Taking Flight
Atlanta Hawks’ Nate Babcock is priming his squad for future NBA success. Hudl Sportscode Is Here
The behind-the-scenes story of our newest product
Cruz Control
Modern analysis sparks rebirth of Mexican football powerhouse
Seeing Success
Rangers FC uses smart cameras to maintain their status
Issue 2 • September 2019
What’s Inside
5 Welcome Hudl’s Chief Product Officer John Wirtz explains how clubs that deliver relevant, meaningful and timely insights have a clear advantage over their peers.
Features 6 Hudl Sportscode Is Here
12 Cruz Control
22 Pathway to the Top
Product manager Paul Arnott shares his experiences as an analyst and provides an inside look at the most advanced edition of Sportscode yet.
Cruz Azul bet on modern video analysis processes to reclaim their seat atop Mexican football.
Video underpins Sydney FC’s blueprint for academy success.
28 Seeing Success
34 Higher Learning
38 Join the Club
Smart camera technology helps Rangers FC maintain their status as a giant in the Scottish Premier League.
For players on the U.S. women’s national volleyball team, video is crucial to reaching an even deeper understanding of the game.
The introduction of Hudl to the North Harbour Rugby Union has connected their clubs like never before.
44 From Lincoln to Chiavari Hudl and Wyscout join forces to connect the world’s game, revolutionise performance and improve recruitment workflows.
Interviews
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18 Q&A with Nate Babcock
42 No Analyst Left Behind
Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Nate Babcock believes video analysis has prepared the young squad for success next season and beyond.
Manager of Customer Solutions Dan Nesbitt details how Hudl’s customer education offerings can help analysts meet today’s biggest demands.
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September 2019
Cruz Azul shares the three key areas where video analysis supported their renewed success. (p. 12)
Hudl Headquarters Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
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F ORE WARD
The Information Explosion Today’s teams face more demands than ever before. Video and data may be everywhere, but making sense of all of it and turning it into actionable insights is a challenge. We have the privilege of working with organizations at every level of play across 35+ sports. Throughout our experiences and collaborations with coaches and analysts, one thing has become abundantly clear—clubs that can deliver insights that are relevant, meaningful and at the right pace have a clear advantage over their peers. These are the clubs you’ll hear from in this issue. Take the Scottish Premiership’s Rangers FC. They use IP cameras to impact their decisions on match day. Then there’s the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks—they’ve discovered new ways to simplify their video review process. And Australian A-League champions Sydney FC are using video review in their academy to develop young players into full-time professionals. These are just a few examples of how technology can help teams meet today’s demands. We share even more stories of innovation in this issue, along with some exciting news regarding the next generation of Sportscode and the newest addition to the Hudl family. We hope these stories inspire your club to identify the tools and workflows that will drive major improvements on the field.
John Wirtz, Hudl CPO
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Hudl Sportscode Is Here AN INSIDE LOOK AT OUR NEWEST PRODUCT 6
Hudl Magazine
September 2019
Product Manager Paul Arnott discusses the new Hudl Sportscode, how the project unfolded and how excited he is for the future of Hudl’s flagship elite analysis software.
Paul, tell us about your history with Sportscode and why a new product was needed. I first came across Sportscode in 2002 when I used it for scouting at a national tournament. I found it to be incredibly powerful, and made use of it whenever I could throughout my coaching career. In 2010, I had the opportunity to become a video coordinator with a pro team, so I pretty much lived in Sportscode for the next four years. In 2014, with careers in software development and sports administration behind me, I was lucky enough to join the Sportscode team. Now I’m the product manager of Sportscode. I lead a diverse team of experts that design, develop, test and release a new version every two weeks. This is the team that has worked together over the last 18 or so months to create Hudl Sportscode. Sportscode has a great history, and in many ways it was ahead of its time. It pioneered video analysis for sport on the Mac platform, and was built before Apple provided modern frameworks for processing video. Over the years, successive releases increased its value for thousands of teams around the world. But as more modern technology became available, and Apple announced it was removing support for 32-bit applications, it was obvious that Sportscode needed a big shift to stay at the forefront of the industry. We decided to completely rebuild the product, maintaining the same level of power and customisation, whilst also adding some valuable enhancements.
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Where do you even start with a project like this? Knowing what our users wanted and needed was crucial, so we spoke to analysts and coaches across a range of sports around the world. The first thing we did on the project itself was rebuild the core components that effectively make up the engine of Sportscode: timeline, video player, code window and capture. We put a lot of effort into creating a stable architecture and a solid platform for future development, which will allow us to move quickly and adapt to the ever-changing needs of the market. Along the way, we evaluated all the existing workflows and decided which could be improved. We carried out a lot of user research to identify a set of the most commonly used workflows—and the most frustrating. We set about fixing these, acting on feedback from beta testers along the way.
