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USING THE iPAD AS A COACHING TOOL

by: Jeff McDonald
Linebackers Coach • Wesleyan University
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Whether on the field or off, the IPad can be a major part in helping your players improve and communicate the weekly gameplan.  Our student-athletes are so used to technology, it is the way they are taught in classroom and it was what they use outside the classroom.  Give your student-athlete an IPad and they immediately feel comfortable as they swipe through pages or watch video. 

After receiving an IPad for my birthday last offseason I started searching for ways to use it to help me communicate our schemes and techniques to help our student-athletes further reach their potential both on the field.  This article is meant to explain how we used the IPad on and off the field this past season and the apps we found useful.  I am sure there are many other ways to use it other than what is listed in this article.  But hopefully, for those of you with IPads, this article will help you begin to incorporate it in your in-season & out of season coaching / teaching of your student-athletes.  


Outdoor Protection for the IPad

The first concern about using the IPad outdoors at practice was protection. The case I used all season was The Defender made by Otter Box (Figure 1).  It is multi layered with an inner shell of polycarbonate and outer shell of silicon and a screen protector.  Otter Box also has a Utility Series Latch that they offer (Figure 2).  This includes a number of different devices from being able to latch the IPad to your belt, a slide handle for your hand to slide behind the IPad while showing slides or a video.  While all of these offered great protection to my IPad during the season, there is nothing that I have found that protects it in the rain.  If there was any chance of rain during practice I would not bring the IPad out.  Just in case, I started bringing the IPad out to practice in a backpack knowing I could always put the IPad in the backpack and in the equipment shed in a worst case scenario.

At Practice – Using the IPad to Film


The IPad camera takes great video and still pictures.  On the field we use the app COACH’S EYE (Figure 3) to film segments of practice.  COACH’S EYE allows us to not only film but also easily slow the film down both forward and back.  We can telestrate right on the clips and e-mail the clips to our student-athletes.  COACH’s EYE also gives you the ability to record your voice over the video for the student-athlete to watch and listen to later. 

Film your Kickers and Punters

Every day at practice we have a field goal / pat period.  During this time I use the COACH’S EYE app on my IPad to film our kickers.  As soon as the period is over, I hand the IPad to our kickers for them to watch and then I run to the next period in practice.  Our kickers literally sit down on a bench and watch the just filmed period of them kicking.  Once they are done, the IPad is brought back to me.  They then kick five more field goals based on corrections they just made from watching the film.  We have found this gives them immediate feedback, and they remember the actual kick. 

We do the same thing with our punters who are not position players.  This has really helped in the development of our placekickers and punters.



 Rotating Groups Film Each others Reps During Team Periods

During an inside run period or a seven on seven pass period, we usually have two groups rotating in.  For example our “first” group will go for three plays then rotate out and the “second” group will go in for three plays then back to the first group, etc...   As the coach you cannot film the period with your IPad as you need to be coaching and instructing your players.  So what we have gone to is having one group film the other for a period.  So when the period begins, I’ll say to the group, “For this period the Second Group is filming the First Group.”  While the First Group is in for their three plays, one of the players from the second group films all three of their plays from behind.  When the First Group goes out and the Second Group goes in, they hand off the IPad.  While the Second Group is in for their three plays, the first group is watching the three plays they just completed on the IPad. 

I may direct them to watch a certain play or have them watch through all of them.  The next period we will switch and have the First Group film the Second Group.

 A lot of times the players will come off with a certain play they want to watch from their just completed series of three. This gives the players immediate feedback, no need to wait for next day’s meeting and try to remember the actual play.  We also felt like it was a big help in keeping our players focused in while not actually participating in the drill. 

 Film Fundamentals During Your Individual Periods

We also use the IPad to film fundamental drills during our individual periods that may not otherwise get filmed.  These are great to watch as a coach later to make sure that the fundamentals are getting emphasized all season long.  Just by the fact you are filming it will give the drill more emphasis with your players. 

 We will use it very similarly for the defensive line to work on their takeoffs and other technique type drills with special teams. 

 Using the IPad to Refer to Scouting Reports or Opponent Play Cards

 We use the app – NOTABILITY (Figure 4)– to refer to the scouting report on the field especially earlier in the week.  It is a note-taking app that allows you to draw or type information as well as bring in power point slides or pictures into the body of the text. 


 I will take the scouting report and put it into NOTABILITY then pull it up on the IPad at practice.  During practice, whichever group is not in the drill, I will hand the IPad to them to look back through at the scouting report and early portions of the game plan.  What are their favorite run plays out of this personnel?  How are they going to block split zone in their one back set?  It really helps the players to stay focused when not in the drill and pick up the game plan and opponent study while on the field.

 We do not feel like the IPad’s screen is big enough to show opponent play cards to the scout team, so we do all of our opponent cards on power point and print them out placing them in binders.  However we do import all of those power point slides into an app we call SLIDE SHARK (Figure 5) and organize them each day according to the script.  We will then go through the period sliding to the power point slide of the next play about to be run by the scout team.  Then follow along the script with your players that are not in the drill.

 Meetings

During off the field meetings I have stopped for the most part using white boards.  Now I use the app NOTABILITY as a white board connecting my IPad to the projector.  I can import our scouting reports, position manuals, etc… in as pictures and give myself the ability to write all over them.

 All of our playbooks are as power point slides.  When showing those power point slides in meetings we use the app SLIDE SHARK as discussed before.  But we also will use the app KEYNOTE (Figure 6).  The reason I like to use the KEYNOTE app as opposed to SLIDE SHARK is the remote option.  If you have an IPhone, you can download the app KEYNOTE REMOTE (Figure 7) to it.  Then you can link your IPhone to your IPad.  Open KEYNOTE on your IPad and KEYNOTE REMOTE on your IPhone and follow the instructions to link the two.  This will allow you to use your IPhone as a remote to change slides as you present in KEYNOTE on your IPad.  Presenting power point presentations this way frees you to move around the room and away from your IPad. 

 Offseason

The app EDUCREATIONS (Figure 8) is a great app to use in the off season.  With this app you can post power point slides and record your voice over the slides.  It can be used it in the offseason or over the summer to help keep your players in tune to your schemes and fundamentals while they are away from campus.

 First you and your players have to create a free account with Educreations online.  Then you create a “lesson” limited to 30 minutes, on your IPad by drawing or importing in power point slides and recording your voice over the presentation.  Once completed you save the lesson and upload it to your online account on Educreations. 

 Then go to your online account on Educreations and you will see a list of all of your created lessons.  Create a class and move selected “lessons” into your new “class.” 

 Invite your players to join the class by e-mailing them a link.  Then they can sign up for your “class” and watch the video. The app also has an analytics setup so you can see which of your players are watching the lessons.

 Security for the lessons and the class is very good.  You are e-mailed when someone joins the class and can remove students or lessons from a class very easily.

  Conclusion

Using the IPad combined with the apps listed above really helps our student-athletes better grasp the schemes and techniques necessary for us to be successful on Saturdays.  Hopefully this article gave you a feel for the different ways the IPad can be used to that end or if you are already using it, some new apps and techniques to try out.  Feel free to contact me at anytime by e-mail at jmcdonald@wesleyan.edu.  We have a saying among our coaching staff- Always the Student.  We would love to hear how you are using the IPad with your student-athletes in effort to learn more ways to incorporate this powerful device in our teaching.  







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