By Mike Kuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar

Introduction

If you’re like 99% of us, you’re tracking game day stats and charting plays with pen and paper. This process hasn’t changed much since football coaches began collecting and analyzing data decades ago. The problem with this method is its time consuming, cumbersome and doesn’t always produce the most accurate data – which can cause major problems when you’re making critical decisions based on “kinda-sorta” accurate information.

This is why I’m excited to bring you this report. We’ve been testing a new technology that will completely change the way you look at play charting and stat tracking forever.

I’m talking about LegUP (www.LegUPAnalytics.com), the new iPad application that replaces the old pen and paper system of charting statistics and plays. LegUP tracks the play, the situation, the players involved and how they contributed to the outcome, and where and how the play ended.

At first glance, we thought LegUP was just a better mouse trap over the pen and paper method, but we were wrong… really wrong.

After testing the application for the last two weeks, we’re confident that LegUP is ushering in a new era of performance analytics. As coaches, we feel that LegUP has changed the process of play charting and stat tracking in two innovative ways…

1. Real-Time Analysis: What we like best is that the stat tracking and play charting data is available in real-time. That means coaches on your staff will have access to the information on the sideline during games using LegUP’s iPad app (no internet required) – so you’ll no longer have to meet with your staff at halftime to “sync” up on stats. With LegUP, your coaching staff will have access to your opponent’s tendencies and trends during games, as well as your own tendencies and trends.
2. Post-Game Reporting: As soon as the game is over, LegUP uploads the data to your team’s account (which is accessible from any computer with internet access). Using your LegUP account, you’ll run through a quick procedure to ensure all data from the game is accurate and ready for advanced reporting. Once this post-game work flow is complete, you can send play charting and stat reports to the coaches on your staff. You can also send injury reports to the athletic trainer as well as coaches. And best of all, you can easily upload data directly to HUDL. Keep in mind, this can all be done immediately after the game is complete, giving you more time to review your team’s performance.

Why We Like LegUP Analytics:

By Mike Kuchar
Senior Research Manager
X&O Labs
Twitter: @MikekKuchar

Last month we let you in on what is perhaps the biggest “little known secret” that is changing the course of in-game operations at the high school level.

We told you that in 2013, the NFHS changed its Football Rule 1.6.1.2 to allow the use of video during games. This change allows the use of video on iPads and other tablets by coaches and players. What was surprising was the fact that only 1% of high school programs were using video replay during games. We suspect the low adoption rate stems from the fact that technology hadn’t caught up to the rule change.

Now that we’re seeing multiple companies providing sideline video replay technology at a reasonable rate, we expect a dramatic rise in the number of coaches using video on the sidelines. Particularly after our previous report featuring a system called “Reveal.” Reveal was created by Graham Clark and Peter Foley, who used the product with the United States Olympic Snowboarding Team, and who are now rolling out the product to high school football teams all over the country. Following our last report on this subject, we were inundated with questions from coaches asking for more information on what the product looks like, to what it costs, to how to operate it.

This new rule opened a Pandora’s box of in-game protocol and subsequently sent dozens of technology companies into a mad rush to produce a cost-effective and efficient models for high school coaches across the country. We were especially impressed with the product that Clark and Foley designed, particularly after talking with some of their clients.

I got the chance to use and test the Reveal system last off-season, but rather than provide commentary on the operations of Reveal, we reached out directly to some of Insight Replay’s clients. We asked them for their feedback about the product and how they are planning to use it this fall.

Tagging Plays for Quick Access

Matt Logan, the Head Coach at Centennial High School (CA), has produced a 50-10 record at Centennial the last four seasons, but like other exceptional coaches he continues to try to find ways to get an advantage over his opponents. While his team was performing brilliantly on the field, Coach Logan saw another opportunity to exploit his opponents’ mismatches on the sideline.

In 2013, when the rules changed, Logan and his staff experimented by using a “cube” that was able to rely video from the sideline to the end zone. He thought it was exactly what he was looking for, but later found the technology was made more for business communications than for football programs. “It was all raw footage,” Logan told us. “The problem was organizing the clips. You had to stream it through as raw footage all the time while other things were being recorded. You had to stream through plays.” As a no-huddle offensive operation, this simply would not work.

So, when Reveal hit the market, Logan was ready for a change. Once he received the product, he saw an immediate difference, which came in the form of portability and accessibility. It came in a backpack, with its own self-contained Wi-Fi hot spot and he’s able to use it with his own cameras. When he found that he would be able to tag plays and immediately view them within 3 to 5 seconds of conclusion, Logan was sold. “During the play, I can tell my guys up in the box ‘tag that play when we are on defense’ and I can to go back to it within 3 to 5 seconds with the rest of the staff and players. It’s very user friendly. It will be faster for us to see the clips we want. It’s similar to HUDL in that you can find what you need. It makes it easy and controllable.”

This season, Logan already has his plan mapped out for the Reveal system. “We will have one of our JV guys run the iPad and we will work through him. When we are on offense, the plays will be recorded. After offense, we’ll meet as a group and look at the defensive group, and review our mistakes. We use it to verify what our players are seeing and what our coaches are seeing. We can see front and secondary coverage. It’s instant feedback from series to series. If you are a huddle team, you can get feedback during the middle of the series.” And now halftime will have a whole new meaning in terms of the ability to improve. “Halftime is huge because of the tagging component,” said Logan. “You can go right to those plays that you tagged during the course of the game on offense, defense or the kicking game. You no longer are guessing about what the opponent is doing or relying on your players. The proof is in the video.”

By Justin Iske
Offensive Line Coach
Southwestern Oklahoma State University
Twitter: @justiniske

Introduction:

The first meeting of the season is an exciting time for both coaches and players. As a coach, it is easy to simply jump right into the nuts and bolts of installing the offense. However, we think that it is very important to cover some philosophical things first. Here is an inside look at what I teach during those initial meetings to make sure the groundwork is set for a successful season.

#1 Set Expectations:

1. Be Coachable: Do things the way that we tell you do them. All five guys must be on the same page or we are all in trouble. If you want to do your own thing, you cannot play for us.
2. Be a Prick: When you walk across the white line for practice or a game, you need to flip the switch. We have to be nasty and take every legal shot that we can.
3. Be Relentless: Nothing but 100% effort from the snap to the echo of the whistle is acceptable.

#2 Philosophy:

It takes a special person to play or coach the offensive line. We will receive no positive recognition from anyone outside our room. If we are successful on offense, it will be because our backs and/or receivers did well. If we are unsuccessful, our unit will take most of the blame. There are no individual stats for us. We are only as strong as our weakest link up front. The only time we will be noticed is when we are called for a penalty or give up a sack.

We grade our players every play of practice in four categories: Assignment, Technique, Effort, and Factor. The five best guys will be on the field regardless of what position they play and the depth chart is always written in pencil. What have you done for me lately?

The number one attribute of a good offensive lineman is toughness (both mental and physical). Flexibility, strength, balance, quickness, and intelligence are all important, but the guys that will play are the guys who we would want with us in a street fight. Our job is to test you in practice and the off-season to find out if you are tough enough to represent us on the field.

#3 Procedures:

Your players must understand how tempo, formation, and play calls will be communicated. Again, everyone must be on the same page. Covering stance, line splits, and alignment on or off the ball is important as well.