The battery died.
Someone forgot the iPad.
No one volunteered.
The student who did volunteer had some teen drama (that’s caught on audio) and missed three of the most important plays.
There are a lot of barriers when it comes to capturing complete, quality video. There’s a way to get better game film without the cameraman — so you can focus on coaching, not logistics.
“Hudl Focus was built to help teams win by taking out all the pain of getting video into their library,” Jeff Clark, product manager said. “It was designed specifically to integrate with Hudl.”
It’s game time at Harvard-Westlake, and there’s no parent, student manager, JV player or injured team member on the sidelines with a phone, tablet or camera. But that doesn’t mean the game’s not being recorded.
Installed 20-plus feet above the action is Hudl Focus.
Based on the volleyball match schedule entered into Hudl, the camera turns on and begins recording just before the first serve. The intelligent camera system captures an HD angle of the entire court.
“In terms of the overall installation of the mount and camera, I don’t think you can make that part any more simple,” Matt LaCour, Harvard-Westlake athletic director said. “This is going to make our coaches’ lives easier, which is great.”
The camera’s sensors pan and zoom to keep up with the on-court action. It knows what a volleyball or basketball looks like and can distinguish between players and fans, so it never misses a second of the action.
Designer Josef Lang has spent all of 2018 working on the camera’s look, form and feel.
“We often ask, ‘does this team have Hudl?’ What if we can change the question to ‘does this gym have Hudl?’ and level up all our teams where it all starts: with consistent, high-quality video,” Lang said. “Let’s make it happen automatically. While we’re at it, let’s make it affordable. It’s been a massive effort on an incredibly condensed timeline, but our coaches’ and teams’ responses to the product have made it all worth it.
After the game, the Focus camera will upload the video to Harvard-Westlake’s Hudl account and turn off. But during this particular game, Harvard-Westlake’s internet connection is down — and stays that way for another 12 hours. Though Focus needs a working connection to upload, it doesn’t need one to record. When the connection’s back online, the camera turns on and automatically uploads the video.
Focus is reliable inside and out — the hardware has been dropped on concrete from five feet up to test its durability.
“We knew it would be the target of 15 year-old-boys with basketballs,” Clark said. “We’re confident it works when it gets hit a lot.”
Focus camera systems are leased to schools on an annual basis. The camera reports vital data about its software and performance for Hudl’s support team to troubleshoot before it affects an athletic director, coach or team.
250 high schools across the country are beta testing Hudl Focus during the 2018 volleyball and basketball seasons.
“Everyone loves it,” said Kevin Reiman, athletic director at Auburn High School. “I think my cheerleading squad wants to start using it now. They do a lot of recording. I think the functionality of it will just continue to explode as we have more and more people start using it.”
Hudl Focus will be widely released for the 2019 fall season. Join the waitlist here.
Catch a Sneak Peak by watching the video below.
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Players join clubs to gain a competitive advantage and be seen by recruiters at the next level.
In a recent Hudl survey of 1,000 club athletes, more than 56 percent of respondents said their main motivation for playing was earning a scholarship to compete at the college level.
This means club athletes don’t stick with an organization if they aren’t getting the competition or coaching that will help them reach their goals.
More than 75 percent of athletes will change clubs at least once during their careers, and 55 percent will play for at least three.
Michigan Elite is one of the largest volleyball clubs in the Great Lakes region with more than 1,500 athletes and 150+ teams across five locations.
The club started using Hudl’s video review and analysis software in 2012 to retain and attract talent, and give players the tools they need to succeed.
Highlight reels were one of the key features Hudl provided for the club.
Coaches and players could easily create and share top moments with college coaches, which streamlined the recruiting process—and increased scholarship offers.
In their six years of using Hudl, Michigan Elite has seen 123 players recruited to play volleyball at the college level. Their club continues to grow due to its reputation for getting players noticed. (Learn more about how video benefits their club.)
Michigan Elite players aren’t the only ones learning the value of video—78 percent of club athletes surveyed said it was very important to their recruiting process.
The bottom line: If you want to attract and keep top talent, give your players the tools to prepare for the next stage of their careers. Step one is creating the perfect highlight reel.
