Rockford saw its camera as more than a capture tool — it’s the foundation that powers the club.
The Text That Says It All
Frank Mateus, Club Director of Rockford Raptors FC (Ill.), regularly receives a specific text from other coaches in his contacts: Are you bringing the camera?
“A lot of the coaches around know that we have [Focus Flex] cameras. They text me to bring it if they know I’m coming to a game. I love those texts,” Mateus explained.
Remarkably, these aren't just requests from the greater Rockford area. Division I college coaches, even those with their own portable solutions, reach out to ask about the Raptors' Hudl Focus Flex camera.
“If people are asking what you're doing, that means you're doing something right. The camera has become a signal of our club's standards. And if you're copying some of the great things we're doing, that means we're all making life easier and better for our kids.”
Frank Mateus, Executive Director at Rockford Raptors FC
But those texts only started after Mateus switched things up. After struggling with another camera system, Rockford Raptors FC started looking for alternatives.
"I was extremely unsatisfied and unhappy. There were too many issues at all times. I couldn't make a phone call and get some help. That's not good,” he said.
After doing some research and seeing the Focus Flex’s integration with Hudl, the league exchange platform for ECNL, in which Rockford competes, Mateus made the call.
Not just for simple recording and uploading, but to power their performance analysis, recruiting and livestreaming capabilities. Now, Mateus and his club are confident they made the right choice in picking their soccer camera system.
A Family-and-Fans-First Soccer Camera
When the Raptors joined ECNL a few years ago, their travel schedule expanded to include national showcases in places like Las Vegas, Seattle, and Virginia. This growth presented a challenge: not every family member can make every trip.
For a club that prides itself on welcoming families as part of its culture, having games simply "disappear" because they weren't recorded or livestreamed successfully was unacceptable.
Mike Rizzo, the Raptors’ ECNL Girls Director, emphasizes that livestreaming is vital for maintaining that family bond.
“Livestreaming is extremely important for us because we're still a family-oriented club. We want to make sure — whether it's an hour away or across the country — that we provide that for the families,” Rizzo said. “It's not just for the parents. It's friends, it's grandparents, it's everyone.”
Being able to provide video and reliable livestreams for every member of their club is a point of pride. Focus Flex makes it simple to keep everyone connected, regardless of location.
And as the Raptors prepare more athletes to reach the next level, Focus Flex provides college coaches with more ways to watch up-and-coming players without the barriers of travel costs.
More support. More visibility. More than a camera.
A Tactical Edge on the Sideline
Any coach will tell you that consistent film is essential to their day-to-day responsibilities. And with automatic uploads to their Hudl library and the ECNL league exchange, Raptors coaches worry less about logistics and focus more on tactics.
Coach Roberto Guzman discovered this firsthand during a showcase in Virginia. At halftime of one of his team’s matches at an ECNL event, Guzman pulled up the camera’s livestream to relay insights to his second-half substitutes, showing them “tactical pockets” to attack before they stepped onto the pitch.
“I logged in live and got a live [look] at something that was happening in that game. I showed my players on the bench from my laptop, told them: ‘This is the pocket, this is where we can cause some damage,'” Guzman recalled. “We got two goals from that. A pretty neat moment.”
When you can trust your tools to stay connected —even in crowds or the countryside — you can be agile in key moments. That's a literal game changer.
Not Instant Gratification, but Satisfaction
For today's players, speed is everything—on the pitch and off. Mateus notes that players often ask how soon game film will be available before they've even finished packing up their gear.
“The second the game ends, we have kids looking. Every great play, every goal — they know exactly when it was and want to see it,” Mateus said. “I've literally still been on the bench collecting my equipment when a player asks when the game is going to be up.”
Quick access to film after a match feeds the appetite for athletes looking to grow and share their progress as much as it does for coaches who want to dive into performance analysis.
Hudl Focus Flex has built-in 4G capabilities as an a-la-carte option, meaning teams use a data subscription to upload from anywhere as soon as a recording ends. But even for teams that wait until they have WiFi at home or a hotel, the automatic uploads simplify the post-match routine while fueling the journey for entire teams.
“The Hudl Focus Flex camera is fast enough and reliable enough to get the things done that we need to get done immediately,” Rizzo said.
Professional Standards in Rockford
Coach Dimitri Tsoukalas, a veteran coach with five-plus years of Hudl experience, reflects on how much simpler the setup has become, allowing staff to focus on coaching rather than troubleshooting.
“With the Focus Flex, it's just a lot easier to set up now compared to what it felt like just a handful of years ago,” Tsoukalas said. “[Hudl] is growing, just like we are, and it's simplifying things. Doing more and saving us time.”
For Coach Guzman, who joined the club after spending a few seasons working in MLS, the technology meets the professional standards he expects.
“My MLS experience is all about technology. And when I saw that Raptors was along the same lines with Hudl, I was excited,” Guzman said.
Ultimately, the camera has become a beacon of the club’s status as a leader through innovation. And it’s attracting attention.
When other clubs and top Division I programs are looking to you for answers on solving their own recording headaches, it speaks volumes. And if he can inspire other clubs to make the switch to Focus Flex, Mateus thinks it will elevate everyone.
“If people are asking what you're doing, that means you're doing something right,” Mateus said. “The camera has become a signal of our club's standards. And if you're copying some of the great things we're doing, that means we're all making life easier and better for our kids.”
For a club building towards competing with the best in the country, Focus Flex isn’t just a camera: it’s a commitment.
Hudl Focus Flex is the portable soccer camera system that records, uploads and livestreams reliably and consistently. See for yourself why more clubs are making the switch.
