Being ahead of time with Veo

“Having this technology has not just helped individual players but has given these girls an extra edge and this ability to reflect, take feedback, and grow. This is where they can take it to the next level.”

These words come from Igloo Lacrosse’s Girls Director Sam Tilts, who is also coaching the 2028 Igloo Frostbite and 2030 Igloo Arctic Blast teams. Igloo Lacrosse is an elite travel lacrosse program based out of the north shore of Long Island. Until recently, the club has primarily been a boys' club, but in the previous years, they have added more girls' teams. All of them have been very successful and ranked in the top 10 by US Club LAX.

Besides being involved in Igloo Lacrosse, Sam Tilts is also a school teacher. As both a coach and teacher, Tilts sees a lot of similarities and emphasizes equipping both students and athletes well for the next steps in their careers. One way to do this is through technology.

“As I'm teaching kids and coaching and directing the club, this idea of what comes next for these kids is really important to me. It’s important to me to make sure that we're giving them a similar experience that they're gonna get in high school and then college,” she says before she continues.

“Something that was important to many college athletes was the idea of using film, not just to make themselves better but to watch their opponents and learn from them.”

Her colleague, Garrett Noblett, who coaches on the Girls’ side, also mentions that video plays a significant role for both coaches and players.

“The fact that the girls can see themselves and play it back on film is key. And the fact that they can take it back and watch whenever they want to at such a young age sets them up for the future,” he says.

As Noblett describes, this technology has not been available to younger players before. Often, it has been at the high school level, but at Igloo Lacrosse, they see advantages in players' ability to analyze their game starting from sixth grade.

“This technology has only been used up to this point at the high school level. Now we're using it with these girls who are in sixth grade. They're going to be so well versed on how to use this technology and how to use it to make highlight films and things like that. It's an advantage that we're teaching them young.”

"Their ability to use it, and our ability to teach with it, is going to keep an advantage for them for such a long time in the long run, whatever sport they play.”

As club director, Tilts has also seen rapid development in both girls and boys in Igloo Lacrosse. One of the cornerstones has been the introduction of technology, especially Veo cameras.
“Veo has been a tool that has changed many of our players' games. I think that even though we have middle school and younger players, this tool has given them the edge to get ahead of many people.”

“Our kids are ahead of the times. For the sport and for their own development. Having this tool gives them a leg up, and I think it's going to push them ahead mentally and athletically compared to other kids who are not going to start using technologies like this until high school,” Tilt says.

Veo narrows the gap

Another aspect of the importance of Veo for Igloo is the fact that getting film at lacrosse tournaments can be quite expensive.

“In the past, I’ve only coached high school teams, where you need highlight films to get recruited. The costs of getting these films per team or individual films at tournaments, can really add up, right? If you're paying like $100 a tournament and you play six tournaments a year for film, it’s unachievable for a lot of families,” Tilts explains.

This is where Igloo Lacrosse’s own Veo cameras have proven to be important. It helps provide all children access to film to get recruited.

“Having the Veo narrows that gap and gives every kid access to all of these resources that they can use to get to the next level.”

It takes a team to build a player

One of the advantages of Veo, according to Tilts, is also the portability and the fact that it takes the stress away on game days. In fact, teams get help from parents who are responsible for setting up the camera on game days. When new players and new parents join, they are also trained to set up the Veo camera so that everyone can contribute.

“We've actually assigned parents who are like our technicians. They bring it to the tournaments for us, they bring it to our practices, they set it up, they take it down, and each time we get a new Veo, we have one of those parents got to train a new parent. So it gives them a really cool opportunity to be part of this.”

Tilts refers to the club's motto, where teamwork is emphasized.

“Our Igloo motto is "It takes a team to build a player." We have this team to build a player, and they're part of that team. And they've kind of bought in, they have it all set up, and they upload it for us. It makes it really easy for coaches.”

Kids are visual learners

With the advancement of technology - not only in sports but also generally - we're past those days of a handout with bullet points of what we've done well and what they need to work on. The game doesn't work like that anymore, but instead, it's important for Tilts that the visual learning aspect is brought into play.

“You might tell them, ‘Hey, you opened your hip; that's why the girl beat you.’ Until they see that, they can't conceptualize what those words mean a lot of the time. So, for a lot of these kids who are visual learners, it’s really giving them that next level to be able to learn and take feedback and really implement.”

“In my classroom, we talked about different modalities of being able to learn, and all these kids learn so differently. And with the push of technology in their hands, many of them are starting to learn through technology. And it's the easiest way for them to access information because they're so used to it daily. So I think using the Veo is something that's kind of on their level. It's something they understand,” Tilts says before Noblett adds his thoughts.

“There's no doubt. When girls can see themselves playing instead of us reteaching on a field all the time, that's every coach's dream. Every girl is going to learn from their own mistakes. That’s how it's always been. So to go over it on video with a coach is great. The possibilities are endless,” he says.

It is not only the players who develop by using Veo's technology on both the field and in the subsequent analysis sessions. As a coach, Tilts also evolves because the technology allows her to be present and in the moment instead of standing there taking notes on her phone or notebook.

“I found myself a lot taking out my phone when I noticed the kid was making a mistake. And I'd stand there with my phone instead of actually getting to talk. And the reason for that was that I wanted something to show them so they could learn when the play was over. With Veo, it kind of takes that away, it lets me be present. And lets me be in the moment.”

Nothing is out of focus with Veo

Noblett agrees with Tilts, while adding the ease-of-use of Veo's app. This is especially important for the parents who are setting up the Veo cameras on the sidelines.

“The interface for parents to use on their own phones is very easy. You have the account, you press the button, and the game feed is there. I love the fact that you know it follows the play, nothing is out of focus. If we're making a long pass, you'll see it, it follows the ball in real time.”

Noblett also makes it clear that the fact that Veo can record in all weather conditions makes it a really important tool for Igloo Lacrosse. They haven't had any problems with their cameras yet, even though they have recorded in both rain and wind.

“The higher it goes, the better you can see the entire field. We've had windy games, we've had rain, it's lasted through all of it. And people that are watching with the live stream feed say the same thing. It's great.”

“As long as those eyes are pointing forward, we're golden,” Noblett ends.

Learn more about Veo Cam 3 here, or read more about how you can record lacrosse here.

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