In the latter stages of the project, we were also able to add some valuable new features to further simplify the life of analysts, video coordinators and coaches. We could move a lot quicker on these than ever before because of the new, more stable platform.
More than 200 organisations have tested Hudl Sportscode and helped us identify and prioritise issues and enhancements. Their feedback has been invaluable and has me really excited about where this new product will take performance analysis.
Record from multiple IP cameras at practice or training.
So what differences will users notice in the new Hudl Sportscode? We knew capturing multiple angles of video was a pain point for users. Each angle needs its own computer, which means it takes a lot of effort to set up and pack up equipment, and then there’s more work to align angles afterwards. We knew we had to fix it. In Hudl Sportscode, it’s simple to record from multiple IP cameras at practice or training. You just need to configure
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and select your IP feeds, press record to start capturing, and press stop at the end. It really is as simple as that. All of the angles are written to one video package on one computer and are already aligned.
And that’s the same for match day?
Any other examples?
It’s very similar. In fact, it’s identical if you’re fortunate enough to receive IP feeds on match day. If you receive SDI or HDMI feeds instead, you can use a hardware encoder to convert the video to IP feeds, then record all of the angles on a single computer.
Yes, importing, stacking and combining video has also improved. We know this is a time-consuming process in the current version. Users can now do all three of these operations in one simple workflow. From within the import video window, you can create and name your angles, then add and rearrange video files.
It’s also easier to share multiple angles of video and data between devices. This could be to another computer in the coaches’ box, on the sideline or in the locker room, or even to an iPad running Hudl Replay.
You can also re-encode video as you import it, though it’s less likely that you’ll need to do that as the new product supports native playback of many more video formats.
Team presentations are obviously vital to coaches and analysts. What about those? The movie organizer and sorter have served Sportscode well, but their multi-window workflows are not straight-forward, and some coaches have found them difficult to learn. Our goal in rebuilding these components has been to make them more accessible to coaches, and we’ve done this with single integrated windows that are modern, efficient, and most importantly, intuitive. We’ve also streamlined the process of drawing on a video frame. Now you just scrub to a frame in a clip where you want to add a drawing, select a drawing tool and draw. When you present the video, it simply pauses at the drawing so the coach can get their point across, and when you press play the presentation moves on.
clip. The video switches between angles automatically, though you can still override this during the presentation.
You can easily trim or extend clips by switching to edit mode and dragging the handles. This aligns with how other Hudl products work, and we think will be more obvious to coaches and new users. But don’t worry, hotkeys are still available. All of this will hopefully allow all Sportscode users, new or existing, to build compelling presentations quicker.
Previously, using different angles in presentations was difficult. In Hudl Sportscode, you can specify the default angle for each
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“We put a lot of effort into creating a stable architecture and a solid platform for future development, which will allow us to move quickly and adapt to the ever-changing needs of the market.”
What about performance? Just about every part of Hudl Sportscode performs better than the current version. Windows open quicker. Scrubbing and playback are smoother. Zooming and scrolling in the timeline are both improved. Our testing has shown scripting to be two to five times faster than the existing version, and CPU usage is generally lower in all operations, meaning there’s less likelihood of dropped frames and other issues on match day. Hudl Sportscode is now also part of the capture, data and distribution solutions that make up Hudl Pro Suite. Ultimately every Hudl product will now work better together, making life easier for analysts and coaches.
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Looking back, how do you feel about your work on this project? It’s been really exciting! Sportscode has had many major releases over the last 20 years, but none as significant as this. Never has there been such a resource investment. It’s exciting not just for the problems that we’re solving now, but how it’s setting us up to help solve more complicated problems in the future. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from workshops and demonstrations around the world. We’re confident that Hudl Sportscode will enrich the unique workflows of our customers, and will be a platform that we can continually build upon.
Here’s a snapshot of the improvements. Sportscode
Hudl Sportscode
Multi-Angle Capture
Multiple computers, lots of equipment and extra setup time necessary
Only one computer necessary to record and automatically align multiple angles
Importing, Stacking and Combining Video
Lengthy process with several steps
All three operations possible with one simple workflow
Drawing
Time-consuming split-instance workflow
Quick, simple process—just scrub to a frame and start drawing
Sorter/Organizer
Video player in a separate window
Integrated video player to enable film viewing during data edits
Live Sharing
High latency, variable performance
Quicker transfer of video and data, better playback performance
Video Playback
Only three size options
Video player supports resizing to any size and playback of multiple angles (including 6+ angles at 1080p)
Video Quality
Limited options, variable performance
Supports higher quality video, up to 4K, 120fps and H.265
Video Editing
Several windows needed
Easy trimming from the instance player
Overall Performance
Can vary due to CPU usage/demands
Quicker open times, smoother playback, improved zooming and scrolling in timelines, 2-5x faster scripting
Hudl Sportscode is now available. Head to hudl.com/products/hudlsportscode to learn more.
