From coaching to scouting to recruiting, video and data are the building blocks for teams looking to maximize their ice time, budget and potential.
As top clubs look for a competitive advantage on and off the ice, finding powerful, cost-effect tools is vital. But the best solutions aren’t one dimensional. Instead, clubs are looking for resources that deliver more value across key areas of club development without drying up the budget.
And when it comes to coaching, scouting, recruiting and player recruitment, there’s nothing more valuable than video analysis and stats.
Rather than resting on hockey’s rich traditions to maintain the status quo, top clubs and leagues are looking forward and innovating to stay ahead of the game.
Thinking about investing in video and data? Here are the top three reasons why you should.
1. These tools make the most of your ice time.
This one might be a no-brainer, but it’s worth stating outright from the start: tech is a timesaver.
When you’re paying hundreds of dollars for an hour of ice time, every second is precious. Each minute is an opportunity to coach, develop and improve. Can you afford to spend time delivering instructions that could have been conveyed in just a few minutes of film review off the ice?
Charlie Murphy is the head coach of the U18 Bay State Breakers Tier 1 team, as well as an assistant coach at Rockland High School (Mass.). He scavenges film for key moments that he can relay to players to emphasize his coaching, presenting film to support his coaching.
“What we do is we go pinpoint six or seven clips from a game, and we’ll show them on the screen in the locker room after a practice or as a pregame type of thing,” said Murphy.
Using video before or after games and practices is commonplace in modern coaching. This technique is effective for reinforcing concepts off the ice. Video primes athletes before entering the rink by highlighting skills or principles they need to focus on, or to make a lasting impression while they unlace their skates.
Most importantly, using video effectively means spending less time on instructions and more time working on team and player development. By being better prepared before arriving at the rink, the value of your ice time can only increase.
2. Data is a difference-maker.
With so much information out there, it’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. But simply having more data doesn’t mean much. Quantity isn’t a winning strategy with stats. Instead, coaches are looking for data that can impact performance in meaningful ways.
That’s why Hudl Assist has quickly become a favorite amongst club coaches. The unmatched speed and accuracy of game breakdowns make it the top choice for full team and player stats. Plus, every stat is linked directly to video, so coaches can jump from the “what happened” of stats to the “why it happened” aspect of video in a single click.
“To give an example of how we would use it is for goals against. It’s very critical of when they score on you to find out why,” Murphy said. “So we’ll go into those Hudl Assist reports, look at [our] last two or three games, pinpoint every single one and where the breakdown happened. So we’ll see if the center was in bad d-zone positioning or if it was a turnover that we had.”
Just by clicking the number of goals against on the reports page creates a playlists with each clip where their opponents scored on them. From there, Murphy can share the playlists with his team so that players can watch those moments with any comments, drawings or instructions that he adds.
That’s why having fast, reliable stats and reports ready when you need them is key. Together, video and data accelerates all other aspects of coaching and player development.
It all starts with stats.
3. Modern recruiting is built on video.
Maybe the most dramatic example of how integral video has become for ice hockey is how it’s used in recruiting. With full seasons of video, athletes can turn their top skills into highlight reels in minutes.
Plus, every athlete on Hudl can opt-in to comprehensive recruiting profiles. These profiles collect academic and athletic information as well as highlights and full match video into a single resource for recruiters. Athletes can even share their profiles with scouts and recruiters directly to navigate their path to the next level.
Top ice hockey organizations, like OMHA and Minnesota Hockey, chose Hudl as a video analysis partner to increase competition within their respective leagues while providing athletes with increased exposure and more recruiting opportunities.
Video is the best way to help scouts and recruiters find players. Hudl makes it easy for athletes to stand out and get noticed.
Ice hockey is a sport unlike any other. But despite having unique challenges, Hudl has a full suite of solutions engineered to help ice hockey clubs overcome those obstacles and maximize their potential. Whether it’s filming matches, analyzing video, studying stats or elevating athletes in recruiting, video and data are the building blocks for modern ice hockey organizations.
Looking for a single, cost-effect platform for filming, video analysis and stats? Club packages from Hudl bring together our industry-leading tools to equip every coach, team and athlete with tools to dominate the ice without breaking the bank. Learn how you can bring a club package to your organization today.
