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Using Google Drive to Coach? There’s a Better Way

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Are you really getting the most out of your film with Google Drive? Check out all the advantages of using a software system instead.

Whether you’re an educator or working in the corporate world, you’re probably all too familiar with the intricacies and benefits of a digital file-sharing system. They’re ubiquitous, and for good reasons. But when it’s time to put on your coaching hat, are they the most efficient option?

After all, with a coach’s plate already way too full, convenience and comfort will always rule the day, right? But a file storage system like Google Drive doesn’t operate on the same level as fully customizable, cloud-based storage software.

We get it. Your setup isn’t ideal. You’d like to level up, but you’re worried about being overwhelmed, over-charged, or both. But more and more coaches are turning to programs like Hudl for getting the most out of their film. They’re compartmentalizing it in such a way that’s easy for everyone involved—and gives them more bang than they bargained for. Here’s a litany of reasons why. 

Easy to Organize

Google Drive really isn’t meant to be used how coaches use it. It’s difficult to organize, filter and share. When you upload film, there are no tags, no playlists, and no attached notes for teaching points. You have to do all that heavy lifting on your own, which can take hours on end. 

Want to see how efficient you are with a certain play? Want to see how your players are taking care of the little things that make the difference on the court? With a system like Hudl, you can arrange your film however you like, in a manner that’s easier for athletes to digest. And if your stats are on Hudl, it’s even easier to find and share the moments that matter most. (There’s definitely no way to link stats to video on Google drive.)

More Accountability and Clarity

Google Drive doesn’t show how much time athletes are watching film, so it’s hard to hold your athletes accountable. With Hudl, you’ll know who’s doing their homework and who’s not. You’ll be able to track how long your players are watching film, and what they’re watching.

Need to communicate your points with crystal clarity? Intuitive analysis tools let you draw on top of the film, or stop the action to call up notes that point out something on screen. Try doing this with Google Drive and you’ll end up shelling out big bucks just for the requisite video editing software.

Unparalleled Speed and Convenience

Unless you’re stopping the film periodically—which, in a fast-moving sport like basketball, runs its own risks—you’ll likely be spending some time cutting up the film before you upload it to Google Drive. That can sometimes take hours. If you only have a limited amount of time, you can’t afford to be handcuffed by the clumsiness of hitting the “forward” and “rewind” buttons over and over.

With Hudl, the film is ready for you to tag to your modifications. You can even eliminate the tagging with Hudl Assist’s interactive reports, which tie advanced statistics directly to video. Want to see how a certain set looked against a zone defense? You can create a playlist for it immediately. 

As a coach, you not only want as much information as you want. You want it instantly, while that brilliant thought you just had is fresh in your mind. Say you’re preparing for an opponent that runs a complex defense you haven’t seen since last season, and want to see how you played it that last time. How long would it take you to go digging through your archives just to find the right game, never mind what you’re looking for from it?

Whatever your analysis workflow looks like, Hudl’s custom tools adapt. Distribution to your players and staff is as simple as the push of a button. You can simply call up a playlist, and text it out to all the necessary parties that need to see it, all without skipping a beat.

Support When You Need It

Have you ever heard this from your staff?

“Oh my God! I accidentally deleted it!”

Or maybe it’s, “S$*!! I didn’t mean to go in and delete that tab!”

We’ve heard it a lot. That’s why awesome technical support from a Hudl representative is only a call, email, chat or tweet away. Our experts think like coaches, so we’ll always have a good understanding of what problem you’re trying to solve.

Like sharing files. It hasn’t always been easy. But with a program like Hudl, everything you share with your staff and your players is essentially read-only. Only you can edit or delete what you put up there, leaving no room for error and more control over your film.

Maximize Your Recruiting Potential

“I tell my guys, if you’re trying to get a scholarship based on buckets, you’re getting nothing,” says University High (Orange City, Fla.) coach Robert Soler. 

Nobody gets an opportunity to play at the next level based on stats alone—college coaches want the whole body of work. That means game footage and advanced data. Pace-adjusted stats like turnover percentage, rebounding percentage, plus-minus and points per possession can tell a lot about a player’s efficiency when they’re on the court, especially in limited minutes. Hudl Assist tracks all of these stats and more, plus they’re tied right to the video, making it easy for any coach to comprehend.