Hudl Magazine
September 2019
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Cruz Control
Analysis Drives Mexican Powerhouse to Championship Glory Mexican super club Cruz Azul have reclaimed their seat at
the top of Mexican football following a stellar 2018 season. Here’s the story of their rise to the top and three key areas where video analysis supported their renewed success.
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Cruz Azul are one the best supported teams in the land, with a decorated history including eight Primera División titles. On the continent, their six wins makes them the second most successful club in the history of the CONCACAF Champions League, the most prestigious international club competition in North American football. For those new to Mexican football, each season Liga MX holds two tournaments: the Apertura, which starts in the summer, and the Clausura, which starts in the winter. The top eight sides then contest the Liguilla—a playoff series to decide an overall winner. Last year was a great success for the Mexico City side, finishing first in the regular season of the Apertura championship. Goals from Elias Hernandez and Martin Cauteruccio helped the club win the Copa MX. Head coach Pedro Caixinha was instrumental in his side’s turnaround from mid-table to ttable-toppers. He was able to transfer his previous success with Santos Laguna—the team he led to winning the Clausura in 2014 and 2015—to Cruz Azul.
Whilst on-field success was the most visible transformation under Caixinha, it came as the result of a number of enhancements made behindthe-scenes—like video analysis becoming a focal point of team preparations. Cruz Azul head of sports intelligence Daniel Martinez explains the role his team plays.
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“We use Sportscode to precisely record training sessions and code the exercises, not just depending on what we want to do, but also depending on what the opponent is going to bring.”
“Here in this department, our role is to provide the videos to the coaching team,” said Martinez. “There are three moments when we provide information—the first is before the match. “In the week we use Sportscode to precisely record training sessions and code the exercises, not just depending on what we want to do, but also depending on what the opponent is going to bring. But also so we can upload these videos to the group page [in Hudl] so that all the players have access to the exercises in training. “Applying the tool has been very, very simple.”
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Assistant coach Pedro Malta explains the second functionality of video at Cruz Azul—analysis on match day, “My main role is essentially to analyse our opponents, to help analyse our performance in terms of team tactics,” said Malta. “We use video on match day where Daniel and I work at the same time to code the match in real time. I focus on the more strategic aspect at points that might be different to what was expected, and Daniel focuses on the more individual aspect in terms of individual actions and moments in the game.” Every match has its own challenges that need to be reviewed, both in terms of tactics and individual performances. After recording the data during the live match environment, the Cruz Azul analysis team can then provide relevant findings to coaches and players in order to make the necessary tactical changes.
Cruz Azul takes advantage of online and offline video and data integration to deliver analysis where the club needs it most.
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“We take it to the dressing room at half-time,” explains Martinez. “Analysis of a player, analysis of a zone or a line, I can know all this straight away and have it ready. Not just the verbal information, but also the visual information, so the result of this information is more specific.” Successful teams never rest on their laurels. Cruz Azul’s work with video doesn’t end at the full-time whistle. A full breakdown of the match is provided to players post-match. This allows them to push standards even further. “The third moment is after the match,” says Malta. “Practising more in technical and individual terms, in tactical, sectorspecific or collective terms, is done individually for all the players. And then it feeds into the next match. So it’s all cyclical and it’s all part of the process.”
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Hudl Magazine
September 2019
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HUDL MAGAZINE INTERVIEW
Nate Babcock Assistant Coach, Atlanta Hawks
With the 2018–19 season in the books, Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Nate Babcock believes
video analysis will prepare the
young Hawks squad for success next year and beyond.
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Don’t waste time. Nate Babcock oversees player development for the Atlanta Hawks and relies on the power of video to improve the young talent on his roster. Given the demanding nature of the NBA, it’s no surprise his most valuable lesson centers around time management. “The best advice I can give anybody with a video background is don’t waste time,” said Babcock. “So many coaches waste so much time on stuff that’s just not valuable,” Babcock said. “Figure out what you value the most, what your players value the most and build from there. Don’t waste time on getting clips and chopping up video for something that isn’t of high value to you.”
“Figure out what you value, then spend time with your players, whether that’s grabbing clips of practice or filming one-on-one. Videoing player development is so important.” Babcock knows keeping things simple is the most effective way to teach with video, but players and coaches often overcomplicate the process. “You don’t need a big system or ten guys running around filming everything,” Babcock said. “If you can film it, then that’s a start. If you can break it down, then great. But make players part of the development process. Sit down and watch it with your players.”
