diff --git a/croppa/main.py b/croppa/main.py
index 0cd425c..42571e2 100644
--- a/croppa/main.py
+++ b/croppa/main.py
@@ -1640,34 +1640,47 @@ class VideoEditor:
         # First try template matching if enabled (much better than optical flow)
         if self.template_matching_enabled and self.tracking_template is not None:
             if self.current_display_frame is not None:
-                # Use the raw display frame to avoid recursion
-                raw_frame = self.current_display_frame.copy()
-                if raw_frame is not None:
-                    # Track template in raw frame
-                    result = self.track_template(raw_frame)
-                    if result:
-                        center_x, center_y, confidence = result
-                        print(f"DEBUG: Template match found at ({center_x}, {center_y}) with confidence {confidence:.2f}")
-                        
-                        # Map from raw frame coordinates to rotated frame coordinates
-                        # We need to account for rotation and crop transformations
-                        if self.rotation_angle == 90:
-                            # 90° clockwise rotation
-                            rot_x = self.frame_height - center_y
-                            rot_y = center_x
-                        elif self.rotation_angle == 180:
-                            # 180° rotation
-                            rot_x = self.frame_width - center_x
-                            rot_y = self.frame_height - center_y
-                        elif self.rotation_angle == 270:
-                            # 270° clockwise rotation
-                            rot_x = center_y
-                            rot_y = self.frame_width - center_x
-                        else:
-                            # No rotation
-                            rot_x, rot_y = center_x, center_y
-                        
-                        return (rot_x, rot_y)
+                # Use only the cropped region for much faster template matching
+                if self.crop_rect:
+                    crop_x, crop_y, crop_w, crop_h = self.crop_rect
+                    # Extract only the cropped region
+                    cropped_frame = self.current_display_frame[crop_y:crop_y+crop_h, crop_x:crop_x+crop_w]
+                    if cropped_frame is not None and cropped_frame.size > 0:
+                        # Track template in cropped frame (much faster!)
+                        result = self.track_template(cropped_frame)
+                        if result:
+                            center_x, center_y, confidence = result
+                            print(f"DEBUG: Template match found at ({center_x}, {center_y}) with confidence {confidence:.2f}")
+                            
+                            # Map from cropped frame coordinates to rotated frame coordinates
+                            # Add crop offset back
+                            rot_x = center_x + crop_x
+                            rot_y = center_y + crop_y
+                            
+                            return (rot_x, rot_y)
+                else:
+                    # No crop - use full frame
+                    raw_frame = self.current_display_frame.copy()
+                    if raw_frame is not None:
+                        result = self.track_template(raw_frame)
+                        if result:
+                            center_x, center_y, confidence = result
+                            print(f"DEBUG: Template match found at ({center_x}, {center_y}) with confidence {confidence:.2f}")
+                            
+                            # Map from raw frame coordinates to rotated frame coordinates
+                            if self.rotation_angle == 90:
+                                rot_x = self.frame_height - center_y
+                                rot_y = center_x
+                            elif self.rotation_angle == 180:
+                                rot_x = self.frame_width - center_x
+                                rot_y = self.frame_height - center_y
+                            elif self.rotation_angle == 270:
+                                rot_x = center_y
+                                rot_y = self.frame_width - center_x
+                            else:
+                                rot_x, rot_y = center_x, center_y
+                            
+                            return (rot_x, rot_y)
         
         # Fall back to feature tracking if enabled - but use smooth interpolation instead of averaging
         if self.feature_tracker.tracking_enabled: