Programs that deliver baseball/softball camps, clinics and tournaments often ask, “How do I generate additional revenue with my camps using Dartfish?” That’s a fair question. After all, it is an investment of money, resources, and time.
Here, Chuck Wilmot explores the various ways that your business can enhance its program and generate revenue with game review and the delivery of lesson assessments, either at the event or remotely afterward. Additionally, he considers how Dartfish video can be an excellent method to market your services through your own website or through social media.
Services that can be offered at your camps or tournaments
Skill station assessments: People typically come to camps because of the coaches or a particular coach’s brand. Providing skill drills at the camps is one of the most common services offered at camps. An add-on to the camp’s existing services is to provide a personal video skill assessment with electronic delivery, so the parents as well as the camp attendee can see a tangible take away of their performance.
The great thing about this service is that it enhances your camp, while providing a powerful method to market your camp program. When you deliver the skill assessment to your campers, be sure the parents also receive the assessment. They will then be able to share the assessment on any of their social media platforms, providing you with free marketing for upcoming camps.
How to deliver these services: To provide hitting, pitching, fielding, or catching skill assessments, you will need to capture video outside at your camp. The easiest video capture method is using an iPad with our mobile application Dartfish Express.
Using this method you would set up stations to capture the video of each camp attendee at each station. Before the session, the camp attendee will write his/her name on a small white board at each drill station, so you can identify both the station and the camper on the video. You might want to capture the video of five occurrences of the drill performed by the camper with the mobile device at each station. After the review, please make sure your iPad has decent wireless connection. Then upload the camper’s video to their personal Dartfish TV collection, where a coach or staff member can complete the detailed skill assessment.
To deliver the final skill assessment to the camper and parent, it will be much easier and more professional to make delivery using the Dartfish PC based software, rather than trying to produce mass quantities of assessments from the mobile device. Using this method you can establish hitting, pitching, fielding, and catching templates for your assessment points in the skill process, reducing time and creating much efficiency in the delivery of the skill assessments. Optionally, you could include video of a person executing model skills/drills showing the camper correct form for work on their own time after the camp.
Note: Depending on the number of camp attendees I would suggest having two staff members with iPads working at each station. Using this approach, you can review the video with each camp attendee after they complete each station event, while the other staff member captures the video with the next camper.
Scrimmage game review services: This is a popular service and can be implemented in your camp games or tournaments with very little effort and few resources. Your clients will love being able to look at their child’s experience at your camps or at tournaments. They will be able to simply log onto your Dartfish TV channel and review or share their ‘at bats’ or pitches for example, on their smartphones, iPads, or any web enabled computer.
How to deliver these services: To provide this service, you simply video the game live with standard off-the shelf cameras or use our stadium cameras, if installed. The number of cameras is up to you, but you’ll need at least one camera in center field, and optionally, dugout cameras for side views.
With our Dartfish Note mobile app (pictured below), a staff member would tag a player’s pitches or ‘at bats’ during a game. Roster names are easily substituted for positions.
After the game, all the player’s actions during the game are synchronized to the video and uploaded to your personalized dartfish.tv channel where parents, family members and friends can view that specific player’s video.
Recommendations: It is my recommendation that you deliver both skill station assessments and scrimmage game review services at your camps. And, of course, at tournaments you can just deliver game review services.
You may choose to implement a single station skill assessment or multiple stations running simultaneously.
Game review services are available through your dartfish.tv service.
Marketing ideas for your business
People have many choices when selecting camps and tournaments for their children. “How do I attract new clients?” is a question all service providers ask. Most baseball and softball coaching experts are good at giving lessons, and organizing camps or tournaments. But they are not as strong when it comes to marketing their services.
Using video and showing people your deliverables are effective marketing tools. Begin by getting email lists or mobile telephone numbers for potential customers. Then text or email them some examples. Post to your social media pages and allow people to share. Your camp brand and contact information is now visible to anyone watching your video.
Use video on your website: On your website, show examples of your deliverables which describe your services. Video with pictures and words is more powerful in getting your message across – much better than just pictures or words. Put video analyses on your website to set yourself apart from the rest.
Golf outings: School athletic booster clubs often hold golf outings to raise funds for their athletic programs. At your event, capture video of participants teeing off, and later give them a sample swing analysis: “Show them that this a sample of the technology used to deliver baseball hitting and pitching instruction.
This article was contributed by Chuck Wilmot, Regional Director for Dartfish USA and Dartfish’s diamond sports expert. chuck.wilmot@dartfish.com, 214.336.5584
For skills analysis Chuck is using a 32Gb iPad Air with Dartfish Express and Dartfish Note apps. He supports his tablet on an iPad tripod mount.
For scrimmage review he has three camcorders and is using a combination of the Dartfish Note app and Dartfish software to identify players and actions.
All his analysis is shared via Dartfish’s personal video platform – dartfish.tv