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Study your peers. Babcock has rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names in the NBA and believes player improvement can simply come down to studying the other people on the court. His theory? Stealing from the best players is how you get better. “The best players I’ve seen are all learning from other players. They’re thinking that this guy does this really well so I’m going to steal that,” Babcock said. “They create their own body of work through this and, for example, at Brooklyn we had players who would ask, ‘Can I get some clips of this guy’s finishing?’ “Being able to use video to teach and for player development is very important. Maybe show a player a clip of another player doing something really well,” Babcock said. “Manu Ginobili back in his prime was really good at coming off the roll guy. He’d fake a shot and be able to lift the big guy up, then get the pocket pass. So if you’ve got a player who is struggling with that, then maybe show him Ginobili doing it.”
“A lot of the time a player is probably not aware of what he’s doing because the speed of the game is so high. Being able to analyse yourself on video is key.” 20
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Unlock the full potential of video analysis. Competition is fierce across the NBA and Babcock knows video is a way for his players to gain an edge. “At Brooklyn, we’d put the team’s previous game or two onto Hudl so the players could go on and watch the full game,” Babcock said. “A lot of the players would also ask for all of the clips from their previous games for the player they’re guarding so they can see how a player scores and how he does his thing.” Video analysis is nothing new to basketball, but Babcock believes players and coaches are just scratching the surface of its full potential. “Video is really important in the role of player development and still isn’t utilised as much as it should be,” Babcock said. “I think basketball is played at a subconscious level, so a lot of the time a player is probably not aware of what he’s doing because the speed of the game is so high. “Being able to remove yourself from that subconscious nature of basketball and being able to analyse yourself on video is key.”
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Pathway to the Top
Video Underpins Sydney FC’s Blueprint for Academy Success To product talent that could achieve a joint-record three A-League championships over its history, Sydney FC relied on video.
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Sydney FC’s academy is renowned across the league as one of only three “Two Star” football academies in Australia, a title that represents best practices in quality Australian youth development. The academy’s development pillars are feedback, individual responsibility and a growth mindset— all underpinned by Sydney’s emphasis on video analysis in youth development. Justin McMahon, head of football analysis, outlines the positive effect of video analysis on today’s emerging talent, including recent academy graduates Rhyan Grant and Matthew Jurman. “As video becomes more and more readily available to all ages and levels, we’re seeing athletes develop who have a real pronounced interest in seeing video of themselves, seeing their level of performance, and getting advice as well,” said McMahon. “Being in a world now where it’s very easy to provide instantaneous feedback, this allows players to know where their performance is at, and where they can improve, in ways they never could have previously.”
In the past, analysts would struggle to provide feedback and data to the academy due to their first team workload. Today’s improved technology means analysis is accessible for every level of Sydney FC. “As a full-time football staff, most of our focus is on the first team. But we have seen over the past couple of years that the technology has gotten better on Hudl platforms and the workflows are really efficient in terms of being able to produce content for the players within our system that we don’t necessarily have day-to-day access to,” said McMahon.
“It’s very efficient for players to be able to view things that we have put together, which means that despite the fact we are full-time with the first team, we’re still able to produce content for our under-13s and under-14s and so on.” A recent beneficiary of the Sydney academy is 20-year-old Cameron Devlin. The midfielder made his senior debut in 2018 and credits video analysis as crucial to his graduation to the first team. “We use video analysis at this club every single day,” said Devlin. “As a team, the coaching and analysis staff use Hudl to cut clips of opposition and cut clips of ourselves, just to improve little parts of our game that end up being the cutting point between winning a game and losing a game. “A big part of your game is what you do on the pitch, but as soon as you get off the pitch, looking to improve is a big thing.”
“As video becomes more and more readily available to all ages and levels, we’re seeing athletes develop who have a real pronounced interest in seeing video of themselves.” Hudl Magazine
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“Video is a vital part of the game going forward, especially at a young age, where players can learn an awful lot from seeing their individual actions with the ball or without the ball.” Manager Steve Corica has seen how video analysis has changed the game in recent years. As a foundation player from Sydney FC’s inaugural season in 2005, Corica made more than 100 appearances for Sydney, and is well placed to make the comparison between then and now. “Video analysis has impacted the game in a big way, especially from when I was a player, when we used to just watch full length games and you couldn’t get down to the nitty-gritty of the tactical side of things,” said Corica. “These days you have every action on Hudl.” As a multiple Grand Final winner with Sydney FC, Corica can guide any club that wants to develop young players and be successful at the same time. “Advice I would give to players, coaches and directors would be that video is a vital part of the game going forward, especially at a young age, where players can learn an awful lot from seeing their individual actions with the ball or without the ball,” said Corica. “Clubs these days are trying to improve each season by bringing in better players. We want to develop our better players from the academy.”
