A high school football program fielding offensive players such as Geneva quarterback Ben Peterson and receiver Bennett Konkey can perhaps rely on natural ability to rack up points.
But every little bit helps on both sides of the ball. Because of that, the Vikings are one of a myriad of programs employing drone technology to film practices to gain crucial self-scouting information.
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“In the summer, we’ll go to 7-on-7s and we’ll go to team camps,” Geneva coach Boone Thorgesen said before a recent film session and walkthrough with the team. “I would say 90% of the programs have a drone. I would say all of them have it. Some bring it and some don’t.”
Those who don’t may ask Thorgesen to share his scrimmage video.
“It gives you a nice view of what your kids are doing and how to correct them for Friday night in practice,” he said.
Video gathered by the drone, used for Tuesday and Wednesday practices, accompanies what’s gained during games from the end zone camera, secured high on a pole behind the uprights.
Geneva uses the drone mainly for filming segments of its run game, pass game, third-down plays, two-minute drill and sometimes for one-on-one drills, according to Thorgesen.
“Usually, when we are in a team setting, we’ll have that thing flying,” he said.
In an agreement between DuKane Conference members, teams can only utilize their drones during practice but not during games.
While the use of drone technology in the postseason is against Illinois High School Association policy, associate executive director Matt Troha said that may change. The IHSA board has directed staff to research policies in other states and will be revisiting the topic at an upcoming meeting.
That would be music to the ears of Thorgesen, who is in his sixth year as head coach.
“For practice, I can’t imagine not having that type of film,” he said. “It’s such a better view for your interior guys, your defense, your front seven, your interior offensive linemen, even your receivers.
“It’s just a better view for everybody. You can see windows, you can see the coverages, you can see your defensive guys, what they’re doing on their first step.”
It beats someone with a cellphone or video camera shooting action from behind the line or the defense. It beats the sideline view from the stands.
And it beats the look from the top of the press box or the old-school scissor lift from the end zone, said Geneva assistant coach Sean Grady, who watched that film when he played at Butler.
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Grady, a safety on the Geneva’s 2008 Class 7A state runner-up team, is in charge of editing, uploading and downloading footage onto the team’s Hudl account, available to all players to study.
He pointed out that it’s not very time consuming and the drone operator can cut out dead time between plays on the spot.
The ability to get footage like “a video game” and to be able to produce it quickly is more efficient and revealing than video patched together from the sideline or the end zone.
“With manpower and the way things are going, I think most schools and teams are probably going to start trying to work toward having a drone do it,” Grady said. “It’s so much easier for one person, and it gets all the views you need.”
Rather than a team manager, Geneva assigns a coach or an injured player to operate the drone. Coming off a back injury, senior running back Ryder Krempin recently had pilot duty.
“It’s not that hard,” he said. “You kind of pick it up. It’s kind of tricky at first because some of the controls are kind of touchy, but it does a lot of it for you like taking off, landing.
“You get used to stopping the play, knowing when to stop and start it, as time goes on.”
Krempin confirmed it can be tedious but also fun to operate and the video has helped him see his running lanes. Plus, there’s also the possibility of a good story to laugh about later.
“Someone crashed it into a tree,” Krempin said. “But that wasn’t me.”