Time is rarely as precious as it is at an Ivy League school.  At Princeton, it’s imperative for players to be able to take the film room with them to their next stop of the day in the palms of their hands with Hudl.

“That's really important to us,” said Kerrin Maurer, assistant coach for the women’s lacrosse team. “For their ability to just pull it out, open the app, look at it quick and then put it away — and it doesn't have to be this long drawn-out thing where they're sitting for a half-hour — that’s big. Princeton kids do not have a half-hour to give at night. They’re in the library.”

Maurer, who graduated from Duke as the program’s all-time leader in assists, knows a thing or two about designing offense. She’s also coaching goaltending and draw controls, two areas where there’s a lot of attention to small details.

“You can tell them in the moment, but they just need to see it sometimes, to have that ‘Aha!’ moment,” Maurer said. “To be able to film them, upload it to Hudl, and have them be able to have access to it whenever they want, that’s helpful.”

Since Maurer joined legendary head coach Chris Sailer’s staff at Princeton in the summer of 2017, the Tigers have made two of the last three NCAA tournaments. A three-time NCAA champion and National Lacrosse Hall of Famer who announced in November that she’s retiring after this season, Sailer is an early adopter on the latest technological developments in the sport. She encourages her staff to explore how they can analyze film faster and easier.

Winning in the margins takes time. Hudl Assist reports are crucial for Princeton's workflow. By having a Hudl analyst do the heavy lifting on data entry and tagging, and connecting every stat on reports to a curated playlist, Maurer estimated the staff saves 12 hours a week on game prep.

“Having our film or scout film cut is amazing,” Maurer said. “That hour and a half it might take me to cut a film, I can now spend analyzing it and breaking it down, and using that time to come up with different strategies. Now you can watch practice film or other areas instead of just sitting down and coding a scout game.”

How athletes learn has never been more diverse. Being able to back up your coaching points with film can be your most reliable bridge between different learners.   

This article appears in the January 2022 edition of USA Lacrosse Magazine. Join our momentum.