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Manager Steve Corica relies on personalized playlists to develop talent throughout the Sydney FC academy.
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As general manager of football operations, Terry McFlynn is responsible for the inner workings of the club. He believes video is involved on that side of things too. The A-League operates with a salary cap with concessions for homegrown players, meaning it’s extremely valuable to produce academy graduates who are first team ready. “It’s really important for us to create our own pathway and our own future at Sydney FC,” said McFlynn.
But before they can develop young players, the club needs identify them. McFlynn goes on to explain how Hudl is crucial in this process.
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“Video is evidence-based knowledge for the coaches to recognise a player’s key competencies we are looking for, and we can use this as a development strategy moving forward while the players are here.”
“We use video analysis to develop and recognise young players day-to-day at the club, it’s a very important tool in the initial phase of bringing a player to the club. “Video is evidence-based knowledge for the coaches to recognise a player’s key competencies we are looking for, and we can use this as a development strategy moving forward while the players are here.” McFlynn and his management team use Hudl to view footage from leagues around the world, and are quick to outline its role in developing youth skill levels as a wider commercial objective for the club. “That’s where our players will eventually want to end up, and as a business for us as a football club, the ability to monetize our talent is something that is very important to us. “We feel it’s an important part of development, being able to benchmark ourselves across some of the best youth academies in the world.”
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Seeing Success A View from Above with Rangers FC
With more league titles than any other club in the world,
they have a reputation to uphold. Here’s how smart cameras help Rangers maintain their status as a giant in the Scottish Premier League.
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High quality footage is a prerequisite for coaches, managers and players. But now Rangers FC will get a view of the game they’ve never had before. They’re embracing smart camera technology through Hudl’s IP cameras, which are capable of connecting to the internet to send and receive data. Why? Because high quality match footage being sent straight to their staff means analysis can happen in real time. In their 50,000-capacity Ibrox Stadium, Rangers have a master camera providing a wide tactical view of the whole pitch, supported by two behind-the-goal cameras to capture specific actions such as team positioning, set plays and goalkeeper analysis.
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Rangers first team analyst Bradley Wall explains how these enhanced views allow his analysis to have a bigger impact on match day. “From what I can see from my vantage point within the stand, maybe the manager can’t see down there [on the touchline],” said Wall. “I will want to feed back information to coaches in-game or at half time and it’s key for me to be able to go in there and show them basically what I’m seeing in the tactical view.” The traditional approach for analysts capturing match footage—a man operating one camera from the stands—is no longer enough. In some stadiums, the view can even be obscured. But hands-free, mounted Hudl cameras mean the best possible vision is available for Wall and his team. “Your cameraman with the wide view on the gantry, he might be restricted to where he can stand. In terms of the Hudl camera, its positioned in such a place that you are always going to get the widest tactical view you can,” said Wall. “It also frees up anothe rpair of hands to do a more detailed code within a game, which adds another layer to our analysis.”
“Having a lot of this done for you seamlessly enables us to debrief a lot quicker.” Hudl Magazine
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“It also frees up another pair of hands to do a more detailed code within a game, which adds another layer to our analysis.”
Opposing teams will often lean on defensive tactics against the Rangers, placing several men behind the ball in a low block formation. Cameras placed behind the goal supplement the wider view and play a key part in providing tactical feedback on how to break down defensive opposition.
“Having a lot of this done for you seamlessly enables us to debrief a lot quicker. You can sync your code straight away and you don’t have to worry about uploading after the game as you know it’s going to be there to share and push out to the players and coaches who can then review straight away.”
“Tactically, it’s really good. We can use this view to work out how we can beat this block, where the spaces are on the pitch, and where players are moving, making runs and where they are not making runs,” said Wall.
As Wall explains, existing video angles don’t give analysts and coaches the view they need.
“This would only be picked up by this view behind the goal and we would maybe not get this key piece of detail from the side view.” Smart cameras are part of an effective end-to-end analysis solution for Rangers FC. The cameras automatically capture game footage, which directly feeds into Sportscode and uploads into Hudl. This is a real time-saver for Wall, especially during congested fixture blocks. “It’s very important that everything connects, because football games come thick and fast and you want to be able to move onto the next thing, but also have focus from the game you just played,” said Wall.
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“With broadcast footage, a lot of it is panned in on close-ups and replays so you miss certain bits in the game,” said Wall. “With this tactical view, everything is clean and you can see all of the pitch, getting those bits of extra detail that you might not have got before from traditional footage.” Aside from challenging for a record 55th Scottish Premiership crown, Rangers FC are focused on how else they can improve their workflows. Up next, they’d like to expand their IP cameras to their training facility, which would enable them to streamline their analysis process to replicate their current match day operations.
