Kicking off their season, the football team spends hours practicing for each game – but there’s a group of students supporting the team from the inside. The football production team attends practices and games, capturing drone and camera footage for the football team to rewatch plays with a clear view of the field and players. This season is only the team’s third official operating year, but it is highly utilized by the football team and coaches through a rewatch program named Hudl.
Senior Ethan Prescott, a varsity tight end and linebacker, said the production team’s job is crucial to the efficiency of practice.
“Before, it was a coach or a player that would do [the filming], and it was just not the same. Now it’s definitely a lot easier for everyone,” Prescott said.
The production staff this year features a rotating staff of eight entirely new members, but Prescott said they’ve already surpassed expectations.
Prescott said the players review the footage frequently, but they’re not the only ones benefiting from the team’s videos. Defensive Coordinator Brad Gourley stressed the impact the production has had on the improvement of the entire football team.
“One thing I say regularly is ‘the eye in the sky never lies.’ This is how I communicate with our players,” Gourley said. “When it’s all said and done, the video shows right and wrong and with that we can continue to get better each day and hopefully, have a successful season.”
The ‘eye in the sky’ is one of two drones used by the Video Production Team. The staff members, like senior Will Pence, hover the drone over the field and capture a birds eye view of the practices and games. This allows coaches and players to easily watch the plays happen in real time.
“It’s almost like playing a video game with the drone,” Pence said. “We’re going to try and get our social media up and running, get some edits out there and post interviews.”
Along with all of the perks that come with being on staff, Pence mentioned the social benefits that come with working alongside different groups of people.
“It’s a lot of really cool guys. It’s a lot of people who are maybe a little more sporty than the normal video team, maybe a little less athletic than on the football team,” Pence said. “It’s a very good middle ground. It’s a cool way to connect with people.”
