Sheffield Wednesday’s Seamless Move to Hudl Sportscode

With new updates coming thick and fast and the new Hudl Sportscode now carrying the features clubs know and love, it’s easier than ever to make the transition and enjoy all of the new capabilities on offer.

Sheffield Wednesday’s head of tactical analysis Ryan Needs talked us through the benefits of working with a more powerful and intuitive tool.

Having worked in analysis at a range of high-profile clubs, no less than Swansea City, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City and now Sheffield Wednesday, Ryan Needs is more than qualified to judge the merits of the industry’s most exciting new analysis software.

“Since I’ve started I’ve used multiple analytical tools, but in terms of Hudl Sportscode it’s by far the most robust analytical software that I’ve used,” explained Needs. “Both in terms of importing information and extracting information out of it. You can use it for more disciplinary purposes too, such as sport science, tactical data, as well as video import and output.”

Sportscode v11 users were once unable to access all of the features they valued so much in Hudl Sportscode, but with a string of new updates now making all of these available, the choice to transition was a simple call for the Owls analysis team.

“We transitioned to it this year. I think the transition has been smooth, if anything it’s helped streamline our work,” said Needs. “In terms of the interface of it, it’s a lot slicker.”

When asked about what features enhanced his workflow the most, Needs outlined the abilities of the organizer and sorter tool.

“What is very beneficial to me is the organizer and the sorter in terms of how we can implement that at halftime,” said Needs. “On match day we put in a lot of parameters for our analysis during the game, but halftime is where we really want to narrow everything down into concise information and the organizer has been quite beneficial for us in terms of streamlining that information.”

Secondly, being able to see multiple angles of video footage is another key feature that will enhance match day workflows at Wednesday.

“Every one of the coaches and the manager always want to see the tactical side of the game, whereas the goalkeeping coach wants to see the high behind aspect,” said Needs. “So to have the ability of multi angle video benefits not just myself, but also the wider coaching staff. In terms of using the telestration provided by Sportscode, it’s simplistic to use, and it’s a lot quicker to in terms of getting that information out to the coaching staff, the manager and the players.”

Elevating current processes and workflows is what Hudl Sportscode is all about. At Sheffield Wednesday, the transition is already benefiting the workflows of not only the analysis department, but also other sections of club staff.

“The development of Hudl has streamlined what we are doing here,” said Needs. The workflow, with the transition to Hudl Sportscode, has allowed my workflow to be more efficient. It’s almost become a one-stop-shop now, we’re all now integrated into one service.” 

To learn more about the new Hudl Sportscode, watch Hudl Presents: Performance Analysis in 2020 HERE.