High-performance video and data on one conected platform Streamline your workflow with HD capture, customized scripting capabilities and data on demand, all linked to a centralized video library. Learn more at hudl.com/prosuite
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Higher Learning
Video Helps U.S. Women’s National Volleyball Team Dive Deeper into the Game
Karch Kiraly knows the best players need
the best tools available. That’s why he relies on video to keep his players focused.
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Karch Kiraly, Head Coach
How do you get players at the elite level to continuously improve? For U.S. women’s national team head coach Karch Kiraly, the answer is video analysis. A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Kiraly is a strong authority on what echnology makes elite players tick. He explains the role of video in the success of his elite program.
“My biggest goal with this program for the other coaches, our staff and I, is trying to give our players every tool possible to improve and to learn at the fastest rate possible.” “The bottom line is we’re trying to figure out who might be able to come to the USA gym and continue to develop.”
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Elite players have already achieved a high mastery of the game, meaning it’s the finer points of play that need to be dissected to gain an advantage. Setter Micha Hancock, explains how video helps her do just that. “When you’re at the level we’re at, we’re training hard every day. We’re looking at very small changes that make a huge difference. For example, when you’re playing Serbia to get into the gold medal match,” said Hancock. For fellow setter Lauren Carlini, Volleymetrics is key to providing focus on her position’s necessary skills. “There are so many reps that we’re doing throughout the day, and it’s so important to be able to go in there, look at what your focus was that day, break it down and say, ‘Okay, was I accomplishing this, or do I need to focus on it again tomorrow? Do I need to focus on something else?’” said Carlini.
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“When you’re at the level we’re at, we’re training hard every day. We’re looking at very small changes that make a huge difference.”
“So I get in there every day, watch all my sets, all my digs. For me, setting is obviously the most important skill, so being able to break that down is really helpful, especially at this level where the smallest margin makes the biggest difference.” For middle player Tori Dixon, feedback is crucial to performing consistently in practice. Video is the platform that allows her to self-evaluate effectively. “For athletes in the USA gym, it helps tremendously. It’s like night and day difference just having feedback and being able to tell where you are,” said Dixon. “As a middle, there’s a lot of different sets and a lot of different timings that I have to get adjusted to. So it’s good to know where I’m at. I take it upon myself to fix it the next day. “Because if we can change it faster, we’re just going to get better that much faster.”
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Join the Club
Video Connects North Harbour Rugby Union The introduction of Hudl has provided integration between clubs, women’s teams and referees in the union.
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Maintaining contact with the numerous amount of clubs in a region can be a challenge, but QBE Harbour Mitre 10 Cup head coach Tom Coventry overcomes it by using Hudl to communicate with club coaches throughout the area. “It brings all the clubs together. Coaches will ask me questions, they can share their game clips with me, and I can send the feedback through the app in return,” Coventry said.
“It’s proven to be an easier way of communicating and, when I’m sending clips back to the teams, we can communicate via something that’s right in front of us rather than just doing it verbally.” “One session from a head coach to a club side is only a drop in the ocean, really, as to how you can assist them. What we want to do is not just make it a one-off event, so we try and keep that communication open. It’s pretty huge for us and without [Hudl], we would be floundering around.” With Mitre 10 Cup being a semi-professional competition, teams source a sizeable chunk of their playing roster from standout club players in the region. Using Hudl as a scouting platform has made it easier for QBE Harbour’s staff to effectively find top talent across the wide range of local matches. “Hudl is huge for our player scouting,” said Coventry. “The resources you have for a Mitre 10 cup-team are reasonably limited and we have five premier matches going on every weekend which need to be viewed. Every club match is captured on video and we do our best to watch the majority of these each week. “We operate a wider training group made up of academy players, plus a handful of boys who don’t play Super Rugby, but are contracted to the Union and use Hudl to review their games and provide feedback to them every week.”
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“I’m in front of the laptop pretty much all day so if someone shares clips of me, it pops up in front of me. It’s always right at the click of a button.
Self-analysis and individual learning are key aspects for amateur players looking to make the jump into professionalism. Coventry and his team rely on Hudl to provide a platform for this vital stage of player development. “The players want us as coaches to share feedback with them, but we also expect them to be able to modify their own behaviour, cut clips of themselves when they’re training, and bring them along to share with us,” Coventry said. “It becomes a two-way thing once you step up into Mitre 10 Cup and it’s a high expectation that the boys will come and do their role, do self-analysis, and share that information back to the team. “We’re not only upskilling them as rugby players, but also in using technology as it’s pretty important for their development,” said Coventry. “Operating franchises and provincial unions in New Zealand rugby will use [Hudl] because it’s crucial moving forward.
