NEWARK - Since all Newark High School students were all issued 2in1 laptop tablets last fall, JV and Varsity athletes are using technology to a much greater extent to give them an edge in their sport, portfolios and in applying for college.

How so?

Will Bean, grades 9-12 instructional coach and Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE), who is also the Assistant Varsity Football and Baseball coach, explained.

“Our district is committed to helping our student-athletes improve their performance on the field,” Bean said. “As a result, our athletics department has a subscription to HUDL —  a sports video platform that coaches use to upload both practice and game film for analysis. They are able to create notes, highlight specific clips, and share key ideas with their players through the service.  Now that students have school issued 2in1 laptops they are able to access these learning materials more frequently. 

“Another added benefit of this access is that our students have the ability to generate their own HUDL profile that allow students to create their own highlights from their games,” he continued. “These profiles can then be shared with student prospective colleges, so that college coaches can assess possible recruits.”

As one example, Bean cited NHS Varsity Football’s Class B Defensive Player of the Year winner Dillan Hernandez’s profile page at https://www.hudl.com/profile/12607472/Dillan-Hernandez/videos.

“Having access to HUDL through their 2in1 laptops allows all student-athletes to create, build, and display their own athletic portfolios,” Bean said.

“Using the laptop has made it easier for me to make my own highlights from the game and has helped increase my exposure,” Hernandez said. “I feel that I am more prepared for my games, being able to see what the opponents have done. The features on the laptop, like the ability to touch the screen, allows me to use HUDL in a much easier way.  I can quickly decide what plays I want to use and then HUDL puts it all together.”

Bean said the NHS football program began using HUDL in 2009 and after Chris Corey became Director of  Health, Physical Education and Athletics for the Newark Central School District in 2015, he wanted all JV and Varsity coaches using it. Students being assigned their own 2in1 laptops has only enhanced their individual use of the HUDL program.

“The use of video is an enormous advantage to our athletes, especially as they compete at the varsity level,” Corey said. “HUDL has been an important resource for our department and we are committed to sustaining and building on our capacity to use it to gain a competitive advantage.  The purpose of students having their own device was certainly focused on their academics during the day, but we will gladly accept the added benefit of athletes being able to access a high quality resource to improve their own and their team’s performance. It’s the definition of win-win.”