The Full Analysis Ecosystem within German Basketball

If you’re a coach at the German Basketball Federation (otherwise known as the DBB), your job usually combines talent development and managing team performance. Often, coaches do not focus on only one team within the Federation but rather work with several at once, often remotely. In this case, it is crucial to have an ecosystem of products to upload, share and analyze videos. Learn how the DBB have enhanced their analysis workflows through technology and found multiple innovative ways to use video throughout the Federation. 

When it comes to international basketball, coaches only get the chance to work closely with their players on court during the time when they meet for national camps. Players spend the majority of their time with their clubs, therefore it’s critical that national team coaches follow their players remotely and have the ability to share feedback online. This makes remote work and online communication with players crucial, explained Alan Ibrahimagic,  Youth Coach at the DBB. “We prepare short videos for our players to comment on their recent performances,” said Ibrahimagic. 

“It’s especially important for young players as it helps them grow.” According to Ibrahimagic, on a weekly basis Federation coaches follow up to 50 players by watching their games, analysing them, preparing instances and then giving feedback to players. “Our amount of analysis work wouldn’t be possible to perform without technology and the Hudl ecosystem makes our analysis workflows a lot easier,” said the coach. 

Established players already expect analysis to be organized professionally as it is standard practice in their club environments. However, the impact of technology on younger players can be tremendous. “Young players from smaller clubs were surprised to see how easy to use technology can be and what great benefit it provides,” said Ibrahimagic. 

“Video plays a pivotal role in individual growth, allowing a young player to not only track their progress but also compare themselves and learn from professionals. I like that it is now possible to upload videos from other platforms to Hudl Sportscode, work with them and then export them to the cloud. This feature is particularly important when we create tutorial videos by using instances from NBA to share the best practices with our players.” 

Efficiency is key, and coaches aim to give their feedback to players as soon as possible so their memory is fresh. “It makes a huge difference to be able to call a player in a couple of hours after a game, so they know exactly what we’re talking about. Otherwise, they will have another game to come and we will focus on that.” 

During national camps when coaches finally get hands on with their players, the focus shifts onto preparing for the upcoming international matches. “I do my research on an opponent by watching their games and preparing a team profile on Sportscode. I edit videos, add slides, upload the final video on the cloud so our players can access it,” explained Ibrahimagic. “With one click we upload a video into the Hudl platform and players get a notification. They can watch it on their smartphone or a tablet whenever they want.” 

When analyzing an opponent, it is more important to understand their basketball philosophy rather than focussing just on stats, according to Ibrahimagic. “My goal is to get the whole picture about their performance and skills of their players. I also look at their formation, spacing on a court, how they organize rebounding or transition defence.

”In team meetings, coaches aim to communicate information to their players in the most visual way, whether it’s an opponent analysis or a video from a practice. “We watch videos on Hudl because we can pause and highlight an important moment using drawing tools. From the beginning to the end, we stay within one platform which is very convenient”.

So far, the above workflows using Hudl Sportscode Elite Review are established within the German national team. However, this practice can potentially be extended to domestic clubs to create an overall ecosystem within German basketball. According to Ibrahimagic, it would make communication between the Federation, the clubs and coaches easier and faster and help improve the level of German basketball. “It’s always important to stay updated and use every opportunity that gives you a chance for success. Even if it’s a 1% improvement, it can still make a difference.”

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