“Veo is really helpful”: Using video as students at Milton High School

For the students at Milton High School, everyday life is busy. Several students play up to three different sports, so the days are filled with athletic activities while also attending to their schoolwork. Many of the students play lacrosse, basketball, and soccer. One thing these sports have in common is the use of Veo.

The portable camera can record all the sports that the students at Milton High School participate in.

“I play soccer, basketball, and lacrosse at Milton High School. We use Veo for both soccer and basketball and when the spring season comes, we’re going to use it for lacrosse as well”, says Grace Pater, a student-athlete at Milton High School in Massachusetts.

According to Pater, one of the biggest advantages of Veo is the opportunity to go onto the platform after a session and see what went well and what didn't. Here, it can be easier to see what needs improvement than if the coach pulls you aside on the training field.

“I think Veo is really helpful. Sometimes, we’ll mess up, and my coach will try to explain it to me on the pitch, and I won't fully understand it. But then, when we go back and rewatch it, it’s easier to understand what to do differently next time. It's very helpful.”

“For basketball, I've been focusing a lot on when I shoot. Sometimes, it goes weirdly, and then I can look back at it on video and see what to do differently when I'm shooting to become better. When playing soccer, I’m using video to look at the way I’m setting up for a shot. How can I find quicker ways to switch from the right to the left to make it more efficient?”

Re-watching it in a room with the team is also something that teammate Victoria Lundeen appreciates. According to the offensive midfielder, Veo is particularly beneficial when preparing for matches against teams they have already faced before.

“We're watching through, and they're stopping at certain points, giving us really good advice on what we need to do better, what we can improve on, especially when we're playing teams multiple times in a season. We can use those specific videos to watch and prepare for the second game we have against those teams. So that's really helpful.” says Lundeen, who’s been the girls' soccer team captain for the past two years.

Using Veo’s features to get recruited
On the Veo platform, the Player Profile is eagerly utilized by the students at Milton High School. The Player Profile on Veo consists of the players' highlights, the abilities that define them as a player, and their key information. By adding all relevant information to the Player Profile, recruiters can determine if they want to follow the specific player further.

Thanks to Veo's Player Profile, the Irish Football Association noticed Noelle Gorham, who has Irish roots. The young number eight could send a comprehensive package of highlights to the Irish national team, which chose to select her for a match against arch-rivals Northern Ireland.

The Player Profile can be viewed as a digital representation of the player. All key information can easily be added to the profile, where Milton High School's number eight has included passing and shooting as her key categories.

“I like it a lot. I can pick out everything I want and then combine it on the profile. I can then send it to scouts. I’ve also added my key categories to the Player Profile. These are passing, shooting, and defending. Those are my key focus categories, which I focus on on my player profile.”

The same applies to Lundeen, who also updates her Player Profile with the aim of getting recruiters to notice her.

“If you are looking to play college and take the next steps, you’ll have personal stats and videos that you can use to send out to colleges. And it's just a better way to get yourself out there. I'm creating shorter clips of just me playing, and it's interesting to see what I do well and what I'm not doing as well and use that to improve,” she expresses.

“Seeing from a different perspective really helps us develop as players”
Last year, the girls' teams at Milton High School struggled, but this year, using Veo and video analysis more intensely has made a significant difference for the team.

“Veo and just watching the film makes a big difference. To be able to improve and look back at last year and be like, ‘Wow, that's a big difference.’ It's really important,” says Lundeen, who gets support from Michaela Russo, a Milton High School sophomore.

“During my freshman year, which was my first year, we didn't use Veo at all. And we struggled a lot. We did not win games at all, and we didn't really know what we were doing as a team. But this year, we started using it, and it's helped us improve a lot as a team to find out how to play and connect with each other. Seeing from a different perspective really helps us develop as players.”

Russo is looking forward to her lacrosse team at Milton High School to start record with Veo soon.

“I'm excited for lacrosse to start with Veo because it helped develop us as soccer players. I’m looking forward to the lacrosse player highlights. I'm excited to start working with Veo. Everyone on the lacrosse team is excited.”

Fostering team spirit and connection outside the pitch
The players and the school use Veo cameras to improve and analyze their sessions and games, but for the student-athletes, it's also about the camaraderie during these sessions. Team bonding has been a focal point, where the Veo highlights have brought the students closer together.

“It's been super fun when we've gone together for breakfast before Saturday practice at someone's house and gone through the videos. We're all able to laugh, and we can see what we do good. And it's very encouraging. Some of our favorite things are watching back, like at the celebrations after goals, especially after our win against Needham (first win in 30 years). You were just able to see everyone running in the big group hug. To have that on video is special,” says Molly King, a Junior at Milton High School.

When asked whether the students can imagine a life without video and Veo, Grace Pater's answer is clear.

“Honestly, no. There's so much technology that we use today. I love it a lot. It helps me so much, not just for soccer but for all sorts. It's brilliant,” she ends.

Learn more about Veo Cam 3 here, or read more about how you can record multiple sports at your high school here.

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