Embedded Files
October 25, 2024
Image by: Menasha Football Facebook Page
Fans cheer on the MHS Bluejays football team.
Sunday, September 8th, 2024: the first NFL Sunday of the season. For most people, this calls for sweatpants, good food, and a lazy day on the couch. At a glance, most glory is split between the 53-man roster and the 12 coaches. But, did you know it takes upwards of 3,000 people to make the game run smoothly?
Now obviously, that is not the same at the high school level. From trainers to concessions, we have about 50 people working each Friday night in support of our Menasha Bluejays. Despite the sheer amount of people a part of the game, arguably, the most important part of any game, at any level, isn’t the people at all.
Interestingly enough, footage and communication via the sideline technology has quickly embedded itself into the sports world as not only a staple, but an “essential,” says JV2 head coach Mr. Losselyong.
Football is an ever changing sport, especially when it comes to film and communication, which presents our program with two options; stay up to date in order to grow and harvest success with the here and now, or stick to your roots and fall behind.
Fortunately, the Menasha Bluejays chose to keep up with the positive additions of technology within the football program. According to defensive backs coach Mr. Augustine, “We use more technology than most other high school and even some college programs. The Drone, Hipod, Hudl, GoRout, Sideline tv's, [headsets], iPads, Remind, along with the equipment technology like Vicis & Xenith helmets make Menasha a football program that many districts look up to and look to for leadership.”
All of this can be broken down into smaller parts – the film. Practice and games vary, but film mainly takes place over the play on a drone, from the endzone on a camera called the Hipod, and using Hudl Sideline, which is a side view from the box on an iPad.
Having many angles is so important for a number of reasons, most notably, nobody is left out. Everyone is given the same opportunity to see the entire play, despite playing different positions, players and coaches have all of the resources to zero in on their respective roles.
These opportunities begin at the start of each week. JV1 assistant defensive coach, Mr. Behm said, “As coaches, we use technology to exchange film with other teams to help research tendencies of plays, like percentage of run vs pass plays or plays run in specific formations.”
Image by: Menasha Football Facebook Page
Football coach, Mr. Fritsch talks to team.
Coaches spend time doing this research to come up with their game plan for the end of the week; they are able to come up with and apply scripts to the scout team so they can mimic their next opponent. Using technology is vital at these points in order to see strengths, weaknesses, and success rates; alongside being able to adjust the playback speed, markup film, and overall have an exact playbook displaying what everything should look like.
As for the athletes, it is their obligation to do their part just as the coaches do. They take time outside of practices to watch film, take notes, and take mental reps. Without access to Hudl, the software used to capture, analyze, and store all of this information, the Menasha Bluejays would honestly be a completely different team.
As gameday rolls around, more important pieces of technology are added to the mix: headsets and tvs.
There are many uses and positive impacts that coaches headsets have on the game itself. It is important to be spread out along the sidelines in order to “gain multiple vantage points [so] everyone can hear from all position groups,” said Coach Behm. Although the phrase communication is key is on the cliche side, it is vital to sports teams for everyone to be on the same page; because if you aren’t working towards the same goal and seeing the same things, mistakes begin to wrack up- fast.
According to varsity’s defensive coordinator, Mr. Carlson, “Football is all about adjustments during the game.” How quickly these adjustments can be made in the modern game of football can be heavily thanked by the use of technology. He goes on to say that, “if we didn't have HUDL it would be very difficult to do this as well as we do.”
One of the highlights of the Hudl program is that it gives instant feedback. A play happens, and within seconds that play is downloaded, from there coaches and players are able to adjust the speed, markup the film, and watch it as many times as needed. This comes to a huge advantage during games.
To help with play analysis, there are two TVs on the sidelines: one for offense and one for defense. While one side of the team is on the field, the other is around their respective TV taking mental notes of the coaches feedback on their gameplay, and watching previous plays in order to make those adjustments. This is where so many angles come as such a bonus, as it can more easily highlight errors. Luckily, the Hudl playbook is there to show players the correct way to execute their job, so they can execute as soon as the next drive.
Another benefit of film is the prevention of injuries. Because football is such a rough and physical contact sport, injuries are very common. Some injuries are self-inflicted, and visually seeing the right and wrong way to perform a move can determine the path of your whole season.
JV2 defensive backs coach Mr. Lammers gave an example of a common mistake that leads to injury, “[when] a player is seen on film tackling with their head down.”
Mr. Lammers added that it can be a process of adjustment, where you watch the mistake, see it the correct way, apply it in walkthroughs, and finally at full speed. This covers three different learning styles: auditory, visual, and tactile, which ultimately helps the athletes “learn and correct mistakes faster than just simply telling them why they were wrong.”
With all of these benefits, you may be wondering, what are the disadvantages of all of this technology? Most of the coaches interviewed argued strongly that there are none. Film and communication are so essential to the team's success that any slight disadvantages can be overlooked.
Mr. Lammers suggested that, “The only disadvantage with all of the technology for me would be making sure that everything is charged, maintained, and functioning properly, even in bad weather.”
As a manager of the team, I agree. It can be a hassle to make sure everything is ready, charged, and taken care of daily, but just as everyone else has an important role on the team, it is our role to assure this side of the game runs smoothly, therefore allowing others to successfully satisfy their roles.
Now that you have a little more understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, you may watch the game differently. Learning the complexity of football can help your appreciation of the sport by seeing how many moving parts there are, and the hard work it takes the staff and athletes to uphold the entire team at a high standard.
According to Mr. Augustine, “I think that the "dumb jock" mantra of yester-year is not a true depiction of today's athlete. To be successful in today's athletics you have to work hard, study hard, and play hard. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses, both mental and physical, and be willing to work to improve those deficiencies. If the athlete is a willing participant, then technology helps them to do that.”
Image by: Menasha Football Facebook Page
MHS football players crowd around the screen to review footage.
by Andi Haag
October 25, 2024
The Jay's News Nest
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