Set Them Up for a Bright Future

Just like holding a basketball doesn’t make you the next LeBron, merely sharing game film with your athletes doesn’t make them film buffs. If your athletes want to play at a higher level, they’ll need to know how read stats and watch film. If they don’t have that discipline, they’ll fall behind quickly. 

College conferences are heavy on the film-sharing. Subsequently, the best college athletes routinely find themselves combing through video clips and scouting reports, trying to study up on how they’ll defend the next player they’re guarding. High school athletes need to be doing this, too.

Don’t have them look at film just to look—stoke the film geek in your players by having them understand how the numbers come together. Another reason there’s tremendous value in interactive reports that tie every data point directly to video. 

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There are countless ways Hudl can create more efficiency for your staff during the season, not to mention the countless ways coaches are already using Hudl’s tools to win more. Ready to see the difference for yourself? 

Learn More | Take a Demo

 


Filed Under: Program Building, Uncategorized

Trying or Training: Predicting your own progress and potential

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Trying or Training: Predicting your own progress and potential
Written and contributed by Dr. Chris Hobbs ( Follow him on Twitter @Dr_ChrisHobbs)

Imagine if a friend invited you to play in a dodgeball tournament at the local gym this weekend. For those of you that love the rush of competition and the thrill of whipping an object at total strangers, you’d be all in. You’d show up this weekend, stretch out a little bit, shake hands with your temporary teammates, and go at it. There’s not a doubt in my mind that you would try very hard to destroy others and avoid getting destroyed.

Now image with me if a member of the U.S. Olympic committee showed up at your front door and identified you as the most likely candidate to win the gold medal at the Olympics in the triathlon but in order to tap into your hidden potential, you must start 7-day per week training immediately!

In the dodgeball tournament, you would try very hard and in the triathlon story you would train very hard. Trying and training are two very different things that if we take a moment and think about, I think we’d be more successful in accomplishing important things in our lives.

Try: a short term event requiring maximum effort. The results of trying are usually short-lived and have very little return on your investment.
Train: a preparation for a pre-determined goal that requires regular and sustainable effort. The results usually have a lot of redeeming value and there is a plan in place for how to handle frustration. You simply return to your frustration.

There are lots of things in life that require a good ‘ol fashioned try. You give it your best. However, there are really important things in life that we try too hard and don’t train enough for. What are some of those things? I would put important roles you hold in your life at the top of this list. What would it look like to train to be a better parent, spouse, value-adder at work, or a Christ-follower? Here’s my suggestions…

Reserve a short period of time everyday for your training. For me, this is in the quiet hours of the morning. For night owls, it may be after everyone in your house has gone to bed. For others, they may have flexibility during their lunch break. Early in your training, make it short so that it is sustainable. 10 minutes, added up over 30 days, is a lot of time spent training. As your commitment grows and results begin to show up, adding time will take place naturally.

Track your training. I’ve heard it said that if you aren’t tracking progress, you aren’t making progress. Find a way to track what you’ve done. Journaling, notes on your smart phone, crossing off days on a calendar. Seeing the compilation of your training efforts can inspire you to keep going.

Pick a source for your training. Books, podcasts, websites, blogs, or scheduled phone calls with someone that has made progress in the area you are training for are all sources of training. My son is an avid championship level distance runner. He has recently discovered that reading books about running is a great source of training for him.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD 10 MORE EXCLUSIVE ARTICLES FROM DR. CORY DOBBS


Share your training experiences with others. I have found that talking about what I’m training for with others creates a lot of energy. Often, it’s because I find that the person I’m talking to has had or is having a similar experience and that inspires me to keep going.

At different points in my life, I have been frustrated with the outcome of a situation in which I was trying very hard. However, I have found that I deal with frustration in a lot healthier way when it is in an area that I’m training for. I simply return to my training and keep moving forward.

Trying is great for dodging a ball thrown at your head. Training is much more valuable when trying to unlock your potential…even if you’ll never be an Olympic triathlete.

‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read about it more here.

Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school sweetheart and they have three teenage children. Life is messy and complicated most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.


Filed Under: Personal Development, Program Building, Uncategorized

The (W)inner Game

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This article was written and submitted to me by Björn Galjaardt. The article has application to coaching regardless of the sport that you coach.

