scamperdog
09-18-2008, 09:07 PM
The eyes in the sky: Video has become more important for WHL teams in the past few years www.kamloopsnews.ca
by Mark Hunter
Video may have killed the radio star, but, more and more, it has become a staple for Barry Smith.
The first-year Kamloops Blazers’ head coach is a big proponent and user of video, which allows him to analyze his players and his systems in game situations.
The Blazers open the regular season on Friday, 7 p.m., against the Everett Silvertips at Interior Savings Centre. In preparation, Smith has been hitting play, rewind and fast-forward a bunch of late.
“I’m using it every day right now,” said Smith, who really got into video when he was an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. “We’ve probably had 10 video sessions because of our six exhibition games, going over the usual stuff.”
The Blazers are one of only a few WHL teams to employ a full-time video technician. Tim O’Donovan, a 22-year-old TRU business student, is the lucky guy who gets to run a laptop computer and stop and start the video recording during power plays or penalty kills.
“It’s pretty simple once you get going,” O’Donovan said. “But if you start watching (the game), sometimes it can get a little difficult to keep track.”
O’Donovan sits beside a cameraman in the ISC press box, and decides when the video is recording. If he forgets to record a key power play or penalty kill — and it has happened — O’Donovan can be sure to hear from Smith, who goes over key video with his players during the following week.
“I watch a ton of video, breaking it down,” Smith said. “I keep a shorter version for the players, to try to keep the meetings seven to 10 minutes long — you lose them after that.”
Smith actually has taught O’Donovan a lot since he started with the Blazers over the summer.
When O’Donovan started, prior to the 2003-04 season, the Blazers were just starting into video.
Now, five seasons later, Kamloops has the XOS system, which is top of the line and what all the NHL teams use. Smith had used it in Vancouver under former Canucks head coach Marc Crawford and current head coach Alain Vigneault, while O’Donovan is still learning it.
As much as Smith loves his video, he knows some coaches don’t.
“Every coach is different — some don’t watch any,” Smith said. “I worked for two guys — (Crawford) never watched any video, (the assistants) did all the video breakdown. Alain watches a lot of video.
“But somebody has to be breaking it down and showing it to your team.”
O’Donovan is juggling his course load with his job, as well as playing for the TRU WolfPack golf team.
It can be a lot, especially considering he rides the bus with the Blazers on all their road trips.
That just shows how important O’Donovan’s role is.
“I’m always there —I’m kind of the hidden guy who no one knows about,” he said. “It’s a huge thing now, more than ever.”
by Mark Hunter
Video may have killed the radio star, but, more and more, it has become a staple for Barry Smith.
The first-year Kamloops Blazers’ head coach is a big proponent and user of video, which allows him to analyze his players and his systems in game situations.
The Blazers open the regular season on Friday, 7 p.m., against the Everett Silvertips at Interior Savings Centre. In preparation, Smith has been hitting play, rewind and fast-forward a bunch of late.
“I’m using it every day right now,” said Smith, who really got into video when he was an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks. “We’ve probably had 10 video sessions because of our six exhibition games, going over the usual stuff.”
The Blazers are one of only a few WHL teams to employ a full-time video technician. Tim O’Donovan, a 22-year-old TRU business student, is the lucky guy who gets to run a laptop computer and stop and start the video recording during power plays or penalty kills.
“It’s pretty simple once you get going,” O’Donovan said. “But if you start watching (the game), sometimes it can get a little difficult to keep track.”
O’Donovan sits beside a cameraman in the ISC press box, and decides when the video is recording. If he forgets to record a key power play or penalty kill — and it has happened — O’Donovan can be sure to hear from Smith, who goes over key video with his players during the following week.
“I watch a ton of video, breaking it down,” Smith said. “I keep a shorter version for the players, to try to keep the meetings seven to 10 minutes long — you lose them after that.”
Smith actually has taught O’Donovan a lot since he started with the Blazers over the summer.
When O’Donovan started, prior to the 2003-04 season, the Blazers were just starting into video.
Now, five seasons later, Kamloops has the XOS system, which is top of the line and what all the NHL teams use. Smith had used it in Vancouver under former Canucks head coach Marc Crawford and current head coach Alain Vigneault, while O’Donovan is still learning it.
As much as Smith loves his video, he knows some coaches don’t.
“Every coach is different — some don’t watch any,” Smith said. “I worked for two guys — (Crawford) never watched any video, (the assistants) did all the video breakdown. Alain watches a lot of video.
“But somebody has to be breaking it down and showing it to your team.”
O’Donovan is juggling his course load with his job, as well as playing for the TRU WolfPack golf team.
It can be a lot, especially considering he rides the bus with the Blazers on all their road trips.
That just shows how important O’Donovan’s role is.
“I’m always there —I’m kind of the hidden guy who no one knows about,” he said. “It’s a huge thing now, more than ever.”