For decades, football had a set operating procedure for in-game adjustments that was ingrained to anyone around the sport. When an offensive or defensive unit came off the field, the players would crowd around the head coach, a coordinator or a combination of the two to discuss what just worked on the previous possession and what needed to be changed or adjusted the next time they stepped on the field.
But like with many other aspects in sports, technology has changed the way the game is played.
Players have traded in-game strategy sessions with coaches for iPads or crowding around a sideline television to view video that was pulled seconds ago from the field. At least, this is the way it is done at the high school level.
In a strange twist, technology on football sidelines is more prevalent than any other level of football despite the millions of dollars being made throughout college football and the billions being pulled in by the NFL. Despite having by far the least amount of resources at their disposal, you will often see more technology on an Alabama high school football sideline than on the sideline of a University of Alabama SEC game.
This was able to come about when the the National Federation of State High School Associations expanded its rules related to technology use on football sidelines three years ago. This has enabled coaches to tap on-field action during games and easily dissect the footage from iPads and/or televisions on the sidelines all before the next punt or kickoff.
“We scored a touchdown because of it (technology) last week,” Seymour (Ind.) High School coach Josh Shattuck told the Seymour Tribune. “We saw a cut (on film) that we thought would be there. There was a run for about five or six yards, and we showed that to our running back that it would be there the next time.”
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This type of in-game adjustment allows players to make on the fly changes quicker than ever before. If a defensive lineman has a tendency in certain formations, that flaw will be exploited. If a quarterback has a tell that helps determine where he will pass the ball, defensive coaches will spot it and look to take advantage starting on the next drive.
But not all the changes to this technology influx in high school football is positive, especially with budgets for high schools even in the same region having drastically different budgets. This quest for the best and most robust technology on the sideline has led the Washington Post to call technology’s emerging impact on high school football as “a technological arms race”. While all schools in the Southeastern Conference could afford the same technology if it were available, the same isn’t true on in high school.
These big changes at the high school level aren’t being lost by high-level college coaches either. Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema has been one of the most outspoken proponents of college football to one day implement technology in its game and has described college football essentially using an Etch A Sketch during games compared to area high schools that he regularly recruits at.
There have been a couple popular programs that have jumped out in front with the rising demand and become the main sources for high school coaching staffs around the country. There is the echo1612 system that is used by setting up cameras in the end zones and press box and the video footage is then dispatched to coaches and players on the sidelines to see their plays unfold from a birds-eye view as well as a field view. Incredibly, this echo1612 system is not allowed in the NFL so these area high schools is the only place you will see it.
There is also Hudl Sideline, which provides instant replay for quick in-game review. The coaching staff connects a handful of iOS devices to a private wireless network and can receive clips for review within seconds of the play’s completion. This portable router acts as a bridge between the recording and viewing devices for consistency in viewing experience and less potential for technical issues. Combined with the already existing Hudl services like ease of video for coaches it has allowed coaches to spend more time studying as well as have access to more information to create a more in-depth game plan for the upcoming week.
While there remain a number of storylines with this technology use in high school, the two that will be most interesting to follow will be when college and pro football decides to take the full leap into sideline technology as well as what this will do to high school football around the country when one school with robust technology plays another with very little to none. Wealthier high school programs often times have the skill advantage as it is, and with technology it seems that advantage could widen significantly.
Regardless of what happens though at any level; the technological arms race in football has begun and isn’t turning back anytime soon.