University Of Bath
With 63 sports on offer in the family of sports activities based at the university, SportsCode has been enthusiastically embraced by a variety of codes in the push for sporting excellence across the Southwest region of England.
TeamBath caters for all levels of sport and recreation from 'learn to courses'' to training programmes for Olympic medalists with netball, rugby, football, swimming, badminton, tennis and judo being the main sports that extensively use SportsCode. It is gradually extending to other sports such as beach volleyball and squash.
"Since we have introduced SportsCode to our analysis package the uptake from different sports has been huge'' said Anna Davidson, whose main role is to support university teams, NGB athletes, athletes, coaches and sports in the south west region with particular emphasis on providing performance analysis support.
"The general response towards SportsCode has been extremely positive from all coaches who have used the product, both in terms of its flexibility and ease of use. It has been used for both match analysis and technique analysis".
'Using the matrix, coaches have been able to come in and review the clips they want instantly with simple reference to when actions occurred can be seen on the timeline. The movie organiser has been used by the coaches to make simple presentations to the players outlining the key points from a match.''
Davidson said the main aim with the product had been to get coaches and athletes to take responsibility for their own analysis rather than an analyst doing all the work for them. Some university degree students had also been placed with sports to assist coaches with analysis.
"Currently we are working on our streaming system so that footage that is on our server can be viewed all over the university campus. The longterm plan is to stream over the internet'' she said.
Former New Zealand netball captain and coach Lyn Gunson, who also went on to coach England and is now the Coaching Director of the England Netball South and Southwest region Performance Centre and has been a SportsCode user for four years.
Netball's unit in the video analysis suite at TeamBath was set up two years ago and has been heavily used by the Superleague team which has since gone on to win the national title. The way the team has used SportsCode has varied, depending on what mode the team is in at a particular time.
"We use it for team and opposition analysis and on tour as a tool for player support" Gunson said. "In the analysis suite we use it for player and team analysis. We are beginning to use the distance streaming functions for players not on site to send coaching material to them for their use and for the education of coaches and umpires in seminars, workshops, etc."
"Players are using their time more effectively and efficiently in analysis. They are more likely to respond to the clips and transfer that immediately onto the court.''Gunson said the advantages of SportsCode were its simplicity of use and the ability to make up small movies with selected pieces being significantly time effective in reducing the need to search material for suitable examples.
"Because it is so effective and efficient we find the athletes use it more often and do not need constant supervision'' she said. "It is not a big drama and it becomes a significant unobstructive tool. It is also making the coaching life easier and more time efficient.''
Gunson said SportsCode was becoming an integral tool and the contribution to the Superleague programme was significant because of the nature of the team and its diverse make-up both in distance to training and availability.
Since SportsCode's introduction to the University of Bath, judo is another to realise its potential to become a vital cornerstone in the development of the players, the programme and the sport itself.
The judo programme's use of SportsCode is threefold, Team Bath Judo Video Analyst Katrina McDonald said. "Firstly, the development of players individually is essential -- the equipment facilitates coaches to work alongside players looking at their techniques, style and general fighting, either at the time of the action during training or preceding competitions."
'The second phase of the progression involves the creation of a database. This can be placed on the streamer so access can be granted across campus and in the future across the world through the World Wide Web. The database will hold the analysis of techniques, so specific skills can be grouped together and regarded in a more generic fashion.
"Thirdly, the database will be used to create categories of styles, where different countries are examined and their general qualities phased together. This will permit coaches to examine the way a country fights and how this can be combated and then this can be fed directly back to the players in the way they are being trained.''
McDonald said the advantages of SportsCode were vast and once the initial foundations had been implemented TeamBath could become one of the leading centres for the development of video analysis in judo. This would result in more technically sound players, with a far superior knowledge of other country's styles and fighters, resulting in a greater likelihood of medalwinning potential.
For more info on Team Bath go to: www.teambath.com