With a flirt to water polo…

Who didn’t hear about Vince Lombardi’s quote; ‘Winning is not everything, but the will to win is’? Months or years of effort to achieve a certain goal, fueled by a driving will. But how do we create a will to win (process), rather than the focus on the outcome of winning itself (product)?

Correcting automatically to achieve best performance.

In 1974 Tim Callwey wrote about certain principles in which an individual uses non-judgmental observations of critical variables, with the purpose of being accurate about these observations. If the observations are accurate, the person’s body will adjust and correct automatically to achieve best performance(1). Below I summarised these principles of the ‘inner game’ and provided some thoughts. Triggering and shifting a thinking process in relation to process and product and having a deeper understanding in, what I think should be called, the (w)inner game.

  • Self 1+2. Listen to your subconscious mind. Everyday actions are imbedded in our subconscious mind. Our conscious mind will tell us what to do and how to do it (eg. look at the ball, bend your elbow). Often we only listen to our conscious mind. However, in our subconscious mind we already know what we are doing and we doing it perfectly fine (eg. thinking, walking). By trying to listen to our subconscious mind (self 2), we can actually lead our conscious mind (self 1) and let it eventually take over.
  • Quiet. Be quiet and observe. Instead of focussing on the result of the action, look at the action and process that action. That is where the bus stops. Not thinking about the how to react, will refocus the mind on what is actually happening. Be non-judgmental, only note what happens. Sport example; the ball bounces. Focus on how it bounce, what speed, where, etc. Don’t anticipate, no further actions required.
  • Act the part. Ask for qualities. How would it look like when a certain action is perfectly executed? What are the motions and emotions? Express it and literally perform that. Repeat until you can match the quality. Business example: the body language, the smile and posture for the connection with audience when presenting.
  • Challenges. Embrace challenges. Be excited. A challenge is an opportunity to show your skills or qualities. A challenge is where you could meet your flow. Flow is where challenge meet skills. Adapt and adjust qualities till you acquire the skill needed for the challenge. Break challenges down and build up qualities to reach a balanced level.
  • Don’t fight. Improve what you are good at. Don’t fight bad habits, work with them. Convert thinking into a challenge. Example: I am going to create a new technique. I am going to be excited to learn it. How can I make it work (better for me) to perform. Note the difference; I am not good at this or I will give it a go.

Currently ‘positive coaching’ and ‘leader vs boss’ are hot topics. Observe the principles above. There is a correlation between process and product and how it changed managers, leaders and coaches. Focus on the do’s, matching skills with challenge and adjusting these accordingly. This is relevant in Sport and Business, although the principles aim to improve body movement, it has the same result. The mental and physical outcome are changing positively to achieve best performance.

Focus on the do’s, matching skills with challenge and adjust these accordingly.

The principles so far have described the (w)inner game, however what is the difference between (w)inner game and outer game? Basically: the outer game are all the external factors that could shift the focus from the (w)inner game. Perhaps I brand it the (w)outer game, way outer game, since performances decline when you allow to let outer game influences come closer to your conscious and subconscious mind. Sport examples; the score, opponent, the exclusion earned and the venue (in Rio 2016, the colour of the water). Business examples; deadlines, competitors, market changes, and IT-support. Below a comparison of where inner game and outer game could fit. Included is a mixed array of desired attitude and mindset examples.

Finally, compiling the information, the main question can be answered. How can we create a stronger will to win? The direct answer will be: by applying the principles above. Performance can be enhanced by growing potential and minimising interference(2). There need to be a focus on improving the individuals process and centralise the journey to the goal. Fueling the importance of the will to win. An olympian once said; “Climbing a hill can be much more excited than reaching the top. The journey of becoming an olympian was more challenging than becoming an olympic champion”.

Using the principles above as a guideline I draw the following conclusion. The goal, winning, works as a milestone (by-product). The journey, will to win, works as a vehicle (main-product within the process). Focus on what is happening, perfecting this and make it a habit of the subconscious mind. Base actions on facts and be excited for challenges. Don’t waste your time fighting bad habits and outer game influences.

#innergame #winnergame #will #win #winning #goal #process #product

(1) Gallwey, W. Timothy (2000). The Inner Game of Work New York: Random House. p. 27.

(2) Gallwey, W. Timothy (1974). The Inner Game of Tennis (1st ed.). New York: Random House.


Filed Under: Uncategorized

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