We announced our expanded partnership with Wake Forest tennis earlier this week, and today we are thrilled to share news that we have signed a partnership extension with Wake Forest basketball. We work with dozens of the top hoops programs in the nation, and we are also proud of the programs that we work with across multiple sports – we call them SmartSchools. Our technology platform is flexible for all sports, all venues, and all facilities in collegiate athletics.
Back to Wake Forest hoops. To learn more about how they use PlaySight and why they extended their technology partnership with us, we talked with Men’s Basketball Video Coordinator Christopher Forbes. He shared some great insights on what technology means and has meant for the Wake players, coaches and program.
How does your program utilize PlaySight?
PlaySight gives us the power to capture practice instantaneously simply from an app. It gives great feedback from multiple angles that allows our coaches to breakdown film with players in a much more detailed oriented way. Most schools are only able to see plays from a side angle, whereas we can look from a bird’s eye view, baseline angle and the side angle all at once. Not only can we break down film in a more unique way, but we are able to share it the moment practice has ended with every staff member and team member. Players are able to go back and watch film at any point in time so long as they have access to the app or a computer.
What does video mean for your coaching staff and program?
Video is a key component of how our staff operates. Every practice is broken down into each drill or segment that is then loaded into a database for future access. It is important to understand that video is an important tool to progress not only as a player, but as a coach as well. This video is essentially the essence of our team and how we perform.
Does having PlaySight and other technologies help with player development?
Our coaches have individual film sessions with players every week to either break down practice film or game film. This film is the difference between coaches just saying something and being able to show it. “Film don’t lie” is a common quote used in athletics, and when a player is shown our point-of-view of several mishaps, it can be eye opening (in a good way). It did, however, allow us to prepare a player before he even stepped on campus. He was unable to attend our summer session, so we were able to put together clips of our drills and practice sessions in order for this player to have some type of idea of what is going on and how we run practice.
Does having PlaySight and other technologies help with recruiting?
Recruits have shown intrigue when it is mentioned how we film our practices from 6 different angles. They think it’s pretty cool that we are able to share practice film every day with our players as well.
Why did your program decide to renew its agreement with PlaySight?
I would say a major factor in our renewal was the convenience that PlaySight offers. Being able to begin filming with a touch of a button is how a high major program should operate, and PlaySight gives us that capability. We are setting the standard of how this program should perform on a day-to-day basis, and part of that operation is our video technology.
For more on PlaySight for basketball, visit here.
