How Wildcats get the picture - Video crew captures every play of every practice, every game

Video crew captures every play of every practice, every game
By Ryan Finley
arizona daily star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 11.01.2009

 
 
There's a trick to throwing a videotape from a 43-foot scissor-lift to somebody standing below.
It's all in the wrist.
Five times during each Arizona Wildcats football practice, members of the football video department pop a tape cassette from their cameras and — after gauging the wind like cautious golfers — fling it toward the ground.
 
A spotter, at the base of the massive lift, catches it like a pointy punt.
These tricks of the trade are among the little things the staff has mastered to cut down on time and maximize efficiency.
The Wildcats' 10-person staff is the ultimate "little thing" — an integral part of the UA's football program.
 
Team videography is another way to gain an edge in college football. The Wildcats' staff dedicates countless hours to taping and cataloging practices and then pores over game tape to analyze opponents and helps coaches and players view their strengths and weaknesses. Arizona's procedures are standard in the Pac-10, which is on the cutting edge of tape-editing technology. In addition to taping practices, the video staffers "cut up" game film and burn DVDs for players and coaches to study at home.
 
For more on this story click here:  Wildcat VIDEO