Smarter and More Efficient in No Time

The Rocklin High School football team went from 4-6 to 14-1, won the Sierra Foothill League Title, brought home our first CIF Sac Joaquin Section Championship, and finished state runner-up in one of the toughest leagues in California all in one year. Coach Amalong and staff agree Hudl helped them become smarter and more efficient within weeks of using the system.

It was week three of the season for Rocklin High School football and Assistant Coach Jerad Amalong was at wits end.

“I knew we weren’t doing as much as we could with our current video editing system,” said Coach Amalong. “It was just too complicated.”

Coach Amalong stumbled upon Hudl and decided it was at least worth trying. After signing up for the 30-day free trial and downloading the Hudl Video Editor, Coach Amalong immediately started experiencing the time savings that Hudl could offer him and his staff.

“Our immediate benefit was the ability to not have to waste time burning DVDs for coaches. That alone was enough for us to want to pay for Hudl after the trial ended. I hate burning DVDs and I think our staff would agree – it was worth the investment just to not hear me moan and groan.”

The Thunder staff was pleasantly surprised to see their kids actually enjoyed watching film. They were spending hours logging on to Hudl.com from home.

“The kids enjoyed watching film and we had no idea before because they had never had the capability to do so in the past.”

Coach Amalong and staff began diving further into Hudl in just a few days and they immediately became much more efficient. Within a week, the staff began adding their voice, telestration and text directly on top of their video. Coaches then shared their notes out to just their position groups (offensive lineman, defensive backs, etc.) directly in Hudl.

“Things quickly became much more efficient. We no longer needed to point to the screen during a film session and hope that a kid would see what we were trying to explain. If I want to point out a receiver’s route, I can add my telestration directly on top of my video and share it out directly to my players.”

As the receivers and quarterbacks coach, Coach Amalong created a column in Hudl titled ‘Quarterback Grade’. He uses a simple 3-point +/- grading system. If he notices a player is continually getting a low grade he can add notes on top of his video ‘You didn’t carry out your fake after the handoff’ or ‘Look at your footwork here.’ Amalong can then share these notes with the film directly to his quarterbacks.

After 10 consecutive wins, the Rocklin Thunder football team was on a roll and ready to head into state playoffs for the first time in four years.

                                                                                                                                                               

Utilizing Hudl to Prepare for California State Playoffs

2 min.	Download Hudl Video Editor directly from Hudl.com on 6 coaches’ computers.
5 min.	Load 6 DVDs of upcoming playoff opponents into each computer’s DVD drive.
15 min.	Rip games from DVDs into the Hudl Video Editor on each coaches’ computer.
0 min.	Create clips from DVDs - When Hudl detects sharp or drastic changes in video (what happens when you stop recording and start 10 seconds later), it’s smart enough to auto-cut clips from each break.
5 min.	Mark offense, defense, and kicking plays in the Hudl Video Editor for each game.
45 min.	Publish games from each editing station from the Hudl Video Editor to Hudl.com for all coaches to access.
30 min.	Clips begin showing up on Hudl.com instantly. Coaches each start breaking down the games simultaneously from their own computers on Hudl.com
3 min.	Generate scouting reports to see upcoming opponents tendencies on Hudl.com
3 min.	Share film and reports directly to players, highlighting specific routes and plays with text, telestration and voice.
TOTAL = 105 min./1hr. 45 min.	Coaches and players all have access to 6 upcoming opponents’ game film with breakdown data and scouting reports showing upcoming opponents tendencies.

Efficiency was key in preparing for the playoffs and Coach Amalong and the staff feld more prepared than ever with such a short amount of time invested. The team dominated 4-0 in playoffs and lost due to a last-second field goal in the CIF State championship. 

“We are part of one of the most competitive leagues in California,” Amalong said. “In Sacramento, most teams are using a basic editing system and think they are ahead of the game. With Hudl, we truly believe we have the competitive advantage over our opponents.”