by Carrie Bigbie, Selling for Coaches 

Picture this coach: You are wanting to go to a high school game to check out a potential recruit but logistically you cannot be there because of scouting your next opponent.  You and the other coaches need a way to see this athlete play so you can decide if he would be a good fit for your team.

Even if college coaches can’t make it to see their prospects play in person, there is now new technology that allows them to see it all through video - video that uses technology to analyze the mechanics of each prospect's movement.  College coaches who are scouting an athlete can give high school and junior college coaches a dedicated Dartfish TV channel so they can upload video of the team and or players to review over the Internet.  It is a completely secure site so coaches would decide who has access to it to review the video.

“College coaches could use this type of technology to watch a video and break down a recruit’s pitching or hitting mechanics and make that part of their decision criteria,” says Chuck Wilmot, Regional Sales Director, Dartfish USA.

If the college baseball program is looking to recruit pitchers, the Inside Edge Palm Scout can be helpful in capturing and gathering statistical information about their pitching.  All of the information is stored in the Inside Edge device and can be downloaded using Dartfish and can then be sent with the video over their Dartfish TV channel.

“This solution provides coaches the ability to make player assessments based on game video review where they can collaborate with other coaching staff over the Internet with no logistics issues,” says Wilmot.  “Spreadsheets and word documents can be attached to the player’s video having all the recruiting data in one place where the coaching staff can review this data online.”

Imagine the ability to remove logistic hurdles, being able to upload a video so the coaching staff can review it, and having statistical information right there while watching the video.  College baseball coaches can get a free online demonstration by emailing Chuck Wilmot at chuck.wilmot@dartfish.com or calling him directly at 817.329.9285. 

Not a baseball coach?  No problem...Dartfish TV can help transform the recruiting evaluation process for any college coach.  Click here to get a free demo. 

Posted by Dan Tudor at 11:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Carrie Bigbie, Selling for Coaches

With the World Series winding down and college baseball about to begin their Winter workouts, college baseball coaches might be thinking about how to help improve their athletes this year.  For those that are hoping to make big strides by working smarter, and not just harder, there are some new technologies out there that can make a huge difference.

One way college coaches may start helping players with their skills is by breaking down their motions  and mechanics using video.  Some coaches are still doing it manually with charts they have created, which is less accurate and more time consuming. 

No matter what your techniques are, coach, you probably want something that is easy to use and not as time consuming.  Dartfish and Inside Edge have created a fascinating solution that can help college coaches review their players in practice as well as in actual contests.  “We have produced a tool for coaches to really develop their players,” says Chuck Wilmot, Regional Sales Director for Dartfish USA. 

Besides creating a solution that is quick and easy to use, here are two more ways it can help college baseball programs:

1. Ease the job of charting pitches with the Inside Edge device.  You can sit behind home plate and video while in a game or at practice.  The information (speed, location, etc) is then stored electronically instead of someone having to put it on paper. Coaches would then import the information from the device to Dartfish via their computer.  From there, you can instantly search for pitches you want to see and create charted information.

2. Review video without having to worry about logistically being in the same room.  Once coaches have video on their hitters or pitchers, they will need to review it with their athletes and their fellow coaches.  Imagine having the ability to remove all of the logistical issues of scheduling a time to get together to complete that task.  With Dartfish TV, coaches can take the highlights, upload them to their team’s Dartfish TV channel on the Internet, and review with their players in the same room, over the phone, or on the road.  College baseball coaches can also have the other coaches review the clips and include statistical reports.

 “The real value is being able to see and develop each individual player”, says Wilmot. 

College baseball coaches can get a free online demonstration by emailing Chuck Wilmot at chuck.wilmot@dartfish.com or calling him directly at 817.329.9285.  

Next week: We'll talk about how this new technology tool can help college baseball coaches in their recruiting.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Carrie Bigbie, SFC Newsletter Editor 

“…so you want to extend your arms more and follow through with the ball.  I wish I had a way to show you.  Wait a second, let me go get my video camera  and we can download this to the computer and review it step by step.  I think I'm also going to send it to Coach Adams and get his feedback on it.”

 It's one of the most difficult aspects of your job as a coach: Training an athlete by trying to communicate what they need to change. 

