The Ashville Sports Foundation was organized as a department-wide booster organization for Ashville High School athletics in the summer of 2018. By 2019, the Foundation partnered with the Ashville Athletics brand and media enterprise to fund the media promotion of the athletic department and Ashville High School's student athletes.
Fast forward to the fall of 2019, and the Ashville Sports Foundation signed an department-wide contract with the sports video service, Hudl, to fully integrate Hudl's sports video platform across all available sports. The contract included offering video storage, delivery, and breakdown services to all sports currently under a Hudl contract, including football and basketball, but it now offered video service to sports that did not have access to the service, including softball, wrestling, and soccer.
One major advantage to the new contract is Hudl's offering of their new Focus camera system. The Focus camera is a system of cameras that is designed to automatically - without human supervision or setup - film, record, stream, and upload game and practice film of all sports that make use of the gym, like volleyball, basketball, and wrestling. It can do this thanks to Hudl's powerful combination of artificial intelligence, software, and hardware. It's kind of like the driverless cars of the future, but for cameras.
This allows coaches to film practice without having to worry about finding someone to film, film it correctly, keep up with the camera equipment, etc. Now, games and practice can be filmed by pressing a single button on the Hudl Focus app on one of the coaches' phones.
"Hudl Focus has been an absolute game changer for us," says Tyler Cole, the head coach for Boys' Basketball at Ashville High School. "We are able to film practice and games effortlessly. It has absolutely been the best investment in our basketball program that directly affects our in-game performance."
But...there's another advantage. Ashville Athletics has been able to incorporate the recording of each game into a livestream broadcast available on YouTube, Facebook, and www.AshvilleAthletics.com. The Ashville Athletics team is able to broadcast all home games LIVE on these platforms thanks to the design of the Hudl Focus camera system and its built-in integration with these streaming platforms.
"Hudl Focus has given us the opportunity to broadcast our games where our players' families and our fans can tune in and cheer us on from afar," says Cole.
Now, family and fans of the Bulldogs can watch their teams play live and in color thanks to the hard work of the Ashville Sports Foundation and Hudl. While this new venture is great for Ashville fans, players, and coaches, the livestreaming capabilities are still being tested to develop the best viewing experience possible...which means that not all home games will be streamed. The Ashville Athletics team is devoted to enhancing the broadcast experience of the fan, but the development of this experience will take time.
"It's made all the difference..."
The Hudl Focus camera system and the Hudl contract have been huge steps for Ashville High School's athletic programs and their mission to educate and succeed while representing the Ashville community in classic, interscholastic competition.
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