying talent, from regional specialists building local networks to funnel-based approaches that leverage data analytics and multi-stage evaluations.
Understanding the Club’s Organizational Chart is crucial for scouts aiming to navigate the complexities of professional football. This module outlines the hierarchical structure, from scouts to the sporting director, and explains how recommendations flow through the system. You will gain insights into the decision-making processes that balance technical, financial, and strategic considerations.
To excel as a scout, you must master the nuances of Football Actions. This lesson will teach you to analyze individual contributions effectively, from passing and pressing to transitions and styles of play. By understanding this crucial element, scouts can evaluate players in the context of their roles and create a strong basis for effective reporting.
Team Tactics are essential for evaluating players during scouting. They reflect the coach’s strategic approach and significantly influence individual behaviors on the field. Scouts must understand these tactics, as players’ actions are shaped by collective goals and instructions. This lesson will teach you to analyze team contributions and strategies effectively.
Building on the tactical foundation established in the previous lessons, this course examines player positions and competencies, highlighting the unique skills required for each role on the pitch. Scouts will learn to identify players’ strengths, weaknesses, and positional fit to enhance team performance. This module is essential for tailoring evaluations to meet specific positional needs.
Effective communication is a vital skill for any scout, and the course addresses this in the Reporting on Players module. You will learn to present your findings through player ratings, competency assessments, and written reports, ensuring that your insights are clear, structured, and actionable for decision-makers.
This lesson explores the steps and skills needed to build a successful career as a professional scout in football. Scouting is a demanding yet rewarding profession, and aspiring scouts must hone a combination of technical, analytical, and interpersonal skills to stand out. The lesson outlines seven key areas to focus on and provides actionable advice for optimizing the chances of breaking into the field.
This lesson provides an overview of Wyscout, a top platform for video scouting in professional football. It highlights key features and shows how scouts can enhance player evaluation using extensive video footage, statistics, and analytics. Understanding how to effectively use Wyscout is essential for modern scouting.
Frequently Asked Questions
This course will help aspiring football video scouts gain the skills and knowledge needed to kickstart their careers. It covers player evaluation, scouting strategies, and using professional tools like Wyscout.
The course is led by Marco van der Heide, a former professional football player and experienced video scout with nearly a decade of experience working with top-tier clubs.
We offer multiple payment options: credit card, PayPal, and multiple other popular options.
Since the course is on-demand, you can progress at your own pace. Most participants complete it in a few weeks while taking breaks between the lessons.
The program consists of 10 on-demand video lectures that you can access anytime, allowing you to study at your own pace.
The course spans six weeks, with three lectures and three individual assignments.
- Video meetings (fixed time slots): 4 hours
- Assignments (in your own time): ~8 hours
- Total 12 hours
We offer various football scouting courses, including Video Scouting Insights, designed for advanced scouts. Explore our complete course overview for more details.
After completing the course, you can request a personalized certificate of completion with your name, which can help showcase your skills to potential employers.
You only need a good understanding of English, a reliable internet connection, and the ambition to become a better football scout.
Yes, technical support is available via email.
You need only an internet-connected device. Accessing the course requires no specific software other than a browser.
Yes, the course provides essential skills and knowledge to help you pursue a career as a video scout. However, it does not offer any additional benefits in our application procedure.
The course equips you with essential skills and insights into professional scouting, providing a solid foundation to pursue opportunities in football clubs or related organizations.
Questions?
We are here to help you
Ready to take your scouting skills to the next level?
The course is limited to 12 participants to ensure interaction and personalized attention, so don’t wait too long to enroll.