Spiideo League Exchange: Improving Video Analysis
From Cameroon’s Estelle Johnson to Women’s Super League star Adriana Leon, a swathe of talent to have previously emerged in the United States’ Big 12 and Southeastern Conference (SEC) college soccer leagues were present at last year’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup — testament to the quality of the athletic programmes at the 24 universities that compete across the two leagues.
Ahead of the 2020 season, that quality increased further as the Big 12 and SEC agreed to implement Spiideo’s video analysis solution. While individual teams have been using Spiideo to record training sessions and home matches since 2018, all teams are now required to record and share footage via the Spiideo League Exchange.
The agreement provides coaches with better tools to assist them in tactical and opposition analysis, improve the quality of play throughout the league, and provide players with greater development opportunities as they look to push on to the next level.
Away game video analysis
In a survey of coaches from across the Big 12 and SEC that have Spiideo cameras installed, 75% of coaches said that they are using Spiideo’s video analysis solution daily to assist them with player development, team coaching, and opposition scouting.
While individual teams across the two conferences have been using Spiideo for video analysis since 2018, teams were previously under no obligation to share video footage with their rivals, making it difficult to access footage from away games without sending a member of the video analysis team along to record. Now, the league-wide mandate has ensured that nothing remains unavailable to the coaches.
Teams now have “easy-access” to footage from all teams and for all games, says Kansas State Head Coach Mike Dibbini. Whether home or away, it’s instantly available through the Spiideo League Exchange.
Not only has the deal provided access to more footage, but it also offers a far superior view of the pitch. Unlike video captured using a handheld device, Spiideo’s panoramic camera system ensures that all areas of the pitch are captured throughout the 90 minutes.
Richard Beebe, assistant coach of the Ole Miss women’s soccer team, said: “It gives us a birds-eye view of all conference games and shows the whole field, not just the play around the ball.”
Before, during and after games, coaches can pull up footage and focus in on specific areas of the pitch to support their tactical coaching, opposition scouting, or player development processes
Immediate insight
Spiideo’s partnerships with the Big 12 and SEC builds on a previous league deal. While this did require teams to film and share their footage, this was typically captured on standard, handheld cameras. Subsequently, teams would have to wait for a coach or team manager to transfer, prepare and upload the footage to the cloud, delaying access for hours.
With Spiideo, footage is uploaded live to the Spiideo platform as its streamed and recorded, meaning that analysts and coaching staff are provided immediate access. Without processing times, coaches now have the opportunity to use the footage to pinpoint vulnerabilities, correct mistakes, and adjust tactics in-play or during the halftime break.
“The seamless integration of our recordings being available on the League Share platform immediately has been a massive time-saver,” Joe Kirt, assistant soccer coach at the University of Tennessee, says. “We can immediately review clips from games or training sessions without having to wait an hour or more to see a play or situation.”
Efficient workflows
Time saved is one benefit often highlighted by Spiideo customers. Across the Big 12 and SEC, coaches are already reporting average savings of 11-15 hours saved per week.
Kirt added: “No more post-session workflow in joining media files, combining and compressing large video files, converting to different formats. All of those processes are eliminated from our workflow.”
For Beebe, Spiideo excels by offering coaches “more efficient use of time” through features such as automated recording and live tagging. With less time recording, transferring, and uploading files, analysts have more time to tag, analyse and present footage to truly support the team. For his SEC side, the improvement to its video analysis workflows has been ‘significant’, saving upwards of 16 hours each week — two full work days worth of productivity.
A solution for all
Every sports team has a different approach to video analysis, and each member of the coaching staff will have their own way of doing things. Finding a solution that works for not only for one team, but an entire league is a big challenge.
Yet, Spiideo’s ease of use provides mass appeal. Whether on the touchline, on the team bus, or at home, footage is always accessible instantly through a variety of smartphone, tablet, or PC devices.
Implementing Spiideo across the Big 12 and SEC wasn’t a decision forced on teams by their respective conference organisers. Spiideo was initially implemented by four SEC teams in 2018. By 2019, that had risen to 10 teams, meaning just four teams were introduced to the Spiideo platform when the mandate took effect at the start of the 2020 season. Similarly, just two of the Big 12 teams started out with Spiideo in 2018, which rose to seven over the two years following as clubs began to recognise its potential. Rather, the decision to make Spiideo league-wide was driven by coaches.
Now, all teams can benefit from advanced video analysis and an abundance of footage, leveling the playing field and improving the quality of play throughout the leagues.
