Stop Guessing, Start Correcting: The Camera System Advantage on the Diamond

The softball program at Iowa Western Community College is known for its strong talent development, helping athletes move on to four-year programs. 

Head Coach Heidi Jordan explains her philosophy clearly: 

"I don't need the best athletes. I need the most hungry athletes, the ones that are willing to come in and grind and work and chase those dreams."

As a coach at the DII, DIII, NAIA, or NJCAA level, you know that your athletes are hungry, but they’re also juggling school, work, and life outside the lines. You don't have time to waste in classroom sessions, and you certainly don't have room for missing a key detail in practice or a game.

A game like softball brings plenty of fast-twitch actions, like infield turns, which can cause some of those key details to be missed. When a single perspective falls short of explaining the necessary adjustment, it’s hard for athletes to fix what they can’t see, and relying solely on verbal cues can slow down improvement.

 Instead of a guessing game, Iowa Western builds a shared understanding of performance. Assistant Coach Gabrielle Schultz emphasizes the importance of visual connection between coaches and athletes. “They feel it, but they may not see it, and I'm seeing it, but they may not be able to express it the way I want to. By using Hudl, we kind of sit down and we're bonding over the fact that we both see what we've both been talking about.”

Focus Point Delivers Next-Level Clarity

The Hudl Focus Point camera eliminates the communication gap by giving you synchronized views from multiple angles. "People have had press box camera views from behind the plate for forever,” Jordan explained, “ but to be able to have these extra angles to add in depth of the play or maybe a side of the play that gets covered or you can't see from the backside, and to have them synced up is game-changer.”

Identify the smallest details in fast-paced plays. 

Infield plays happen fast. Coach Schultz can slow down the transfer and footwork on a double-play ball, identifying tiny details that impact time or accuracy. "Hudl slows it down and lets us kind of understand what we're doing and what we're going through,” she explained.  

Gain precision in pitching and catching. 

For catchers' throwdowns, IWCC uses a three-camera setup to see the exchange and footwork from the side, the press box and the over-the-shoulder view, all synced perfectly. This instant clarity allows them to review all angles of the throw, and make corrections that stick.

Get big-picture views for a full-field look. 

With indoor access and portable camera capabilities, the staff can set up an elevated overhead view during practice to check team positioning, bunt defense, and coverage movements. This comprehensive perspective is vital for cold-weather programs utilizing indoor practice time to maximize competitive reps.

See Immediate Impact With No Wasted Time

As a coach at this level, your time is invaluable. Your workflow should be designed to streamline your efforts, not add to it. The Focus Point system Iowa Western has adopted is designed for efficiency and speed. Everything, including daily practices, is immediately recorded and uploaded to Hudl. 

Coaches can rewatch the footage and quickly clip out the relevant moments for their position groups. The clips are then organized into a dedicated library with clear titles and notes, so athletes can review their specific plays on their own time, avoiding the need for those long classroom sessions.

The biggest impact comes from offloading data entry with Hudl Assist. When coaches upload the game footage, Hudl immediately breaks it down by player and pitch result, automatically generating clips and analytics. “Hudl Assist breaks this down for us. So, it saves us a lot of time and energy of going through this and it keeps all the information right here and easily accessible,” said Jordan.

The Athlete Outcome is Empowered Development

Today’s athletes want to see the evidence of their performance immediately. For the Reivers, video and data isn’t only a tool for coaches, but a tool for athlete empowerment. Utilizing this approach accelerates development, with players often communicating with their coaches right away after reviewing clips. This ability to quickly self-correct leads to faster skill transfer for athletes. 

Hitting Coach Zach Sigler explains the vital role video plays in player communication and growth:

"Kids are sponges for information right now... They're such visual kids that it allows them to… 30 minutes after practice, be able to look at their phone, get on their computer, and see what they did and be able to adjust and make adjustments for the next day."