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“By using Hudl, we intend to benefit the whole union, not just the Mitre 10 Cup level. We increased from around half the clubs to eight out of ten using the advanced platform this season.” As a result of the club placing video analysis resources throughout the organization, Beeton and his staff have noticed an uptick in education on the field. “Instead of just approaching the game with the same tactics week in, week out, teams are now able to manipulate how they play relative to their opposition by having the ability to scout their opposition. They look at their video content to deliver and develop game plans that will relate to what they would want to do for their future matches.
“Like anything in life, education and knowledge of what you’re using and how you use it efficiently is the way forward.”
“Coaches are also better connected to QBE North Harbour Rugby, so there has been more education amongst the community and this has formed part of the transition from where we were in the past, to where we are now.”
Performance analyst Alistair Beeton has overseen the use of Hudl at QBE North Harbour and has already seen it increase engagement, from grassroots to the elite level.
Beeton explains how using video analysis at senior levels causes a trickle-down effect on age groups, women’s teams and referees.
“We have been able to transition to newer players who are maybe just starting their career or recently out of school to tap into it,” said Beeton. “The amount of clubs now using the platforms shows the growing interest.”
“We’re not really leaving any part of the union untouched, it trickles down to our under-19s high-performance program and our QBE women’s Farah Palmer Cup side are tapping into it also,” Beeton said.
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“We found, to some extent, that the women’s teams engage more with it than the men’s and there’s a genuine excitement as they have access to a tool they otherwise wouldn’t have had. Then we’ve got our second-grade teams that are on the platform, which tells the club community that this product is accessible to everyone in our union.” Referees are an extremely valuable resource for a provincial union and another area where video analysis aids development. “Referees are quite often the first ones to ask for game footage. Through that, we’ve been able to see the development of referees, with some now involved at Mitre 10 Cup level,” said Beeton. “A big part of that is how we educate and review through the platform.” For a current semi-professional player who juggles work or study with training and playing, finding work-life balance is crucial. Lewis Gjaltema, who has been part of the QBE North Harbour senior setup since 2016, knows Hudl has been integral to keeping up with his studies while also developing from club to a professional environment. “I want to be the best in my game, so review is a huge part of that and it’s becoming a big part of preparations at Mitre 10 Cup level,” said Gjaltema.
“I watch myself for skill execution. There’s always plenty of clips from our coaches and preview footage for our upcoming opponents to study. If there’s something I’m not sure about during the day, I can watch back, then get clarity. “For me, it’s perfect, really, because I’m in front of the laptop pretty much all day,” said Gjaltema. “It’s always right in front of me at the click of a button.” Gjaltema has no shortage of motivation to reach his ultimate goal. “I want to make a living and career out of professional rugby. So I’m going to be doing everything I can these next few years to make that happen. Obviously video analysis can be a huge part of that. I’ll be watching as much footage as I can to prove myself and give myself the best chance of getting there.”
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No Analyst Left Behind Hudl’s Committment to Education
As manager of customer solutions, Dan Nesbitt is the perfect person to discuss Hudl Academy and how it meets the demands of the modern analyst.
For Analysts, by Analysts Led by Shayne Hall, our education team believes leveling up the knowledge of our users is an analysis solution in and of itself. It will unlock the deepest workflows possible in game analysis. With decades of experience in the fields of analysis and coaching, across multiple professional sports, we’re well prepared to help our users get there. “In addition to their own coaching and analysis experience, our education team has instructed coaches, analysts and athletes worldwide on process, strategy and best practices,’’ explains Nesbitt. “Through their instructional experience, they understand the key learning needs when it comes to analysis and review in elite sport, and they’re working toward addressing those needs in a number of ways. Because the team comes from the industry they serve, you can be confident that you’ll receive professional consultation that is rooted in the way modern teams operate.”
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Beyond Onboarding Our commitment doesn’t stop at basic product onboarding. We help users continue their professional development, inspiring even experienced “power users” to explore new and challenging workflows. “As a global company with customers in 20 countries, Hudl has embraced e-learning as a way to extend educational opportunities to more of our users,” said Nesbitt. “In order to stay ahead of trends, analysts need education beyond the basics. Launching in 2019, Hudl Academy will provide access to intermediate and advanced courses in an environment that allows analysts to learn at their own pace. “Hudl Academy will be a one-stop shop for Pro Suite users to access courses for each core product and service. New advanced courses will be released regularly to continue professional development opportunities for experienced users. “The platform will also play a key role in our launch of a global certification program in 2019. Analysts will have the opportunity to gain certification in individual products to enhance their professional resume while refreshing their knowledge and skills.”
