Instant Replay for Coaching

The Saginaw Spirit are coming off an impressive season in 2024, winning the Memorial Cup on home ice in Saginaw, Michigan. It was the Spirit's first Memorial Cup victory since the franchise moved to Saginaw in 2002. By winning, the Spirit became only the 13th team in OHL history to win the Cup on home ice.

When your General Manager is NLL Hall of Famer Steve Dietrich, and your Head Coach is the NLL's all-time leading scorer John Tavares, there's a good chance your team will find success. That's exactly what happened this past May when the Buffalo Bandits secured their second straight NLL Championship. We had the chance to sit down with Buffalo Bandits Video Coach Eric Vinc to discuss this past season and everything that went into it. Photo Credits: Buffalo Bandits The Bandits made the mid-season switch to GameStrat this year after experiencing some long delays with their previous system. They were looking for a live to bench replay system that would be an upgrade in reliability from what they were using before. We asked Vinc how himself and the Bandits staff first heard of GameStrat and what made them switch over mid-season. We knew some other teams in the league were using GameStrat and we were using a competitor device. At the beginning of this year, the product we were using had some big delays and that's when we decided to make the switch to GameStrat for the remainder of the year.

Brown University football is one of the most tenured college football programs in the country. The Bears played their first game in 1878, and since then have played over 1,200+ games spanning across 150 years. When the NCAA approved the use of sideline tablets in live competition April 18th 2024, it was interesting to see a team with such a storied tradition, be so quick to adopt this new technology.

Baylor Football wasn't waiting around for the NCAA to decide on sideline tablet technology. They took a proactive approach, researching and implementing the GameStrat Sideline Instant Replay system in their training this spring. This allowed their coaches to experience the advantages of instant feedback and streamlined film review firsthand, and get ready to utilize the system at full capacity this fall. "At the time we didn't know for sure if sideline tablets would be approved or not," shared Kaleb Wood, Baylor's Director of Football Technology. "But our coaches wanted some form of tablet replay system in their hand as soon as possible so they could get familiar with how it worked & figuring out the processes of how they would use it to be even more efficient."

Pittsburgh's Central Catholic High School is a preparatory school with a very rich history in the state of Pennsylvania. After another successful season under Head Coach Ryan Lehmeier, finishing 1st in the WPIAL Conference with a 10-2 overall and 5-0 conference record, we decided to sit down with Coach Lehmeier and reflect on his experience using GameStrat over the last 3 seasons.

Cincinnati’s very own Steve Specht, head football coach at St. Xavier High School, is a legend in the state of Ohio. Coach Specht began as the head coach of the Bombers varsity football team in 2003. In that span, Coach Specht has led his team to a 180-74 record, won four Ohio big school championships (2005, 2007, 2016, 2020), earning Ohio Division I Coach of the Year honors in 2005 and 2007, as well as receiving the NFL Don Shula High School Coach of the Year Award in 2013.

The Junipero Serra Padres, led by their highly successful Head Coach Patrick Walsh, has been a dominant force in the CIF-Central Coast Section (CCS) for many years. The team has achieved numerous accolades, including their 8th CCS title and 3rd consecutive championship in the fall of 2022. With a string of remarkable achievements and a legacy of excellence, Serra Padres Football has become synonymous with dominance in the sport. Their 2022 season was marked by an impressive 13-game winning streak, setting a record for the most wins in school history.

Cathedral Catholic High School's Football program, under the leadership of Head Coach Sean Doyle, has a rich history of success. With over 400 program wins and Coach Doyle surpassing the 200-win milestone in his career, Cathedral Catholic has established itself as a powerhouse in high school football. Coach Doyle has been instrumental in shaping the team's success and fostering a culture of excellence, with a legacy spanning over four decades. The team's consistent dominance on the field is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and strategic guidance provided by Coach Doyle.

The St. Joseph Regional Football team, under the leadership of Head Coach Dan Marangi, has seen immense success over the years. With 19 NJ State Championships and a perfect record as League Champions from 2012-2016, the team has cemented its place in high school football history. In 2018, the team claimed the State Championship title, adding yet another accolade to their impressive resume. Marangi, who previously served as the Defensive Coordinator at Don Bosco from 2004-2016, and at SJR from 2017-2019, has been an integral part of the team's success, contributing to 10 state championship-winning teams in his career to date.

