Less Busy Work, More In-Depth Breakdowns: Assist Reinvests Your Time
Aug 14, 2017
2 Min Read
Competition is as stiff in Texas as anywhere in the country, but Assist helped Randy Barnes and Rains High School get a time-saving edge.
Randy Barnes has been coaching football for 36 years. The head coach of Rains High School (Emory, Texas) still remembers his first days as an assistant in 1982 when he physically had to cut up the 16 mm film and put it on the wall.
Looking back, he’s grateful those days are long behind him, and he’s shocked to see just how far technology has come.
Barnes’ latest upgrade is Hudl Assist, which supplies coaches with the necessary breakdown data while removing the monotonous task of tagging the film. Our team of professional analysts takes on that duty instead, gifting coaches back valuable time.
“Don’t work harder, work smarter,” Barnes said. “For the money, this is a deal. Our kids are better coached, we’re doing things more efficiently, we’re more professional and we’re getting those coaches home a little earlier to see those families.
“Hudl is trusted throughout the nation, and certainly in Texas. (If) we don’t win here in Texas, me and 15 other coaches are gone, so it’s a pretty big deal. We trust Hudl and that’s a big thing.”
Barnes’ preparation process was greatly accelerated last season, Rains’ first with Assist. Instead of maybe getting to one scout film over the weekend, Barnes started gearing up for his next opponent at 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon. By Tuesday, he had typically watched three games of the upcoming rival team, leaving him much more prepared than he’d been in previous years.
“That’s big. I’ve got another game in my thought process and preparing,” Barnes said. “On Tuesday, we’ll come back and look at that third film and then we’re starting to get that game plan put together."
"We’re workers. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not lazy. But if we get it done at 6 o’clock instead of 8, I’m all good with that. My wife still does love to see me. I wish I would’ve had this when my girls were little.”
And that extra time may be the greatest advantage Assist gave Barnes last season. While he absolutely has a passion for his craft, any football coach knows that the season can be a grind. Long hours in the office mean less time with families, and any additional face time they can get is a blessing.
By eliminating the task of tagging the game, an obligation that typically fell on his assistants, Assist freed up their time and allowed Barnes to get to his scouting reports faster. He says that on some nights last year he got his staff home three hours earlier than usual.
“Any time you can get a coach home 45 minutes early, that’s big for families,” he said. “We’re going to get our job done, but working smarter is always important to me. We can maybe go a little more in-depth on our game plans. It gave us more time to focus on our game plans and we could get home earlier.”
To see how Assist can turn back the clock for you, check it out here.
