The Secret That Needs to Come Out in AFL Football Analysis

The Key Challenges for Community AFL Clubs

As Head Coach of Doncaster East FC, Ryan James understands the main challenges that face clubs in the community game - a small amount of in-person coaching time with players who work day jobs during the week, smaller financial resources compared to the professional leagues and limited coaching resources to spread across a full squad of players.

“Time is the biggest constraint we've got,” explained James. “‘We only get the players for three hours a week for training. In that time, we've got injury management and preparation for games. All our players have come from work, so we can't keep them here for too long.”

'”As a Community AFL club, it's crucial we have professional level tools to save us time, at a price that clubs at our level can afford.”

The Solution for Community AFL Clubs

To maximize their coaching time with players and free up coaching resources at the club, Doncaster East have implemented the Hudl Focus Flex automatic video capture system.

The Focus Flex camera is portable, can be set up at any location, takes only minutes to set up, and records all training sessions and matches automatically - without the need for a camera person. This frees up an extra set of hands for coaching and support duties. 

Doncaster East now has high quality video capture across multiple angles for every training session and match for their season, including the crucial behind the goal angle, which is the most important camera angle for AFL analysis. 

“It's just a matter of locking the camera into the tripod, we raise it up, shoot the camera in the angle that we think is best, and then calibrate it through the Hudl Focus App,” said James. “It's all done within two or three minutes and we're back to coaching and watching the boys warm up.”

The Hudl Focus Flex Workflow on the Training Ground

Coaches at community level are time poor and have limited touchpoints with their playing squad during the week. This means the few hours per week spent at the training ground with the squad need to be utilised as efficiently as possible.

On a training night, the Doncaster East squad begin their session with a review of their last match using their Focus Flex footage, before heading out to the field. 

The Flex camera captures the training footage automatically and is then available for review almost immediately after the training session ends. The speed of footage delivery means coaching points from the training session can be addressed on the same evening, and players can access their clips and coaching feedback post-session through the Hudl mobile app. 

 “The Hudl Flex vision, it's crucial for us to have the vision there pretty much straight away,” said James. “We only have a short turnaround, a day in between sessions, so if we do want to focus on something that we've seen at training, the ability for us coaches to look at it and then act on it with players, it's just a short turnaround. At our level, it's just a massive time saver for us.

With the Hudl Flex Camera, the added bonus for us is from player 1 to player 60 on our list, everyone's got the same ability to get better and the same ability to see the same vision, the same educational tools. 

We often talk about it here. It's like you'll be as good as what you want to be, but as a club, we'll give you every resource to be the best you can be.”

“These are same tools that we use in the pros”

Doncaster East Full Forward Josh Schache, who previously played 76 games at the top level of the game with the Brisbane Lions, Western Bulldogs, and Melbourne Demons, knows what high performance looks like, having used the same analysis tools in the AFL that are now used at community level.

“I've previously played in the AFL and these are the same tools that we use in the pros,” said Schache. “We can use the Hudl app anywhere pretty much. So we'll use it before training, We can use it in the changing rooms on our phones, it's very easily accessible.

 It's awesome to be able to have these tools available coming from the pros and have these in the local league to have in our game.”

Maximize your AFL coaching with the Hudl Focus Flex workflow

The Hudl Focus Flex workflow is an end-to-end coaching solution for AFL clubs at all levels. The Flex camera captures the action automatically and then that footage integrates directly with Hudl and Sportscode for a deeper level of video and data analysis. 

“With Sportscode and Hudl and the Flex Camera, it increases our ability to teach the younger boys,” explained James. “A lot of them have come up from junior football and haven't had the ability to look at vision and see the other side of the game, like why you're able to get the ball, why you don't get the ball, why you're able to defend, why you're not. 

So, it's just another tool to allow players to grow in an area that they haven't been able to properly educate themselves with vision through junior football and pathways.”

Sportscode for AFL Analysis at Community Level

Sportscode is the next step for bringing elite level analysis to the community game. The tool that professional teams use to break down footage and database key statistics across the nuances of AFL analysis.

“Sportscode allows me to break up a whole game into smaller sections of the game,” said James. “It's the ability to change our focus depending on how we've played. Your ability to change code windows, focus points, and then the ability to have it systemized.

So when I've finished coding the whole game, if I've spoken about offside runs or talking about our post contact work, it's all in the one folder, one spot, I can just click on it and just go through it. And the ability to upload that playlist onto Hudl for our players, just to focus on those points and not sift through 20-30 clips, I can just put them all in areas, save the time of players, and just focus on specific points that we want as coaches. 

I find it my number one asset, for me, it's like having another Assistant Coach. Probably like having another two Assistant Coaches to show things that aren't showing up on camera or sometimes the players don't actually know that they're doing something, whether that be good or bad. The ability to show and teach, it's probably the most valuable thing I've got.”

Hudl: Your Secret Weapon for AFL Analysis at Community Level

Video analysis isn’t a luxury, it's now a necessity for football at a community level for clubs who want to stay ahead of the curve, develop their players more effectively, and use coaching time most efficiently. 

“The Hudl workflow is crucial for our ability to develop and educate our players at Community Level while saving time,” said James.

 “It's the ability of community football, to have the tools of AFL, VFL and state league clubs. I don't think enough clubs realise that it's obtainable and how good it is to help your group get better and how it is personally as a coach to save time, to upskill yourself and your players. 

I think it's one of the secrets that needs to get out.”

Learn how your AFL club can use professional level analysis at a price community clubs can afford

Never miss a moment: Take a closer look at how Hudl Focus Flex can automate your video capture and review. 

Ready to take it a step further? The Hudl Pro Suite combines capture, analysis and review within one connected platform.