If you struggle with this during your coaching, Dartfish can help with their ground-breaking video software designed specifically for coaches at all levels. They even have their own web sharing platform, Dartfish TV, so you can upload your videos and include tags, thumbnails, comments, annotations, analysis and keywords for everyone - you, your staff and the athlete - to review until they understand the change that is needed.  Dartfish has been proven to be helpful in coaching by showing the athlete what they are doing correctly when it comes to their individual mechanics, and what areas they can improve.

Dartfish TV is helping college sports programs in several ways:

• Save time and gain efficiency - your video content is accessible anytime and anywhere just by logging into your Dartfish TV platform and downloading the video you would like to view.  Whether you are in your lockerroom, or on the road, you can coach on the fly and teach through visual aids.

• You decide who sees what – whether commenting on a performance one-on-one, or sharing analysis with thousands, you decide who sees what by selecting who has access and sending them the link and password to your platform.

• Hit your target audience – create your customized channel on Dartfish TV and invite your audience to an unprecedented video experience so they can see what your athletic program is all about, and get the inside view on how you use technology to make your athletes better.  (Click here for an example of what USA Volleyball has put together using Dartfish TV!)

“We wanted to create a place where the athlete can experience the analysis”, says Ron Imbriale, Dartfish Senior Vice President, “Not only have we done that, now it can also be shared with others.” 

Depending on what type of sport you coach, Dartfish and Dartfish TV can help you.

Team Sports

With Dartfish software, you can capture and tag entire games to your computer live or after the action.  If you want to show a specific play, you can quickly retrieve that situation by categorizing the video to create an index of events.  It also includes user-friendly tools to help you make tactical analyses of specific game situations or technical analyses of players.  College coaches can also create effective motivational movies or prepare playlists of relevant events to show your team and other coaches using the Dartfish TV platform.  (Lots of college coaches use Dartfish's patented Stromotion technology to compare the mechanics of two different athletes). 

Individual Sports

With the visual support you get from this easy to use technology, you can improve communication with athletes by bringing them face-to-face with their own performances.  Dartfish allows you to easily integrate video during your training and give athletes instant visual feedback.  This helps make it easier for them to understand the adjustments they need to make according to your comments.  With Dartfish, you can make technical analysis of movement and performance by selecting key moments on the video, comparing them with reference clips and using drawing and measurement tools. 

“The Dartfish products have been designed for every kind of sport,” says Imbriale, “Whether you coach a team or individual sport, it will help you to reinforce your athlete’s understanding of your training.”

“Coach Adams responded with his feedback on the Dartfish video we showed him yesterday.  Let’s take a look.  He made annotations throughout the video so we can actually know which areas he is referring to.  I think this will help you understand a what I'm talking about a little better now.”

Distribute your videos.  Analysis. Multimedia presentations to other coaching staff. Showcasing your program and cutting-edge coaching abilitiesnew recruits, athlete’s families, fans, and alumni.  The Dartish TV platform can deliver it to college coaches.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

by Carrie Bigbie, SFC Newsletter Editor 

Picture this, Coach...

You have your eye on that star athlete whom you would really like to see wearing your team's uniform next year.  You have written letters, made a couple of calls, but are looking for that extra edge to put your school on top as their number one choice. 

You decide to give the new Dartfish TV program a try.  You find some great footage of several key moments on your team last year, your big comback to win the conference title, and even add some images of life at your school.  You upload it to the Dartfish TV website and ask your targeted athlete to go and view it.  And whatta-ya know...after they see it, they get a great feeling about your school and decide to sign on.

Sound like something like that is too good to be true?  Think again.

That’s exactly why coaches in a variety of sports are raving about the Dartfish software and their new web-sharing platform, Dartfish TV.  This platform will allow coaches to upload videos of their sports performances and include tags like thumbnails, comments, annotations, analyses and keywords.

Even more impressive is the fact that some of sport's leading coaches and trainers have signed on to use the technology.  For example, the national governing bodies at the Olympic level will be using it this summer in Beijing. 

“When competing at the Olympics, every second counts,” says Ron Imbriale, Dartfish Senior Vice President, “and by using the Dartfish software and Dartfish TV platform, coaches can review recorded performances for training purposes, as well as share the videos with other coaches back home.”

With this new web sharing platform, college coaches can:

1.  Communicate with your current athletes in a private, closed group by showing specific game situations and analyzing their performances.  That helps coach through better visual feedback, improving their performance sooner.

