Livestreaming High School Sports Has Profound Impact on Entire Communities

Livestreaming sporting events can have a profound impact on an entire high school community.

It gives the players a platform to get noticed and be seen by members of the community. It gives community members a way to watch games and support their favorite players and teams, even from afar. And it gives athletic departments a chance to raise money for their department.

One of the best test cases for livestreaming high school sports with Hudl–and the impact it can have– is from Harvard-Westlake High School (CA) and Athletic Director Jason Kelly.

Kelly and the Harvard-Westlake athletic department are all-in on livestreaming sports. The school uses the school’s Hudl fan page to stream games and leverages the Fan Engagement Suite to give fans a go-to place for all things high school sports fandom. The big bet on Hudl is paying off.

“It has been an incredible journey of growth and learning and we’re super proud of what we’ve done,” Kelly explained. “And we’re super happy to have something as special as the (Hudl) fan page to be able to utilize our platform.” 

Bringing a Division I Feel to High School Sports

A little over 11 years ago, Harvard-Westlake created HWTV, the school’s broadcast network. What started with a small but mighty crew has since blossomed into a Division I-esque operation.

In the beginning, the group rented gear between games and worked with basic cameras and a simple TriCaster. Nowadays, the group is working with a plethora of tools and technology at its fingertips, leveraging large-scale TriCasters, multiple Hudl cameras, player graphics and announcer teams with play-by-play and color commentary.

It all works together to give each broadcast an elevated look and feel.

“Multiple angles are making us very, very similar to top Division I programs,” Kelly said.

Kelly also mentioned that he thinks their broadcasts are better than some Division I livestreams he’s seen.

“I’ll be honest with you, I watch NCAA soccer games happening down the road, which might have one camera and almost no graphics and maybe a commentator,” he said. “But high schools are now able to put out something that looks better than that with Production Truck.”

Kelly also pointed to Hudl Production Truck as a huge factor in the success of the school’s livestreaming efforts. In particular, he said, the new technology makes it feasible to even do broadcasts on the road.

“The new software with Production Truck, which is much simpler than the big setup we have, is allowing us to do some really special things on the road,” he said.

Student Development Through Broadcasting

A few time zones away, Dekalb High School (Illi.) has also found a great level of success with streaming high school sports.

Athletic Director and Career Technical Education Teacher J.D. Oliva helps teach video production at the school. His group of students learn through both in-classroom time and during live broadcasts.

Much like Harvard-Westlake, Dekalb has seen strong returns by leveraging the Hudl Production Truck as a means to broadcast sporting events.

“As the Production Truck software came in, it was so good that we were able to use it on a laptop or computer and replicate the high-quality stuff we were doing at home on the road,” Oliva said.

One of the cooler features, according to Oliva, is the instant replay functionality.

“We had a cool dunk and were able to recall that and put it on the board,” Oliva explained. “The kids kind of go crazy watching those kinds of things.”

No two high schools are the same, but both Harvard-Westlake and Dekalb’s broadcast capabilities can be a blueprint for other schools to try similar things.

By using the Hudl Fan Engagement Suite, schools have an excellent platform that they can use to get their athletes noticed, keep their community members close to the action and help create memorable experiences for both students and fans.