Sports

Athletes use Hudl app to improve their game

Ease of accessibility is just one advantage

Luke Spencer, Sports Editor|September 16, 2021

Hudl is an app that helps coaches and athletes across the country, including on the Hill, watch video of their games and improve their skills.

An important part of every sport is assessing what can be improved upon and what is completed well in a specific game, match or meet. A massive part of how this can be determined is through film. Athletes going back to watch their performances is crucial in helping them refine their skills and gain an advantage over their opponents.

But a major question for those who are not involved in this process is how do athletes get the film and obtain access to it?

The answer for numerous athletes is Hudl, an app designed to assist teams, coaches and athletes review their play and see what they need to improve. The app allows easy access to game film of both a team and its opponent as well as playbooks and the ability for coaches to send messages to their players. It is a form of social media made specifically for athletes. Teams can exchange game film of each other and players can use the app to make their own highlight tapes. These tapes can be important for players to get recruited.

The app was designed in 2014 specifically to help football teams, but has expanded to other sports including soccer, basketball, volleyball and lacrosse. Games are separated into individual plays that can be viewed over and over again, as well as played slowly or sped up.

The Class 5A top-ranked varsity football team incorporates Hudl as a crucial part of its success. The team uses Hudl’s film feature daily to prepare for their next matchups. They watch the film of opposing teams as well as their own game and practice film to get themselves ready.

Sophomore defensive back Max Lindner, who plays on junior varsity, detailed the preparation, saying, “On defense, we use Hudl to watch film on the other team’s offense.” He also said, “By watching (the film) we can see what we did wrong during the week.” With film for both varsity and junior varsity, younger players such as Lindner can learn from their own mistakes in games as well as watch the older varsity players compete and learn from them.

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We use Hudl to study our plays, watch film on other teams and look at our performance in practices and games.

— Senior Kyle Zumdome

The varsity team has its own film sessions on the weekends. Players watch the film from the previous Friday and the coaches give their feedback. Senior Kyle Zumdome said, “We use Hudl to study our plays, watch film on other teams and look at our performance in practices and games.”

Players are expected to look at their film individually, but the coaches also go through it with the players during scheduled film sessions. Lindner said, “(Assistant) Coach (Mr. Adam) Barth and the other coaches use (Hudl) by critiquing our practice film and the game film. They tell us what we did wrong and what we can improve on.”

Zumdome added, “The coaches give comments to the players on what they did wrong and how they can fix it.”

With more than 4 million users, Hudl has grown increasingly popular over the past six years. Part of this success comes from its easy accessibility. Hudl is simple to navigate, according to some of its users. Lindner said, “(Hudl) is very easy to access, in my opinion. All I do is type my email and password, and I can open it whenever I want.”

Zumdome said, “All I have to do is click on the app and everything is there and available to me.” Another benefit is that it is accessible from multiple devices. Hudl can be opened on iPad, laptop, computer or iPhone.

The film on Hudl is also very easy to use. Games can be filmed in two ways. One is within the app. Games can be filmed on an iPad or iPhone using the Hudl app itself. Games also can be filmed with a camera and then uploaded to the app afterwards.

Hudl provides an asset to athletes across the country and helps many teams win games in multiple different sports. It is an important part of the football team’s success, as last year the Irish won the Class 5A State championship. Lindner said, “Hudl is so helpful to me and the team.”