How High School Rugby Coaches Are Ditching Manual Filming for AI Sports Cameras

"Overall, I'm extremely happy with Veo. I can just raise it up. Plug it in, start it. Here we go," says Jarrod Dyke, head rugby coach at Brookline High School.

Dyke's enthusiasm reflects a growing trend among high school coaches who have discovered automated video analysis systems. After years of struggling with manual filming solutions, he found a technology that actually delivers on its promises.

This transformation shows how the right sports camera can eliminate the filming frustrations that have plagued youth athletics for decades.

Brookline High School's rugby program transformation

Jarrod Dyke has been coaching rugby at Brookline High School, where he's experienced firsthand the evolution from manual filming disasters to automated video analysis success. His program serves as a testing ground for how technology can transform high school sports coaching.

Brookline's rugby team faced the typical challenges of youth sports video: unreliable student camera operators, inconsistent footage quality, and countless hours of manual setup and review. The stakes were high - Dyke wanted to prepare his players for college-level rugby where video analysis is standard practice.

His experience represents a broader shift in high school athletics toward professional-level tools that were once accessible only to elite programs.

"That was the dumbest thing I could have done"

Before implementing automated video analysis, Dyke relied on students to film games manually. "The first time I ever experienced how bad it could be was my first year coaching at Brookline. I had a camera and just told another kid, 'Go film the game,' and that was the dumbest thing I could have done. Honestly, I didn't get a whole lot of usable game footage," he recalls.

The problems went beyond simple inattention. "The only other option is you have one of the kids film, and that's a nightmare," he explains. "Kids fall asleep, they don't pay attention. They pay attention to the game itself and they're not paying attention to what's in the viewfinder."

The time burden was equally problematic. Every game required assigning a student to filming duty, training them on camera operation, and hoping they'd follow through consistently. For coaches already juggling multiple responsibilities, this added layer of complexity made video analysis more trouble than it was worth.

Without reliable footage, Dyke couldn't provide the visual feedback that would help his players understand complex tactical concepts or identify areas for individual improvement.

How Veo's AI tracking solved the filming problem

Dyke discovered Veo through a colleague who had successfully implemented the system. "It was a colleague of mine who had his own Veo Cam, and I was like, ‘why didn't we get this system?’" he recalls.

The automated tracking capabilities eliminated the need for student camera operators entirely. "The great thing was we didn't need to tell a kid to go film. We're off to a good start. I don't need to worry about a kid anymore. I just have to set the system up," Dyke explains.

Setup became remarkably simple compared to manual alternatives. "We don't need a kid to go set it up. I can just raise it up, plug it in, and start it. Here we go," he says. Even when playing at venues without permanent mounting options, the portable setup works perfectly: "Most places we go to have a running track. So we just use the sandbags, as we can't screw it in like with other systems. But yeah, it's really easy to set up."

The impact on teaching was immediate and dramatic. "They can see it with their own two eyes. You know, you can lead a horse to water only so many times. But eventually they have to learn how to do it themselves," Dyke notes. His players could now engage in self-analysis, reviewing their own performance and identifying improvement areas independently.

Ready to eliminate filming frustrations from your program? Veo experts are standing by to help you get started.

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