In the American Hockey League, travel schedules can be demanding. Learn how Alec Rippetoe of the Charlotte Checkers uses video analysis tools to get his staff everything they need to streamline workflows during a three game, three city road trip.

As manager of the team services and video coordinator for the Checkers, previously serving for the Springfield Thunderbirds before the Panthers switched their AHL affiliate to Charlotte this year, one of Alec Rippetoe’s greatest workplace challenges is to balance multiple tasks at the same time while also maintaining a high-quality of analysis work during hectic travel and match schedules.

In the AHL, ‘3-in-3’s’ refers to a schedule of three games on three consecutive nights, including travel to different cities on some occasions. These can be a daunting task for players, who take the physical strain out on the ice, but also on the staff side, where coaching and analysis work needs to be completed on a very quick turnaround between games.

“Hours of video, browsing over data and analytics that might be relevant, and coming up with a game plan are all part of a typical work week leading up to these games,” said Rippetoe. 

“Typically, I will breakdown the opponents’ three previous games for our coaching staff and provide that to our coaches as soon as I have completed breaking them down.  Along with these video prescouts, I will provide the coaches with some statistical reports and tendencies about the opposition, organizational updates such as lineups and injuries. Furthermore, I will also provide some video clips to our players that they might find useful such as face-offs, power plays/penalty kills, or statistical references.”

The Panthers AHL affiliate in action during the 2019 season.

For Rippetoe and the coaching staff, one of the keys to providing accurate analysis in a fast-paced environment is to utilize analysis software.

It’s important in a quick turnaround to present game analysis to the staff with statistical reports and opposition tendency reports rather than just basic clips being delivered. That way, coaches can waste no time developing the strategy they need to be made possible by the Sportscode matrix, output windows, and playlist tools.

Hours of video, browsing over data and analytics that might be relevant, and coming up with a game plan are all part of a typical work week leading up to these games. Alec Rippetoe - Manager of Team Services, Charlotte Checkers

“Using Hudl Sportscode and Hudl has been crucial to making my job as easy as possible with the variety of ways to provide whatever information is needed for our players,” said Rippetoe.  “Whether it’s video, stats, or messaging our players with updates for our travel and meeting times, I am able to utilize the Hudl app to complete all of these tasks. With the ease of this process, it is as easy as uploading content and sharing with all of our players and staff.”

The Hudl Sportscode timeline that Rippetoe uses to code live events and export clips for analysis.
An example of the Hudl Sportscode Matrix from a movie package coded in-game by Alec Rippetoe.

Once gameday comes, Hudl Sportscode makes organization very simple through the sorting tool, which allows clipped instances to be transferred from the matrix to a curated playlist for coaches to view.

“We typically will run all of our gameday meetings through our sorters that we will build throughout the week,” said Rippetoe. “After morning skate, we finalize all of our meetings for the game that night.  Whether it be a special teams meeting, or full team meeting, having these sorters setup and ready to go is always key. Each coach usually likes to make their own clips for the following morning, and we will expand on it and build our meetings once we come back into the rink. I also upload the game footage for all of our players on the Hudl online platform so they will have the opportunity to access their shifts or any game footage they want.”

The Sorter tool allows for clips to organized effectively for presentation to coaches and players. A key tool for the team while traveling on the road.

With three games in three days presenting a major logistical challenge for many analysts across any sport, using video tools has made Rippetoe’s job much easier, especially in terms of time saved.

“During a 3-in-3, time is of the essence and with the video tools we have, it makes it a lot easier to get the job done,” said Rippetoe. “Things happen quick, but with a game in each of the following two days, the process stays the same. With the use of Hudl Sportscode, it creates an easy process that allows fluidity through our entire coaching staff and allows us to create whatever means are necessary to win the games ahead of us.”

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