The Stanford football team has said goodbye and good riddance to their paper-bound playbook days. In an effort to minimize its carbon footprint and to maximize availability to critical information, “The Cardinal purchased more than 100 iPads outfitted by PlayerLync, a Denver-based sports technology company that has several NFL clients,” according to reporter John Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News.
The benefits to this change are endless, but perhaps the most convincing to the school board was the prospective of seeing a cost savings over time. What will most likely be more appealing to coaches and players is the speed an iPad will enable them to circulate new information. “We can make changes and instantly update everybody’s iPad,” Head Coach David Shaw explained following Stanford’s first practice of training camp.
Jeff Darlington, a reporter for NFL.com & the NFL network wrote a piece that examined the advantages many NFL teams see that are currently utilizing this means of storing and distributing information. While he was careful not to criticize the paper-bound playbook and those that still adhere to it, he did offer some insight into the fact that there is no real disadvantage to taking the plunge into the digital age.
Case in point, since the iPad’s creation in 2010, many NFL teams have made the switch from paper to pad (iPad that is). Chad Q. Brown, director of business operations for DragonFly Athletics, has estimated that most, if not all, NFL teams will be using this technology by 2013. “The trend is creating another obvious software demand that is being answered by several different companies,” including Brown’s own. His company has jumped into the development of an app for the iPad that allows teams to manage video and playbooks through the tablets. Several teams – including the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and St. Louis Rams – now utilize DragonFly technology.
An initial thought that likely crossed most people’s minds was the issue of what happens when the iPad gets lost or stolen. Unlike a paper-bound copy of a playbook which sees no additional security other than the confines of the designated hiding spot by the person who owns it, the iPad can be set up so that it has two sets of passwords: one to access the actual iPad and one to access the app in which the playbook resides. If all else fails, teams have the capability to wipe an iPad clean from anywhere in the world at drop of a hat.
Realistically, the biggest (and perhaps only) potential issue associated with this technology is the added element of discipline when using it. Players are often tempted by social media apps, such as Twitter, or even basic games, and can stray from the task at hand when they have the Internet and other applications at their fingertips. Dolphins rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill admitted that his team lays out specific rules for the use of the iPad and encourages good behavior by instituting hefty team fines for those who abuse the privilege.