Head Coach Travis Foster and the Shadow Ridge Mustangs Football Team of Las Vegas, Nevada have been on an incredible run over the past two seasons, compiling a 20-5 record with a perfect 12-0 mark at home. The Mustangs have made two state title game appearances during that time, thanks in part to their explosive offense, which averaged 41.8 points and 399.1 total yards per game.

Climbing to the top of the Alabama State rankings is the Muscle Shoals Trojans - a program which has seen a massive turn around under Head Coach Scott Basden. A former University of North Alabama Offensive Lineman and Division II National Champion(1994-1995), Coach Basden is now heading into his 15th season as Head Coach at Muscle Shoals. Back in 2008, Coach Basden agreed to take over a program that, for the last 40 years, had not seen back to back winning seasons. Under his leadership, Muscle Shoals has gone 115-42 with 4 region titles and 12 playoff spots.

The Sierra Canyon Football Team is gearing up for another big fall football season in the San Fernando Valley. We decided to sit down for a talk about the GameStrat experience with Sierra Canyon Trailblazer’s Head Coach, Jon Ellinghouse, as he heads into his 16th season running the program. Under Ellinghouse’s leadership, Sierra Canyon has appeared in the CIF Semi-Finals or better in 12 of the last 14 seasons, 4 of those being state championship appearances.

We got the chance to sit down and talk about the GameStrat sideline replay experience with former Virginia Tech defensive back and High School Football Head Coach, Loren Johnson of the Highland Springs Springers in Highland Springs, VA. The program boasts an impressive history under Johnson’s tenure, with a run of 4 back-to-back VHSL 5A South State Championship wins (2015-2018) - a feat only 2 other schools in VHSL history have ever been able to accomplish.

Closing out their 2021 season as back-to-back 3AAAAAA Region Champions, a third straight playoff appearance and spending 11 weeks in Georgia's top 5; North Cobb Warrior Football continues to earn respect at the national level. Fortunate to have been able to broadcast on national television (ESPN) with a big win, North Cobb continues to grow and add to their repertoire. With nearly every senior on the Warriors' starting roster boasting college scholarship offers, the following class of 2023 has garnered attention from some major post-secondary programs: QB Malachi Singleton (Arkansas commit), RB Benjamin Hall (Michigan commit) RT Robert Grigsby, Jr (30+ offers), DB Quentin Ajiero (25+), OL Marselle Felton (5+) RB David Mbadinga (4+), DB Charles McCarterens (3+), and 2024 WR David Eziomume (10+).

Once again, the Central Valley Warriors finished the year at the top of PIAA Class 3A. Under 12th-year Head Coach Mark Lyons, the program became only the seventh team from the WPIAL to win back-to-back state titles. After finishing 15-0, Coach Lyons sat down with us to talk about the role GameStrat sideline replay played in the program’s undefeated season.

Valdosta High School might be one of the most nationally known high school football programs across the country. Known for earning over 900 wins, including six national championships, 24 state championships and 42 regional championships - the Valdosta Wildcats are the high school football program with the most wins in the country.

After closing out another impressive season, which ended in a battle with Saguaro for the Arizona Open Division State title, we decided to sit down with Coach Collin Bottrill, Assistant Coach of the Chandler Wolves, to talk about his experience switching to GameStrat from Hudl Sideline. Since Head Coach Rick Garretson took over the program 5 years ago, the program has earned their place as a top 5 team in USA High School Football, with a record of 60-5 and 6 straight 6A/Open Division Championship titles.

After a nearly undefeated season, ending in a State Championship victory over Tampa Bay Tech (another GameStrat Team), we sat down with Assistant Head Coach Stevin Scott out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, FL to talk about the contributions GameStrat made this past season to their highly successful program. STA had been considering making the switch from Sportscope Edge Replay to GameStrat for a while and finally decided to make the leap in the middle of the 2021 season. My biggest regret is that I did not switch over sooner.

Closing out the season with a State Championship win is nothing new for Arizona's powerhouse program, the Saguaro Sabercats. After clutching the program's 13th State Championship title, Head Coach Jason Mohns and Director of Football Operations Nyles Outley were kind enough to sit down with us and reflect on how GameStrat contributed to their outstanding performance. Coach Mohns began by expressing his overall thoughts about how the season went using GameStrat for sideline replay. I thought things went really smooth this year. We always had our sideline film ready to roll. It was easy to access and we really got instant feedback of what was happening on the field. It was a big key to our success since we were able to make adjustments in the game in real time that helped us to have success.

With August right around the corner and the start of a new season growing closer, we wanted to take the time to re-live some of last seasons highlights with Florida Class 8A State Champions, the Sanford Seminoles.