Education Where and When You Need It Hundreds of Hudl Sportscode users have attended product workshops in the past year to deepen their product knowledge and network with their peers. To provide more opportunities for users to build their skill set, we’re increasing the number of workshops in 2019.
“Each workshop will have a programmatic theme, and many will include the opportunity to build toward product certification. In each of the events, our goal is to deepen the connection users have with product workflows, and the analyst community at large.”
“In the next year, we’ll put a renewed and global focus on the effectiveness, frequency, and geographic distribution of our regional workshops,” said Nesbitt.
Get Started
We’ll update current Hudl Sportscode users as Hudl Academy launches. Feel free to email Dan Nesbitt at dan.nesbitt@hudl.com with any questions.
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Hudl & Wyscout Join Forces Our acquisition of Wyscout sent shockwaves through the performance industry. But with the largest database of global football video and data now connected to Hudl’s end-to-end analysis platform, it promises to revolutionise performance and recruitment workflows.
“Without having an army of data scientists, clubs of all sizes will be able to make impactful, sophisticated, data-driven decisions every day,” said Hudl’s Chief Product Officer John Wirtz. “Hudl and Wyscout coming together means coaches, analysts and the football community will have unprecedented access to all the video and data they need to drive improvement and unearth talent from all over the world. And they’ll have all of this at their fingertips, which lets them focus on their core roles, not navigating across multiple systems. It’s going to dramatically change lives.” With more than 1,000 professional football clubs, 1,000 player agencies, and 60 national teams and federations using their platform, Wyscout provides tools that make it easy to understand the game, identify and assess talent, and evaluate performance.
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“It was very clear to us early on that they were just as passionate as we are about helping members of the football community reach their potential through technology and collaboration,” said Matteo Campodonico, CEO at Wyscout. “For organizations to reach their full potential, they need to recruit the best talent. For athletes to reach their full potential they need to be seen. Connecting our content to Hudl’s video analysis and distribution platform means clubs won’t just have access to a local pool of talent, they’ll have access to a global network of players. This ‘super system’ will provide this access in a way that saves everyone hours of time.” Despite reputations for providing industry-leading technology, Wirtz is firm in his view where success actually lies.
“From the beginning, it’s been critically important to us that our people really understand our customers, and that’s meant the team we hire here at Hudl are people that have worked in the industry, including former analysts and coaches. They really understand the pains of our customers and they can see when our products solve that pain. And we felt that exact same thing as we got to know Wyscout. They place a huge value on their people deeply understanding their customers, and their people coming from the same place as their customers.” With technological innovation at the forefront of providing competitive advantage to sports teams around the world, Wirtz believes the acquisition will only be beneficial for the market as a whole. “Some of the biggest breakthroughs are going to be powered by machine learning and artificial intelligence. Clubs can take advantage of camera systems that don’t require operators and can produce highly accurate physical data from optical player tracking, which is accessible and usable with just a few clicks of a button. Not only will all this be a part of the Pro Suite, but it will also be connected to the new Hudl Sportscode. “However, this isn’t about an acquisition. This isn’t even about two companies. It’s really about solving the toughest problems we see in our industry, the hardest problems that clubs and teams face every day. To do that in this case, we believe it requires two platforms coming together into one.”
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Hudl Takes to the Airwaves in New Sports Analysis Podcast We’re excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Training Ground Guru for a brand new podcast. Not familiar with Training Ground Guru? They report on the latest developments in football coaching, conditioning, analysis and academies from leading experts in the game. “The Training Ground Guru provides great insight into the world of football, and we are excited to partner with a show that is as passionate about high-performance and sports analytics as we are,” said Sam Lloyd, Hudl’s VP of elite sports. “Following the creation of our Hudl Sportscode blog series, the launch of Hudl, The Newsletter and the publication of Hudl, The Magazine, developing a podcast with The Training Ground Guru was the next logical step.”
Available on all major streaming platforms.
Scan to listen.
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Our featured episode takes you behind-the-scenes of Premier League football team Burnley FC’s £10.6m Barnfield Training Centre, which opened in 2017. In this episode, we interview academy manager Jonathan Pepper and technical director Mike Rigg. You’ll also hear from the academy’s head of coaching Ian Jones, who shares the club’s academy philosophy, his joy at seeing players get called up to the Premier League level, and his hopes for the future.
See More from Hudl Over the coming months we’ll be launching a range of newsletters, blogs, case studies, and tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Hudl.
Visit hudl.com/mag-subscribe to stay in the know.
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Contact us.
Visit hudl.com/contact for more information.
