Capturing game-winning footage for the University of Pittsburgh’s soccer program

Competing across 12 sports, there are few quiet days across the University of Pittsburgh’s fields, courts and tracks. For Brian Templien, the university’s video director for sports services, there is an endless stream of training sessions and matches that need recording, processing and clipping.

In the past, Pitt’s video team would rely on manual cameras to capture footage for practice analysis, self-scouting and opponent scouting. However, there simply weren’t the resources available to keep up. Understanding the importance of video to a range of sports team functions – from player development to tactical analysis, recruitment to in-game replays – Templien sought an automated solution to ensure every moment is captured.

With fixed Spiideo cameras now installed across the Ambrose Urbanic Field, Spiideo’s AI technology automatically records a panoramic view of the entire field, maximizing the amount of footage available to the Pitt men’s and women’s soccer teams.

However, capturing footage is only half the battle for video teams. As well as a means of recording, they also need the tools to cut, clip and analyze video. Spiideo Perform, Spiideo’s powerful video analysis platform, provides everything necessary to create and catalogue important moments, enhance footage with drawings and markings, and create engaging presentations to deliver useful insight for players and coaching staff.

For Templien, Spiideo Perform’s greatest selling point is its flexibility. While there are multiple Spiideo cameras dotted around the stadium, footage is stitched together into one recording, enabling him to switch between views with the click of a button. Likewise, while a 180-degree view is captured, the high resolution allows him to zoom in and pan around to focus in on particular players, areas or drills.

Not only has the Spiideo system improved the quantity and quality of training footage available, but it’s also supporting the team’s coaches on matchdays. With footage instantly uploaded to the cloud, coaches can watch a moment back immediately after it occurs on the pitch. This allows them to pull clips to show during half-time and make mid-game adjustments to change the course of the game.

“It’s a much more seamless process than what we’ve done in the past. Coaches can access the video right away and they’re able to make any adjustments that are needed at half-time,” Templien explained. “It’s a great feature that we haven’t had in the past and anything that gives us more flexibility is key.”

Pitt’s coaches regularly hold meetings where players are shown clips highlighting the good and the bad areas of their game. As a NCAA Division 1 institution, those competing for the University of Pittsburgh are among the best of the best in their age group, and with many undoubtedly hoping to reach the top, this access to visual and individualized feedback is fueling “huge” improvements in performance.

As well as developing the current squad, Spiideo is also helping Pitt’s recruitment team to attract quality players and maintain its standing among college soccer’s top sides.

“We can say ‘Hey, all of our practices and games are filmed and you’ll be able to access the footage throughout the year’. The coaches use it as a selling point when they’re trying to sell a student athlete on coming on board at Pitt,” Templien said.

Spiideo’s primary role at Pitt is video analysis, but the versatile solution also serves a secondary purpose: video replays. With the National Collegiate Athletic Association allowing competing teams to utilize their video systems as a replay solution – much like the use of VAR in the professional game – referees can watch the footage back on the sidelines to ensure the right decision is made.

Watching the start of the men’s college season. As a rules committee member, it was cool to see a rule change we implemented (expanded video review) get used in biggest game in the country on night one! pic.twitter.com/ZPdpRyKtSF

— Brandon Bianco (@BMBianco) August 26, 2022

Capturing incidents from multiple angles, Spiideo has already produced potentially game-winning outcomes for Pitt. In their first game of the year, an overturned penalty in a 2-1 victory may have earned the team all three points: “Maybe our keeper saves it anyway, or maybe he misses… but I have a feeling, if we didn’t have the Spiideo system in place, I don’t think the decision would have been overturned,” Templien admitted.

This goes to show the versatility of Spiideo. Whether you want to scale your analysis process, live stream your games to fans around the world or improve the quality of refereeing across a league – a Spiideo camera setup can do it all.