2.  Show videos to recruits you are targeting to attend your school by posting them on your website or blog.  Giving your recruits a visual "inside" look at your program can make them feel more connected to you and your athletes. 

3.  Create an added service to parents, alumni, and fans by allowing them to view videos you want to share to the public by offering a subscription-type service. 

Dartfish contends that coaches need to approach their program in the same way that a new corporate venture might approach their potential customers.  “We have created Dartfish TV to help coaches build more of a business and a service”, says Imbriale.

With the new Dartfish technology, college coaches can allow their recruits to truly “experience” their athletic program by sharing memorable moments which will make them feel like they are experiencing it live.  And, once they are a part of a program that uses Dartfish, they will learn faster, train better and have access to the same technology that Olympians have.

To see a free demo of how Dartfish works, and how college coaches use it, click here.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 11:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Like most coaches at the college level, the staff at Ole Miss' Women's Soccer program use video analysis on a daily basis.

The difference in their approach?  They've added a dynamic facet to their video review and coaching sessions.

The staff starting using Dartfish, the video analysis software made popular by Olympic coaches.  More and more college coaches are using the software to help their athletes become better more quickly, and are also using it to draw recruits to their program by demonstrating the cutting-edge benefits of training with a system like the one Dartfish provides.

"Our use of Dartfish during our two playing seasons is a daily occurance,"says Derek Greene, assistant coach at Ole Miss.  "For instance, we have created event buttons for each of our players.  Whenever a player is involved in a play, whether she is actually on the ball or supporting the play, we can now click a button and go back and analyze the play with the young woman at that that moment."

One of Coach Greene's favorite features for coaching his athletes, and showing-off to his visiting prospects, is the Dartfish time lapse feature.

"The time lapse feature is a great tool that allows us to pre-roll time so that when we push the player button, the video actually capture several seconds earlier.  We are also able to determine the length of the clip so that when the player involved is no longer a part of the player the video capture will end."

That's just one of the aspects of this surprisingly easy-to-use software that coaches are being drawn to from campus to campus.  The instant video feedback it can provide during practice, as well as the video sharing feature that allows coaches from different points to analyze and coach an athlete, are features that coaches are finding invaluable to their college coaching careers.

Learning more about Dartfish is easy, free and informative.  Dartfish is making it possible for coaches who are curious about what the software looks like, and what it can do.  And, you can do it from your office.

Click here to see when the next live online demo is taking place.  They are sport-specific, and really interesting.  It's something that would be smart to take a look at, Coach.  In fact, it may end up being one of the best new tools you'll uncover for next season!  

Posted by Dan Tudor at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The same technology used by Olympic trainers, Major League Baseball, the NFL and other professional athletes is now being used by a surprising number of college coaches.

And they're not just using it to make their athletes better in competition.  Coaches are using it to recruit athletes to their campus, as well.

The technology is a software called Dartfish, and it's moving into the mainstream of college sports.

"Dartfish is really beginning to make an impact in the college sports world," says Victor Bergonzoli, CEO of Dartfish North America.  "For coaches, it provides their athletes with some amazing training feedback and it also gives them a real advantage in how they can recruit athletes to their program."

How?

• Dartfish gives coaches and trainers a view of athlete motion and mechanics that colleges would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.  Emmy Award winning StroMotion technolgy, along with their Simulcam feature, allows coaches to give athletes immediate visual feedback to their technique and performance.
• When it comes to recruiting, it shows the prospect of a college coach who is a Dartfish user how their program uses the latest technology to help their athletes be the best they can be at the collegiate level.  College coaches, who first used Dartfish to give their athletes an edge on the field of competition, are now finding it to be a unique recruiting tool that gets a recruit's attention.

Schools like Portland University, Stanford, Louisville, Michigan, Texas and dozens of others have started using Dartfish to get a performance - and recruiting - edge.

Will the trend continue?  Bergonzoli thinks so.

"Coaches are finding out how simple and effective this tool is.  As word gets out, and coaches find out about how affordable it is to start using, I think you will see it become a normal part of the college training and recruiting landscape."

Interested in seeing if Dartfish is right for your program?  Click here to get more information, and a free demo live in your office.  It's really interesting, and we think you'll see why college coaches get so excited about what it can do for their program.

Posted by Dan Tudor at 07:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)