No. 1 Gardner Edgerton makes midseason switch to SkyCoach replay during state title run | ‘It was a game changer’
Gardner Edgerton’s tech cart
Three weeks into the 2023 season, Gardner Edgerton was ready for a switch. The Trailblazers had an extremely talented team that was primed for a deep run into the playoffs, but they needed a sideline replay company that could keep up with the fast-paced, tough 6A games they face weekly.
That’s when assistant coach Spencer Webb, who’s in charge of all the football technology for the Trailblazers, decided to make the midseason switch and joined the SkyCoach team.
”We had Echo Replay and it never worked. I had to find something else and I spoke to Coach (Sean) McDaniel at Saint Thomas Aquinas and he had nothing but good things to say about SkyCoach. Ever since then, we haven’t had any replay issues. As soon as the play is over, it’s on the iPad. With the other company, it didn’t upload or the iPads didn’t receive the clips. It literally would not work so we didn’t have replay the first three weeks.”
“It’s very beneficial for the coaches to have video replay at their fingertips.”
The TrailBlazers have our Platinum package using an end zone camera angle and a press box wide shot for the SkyCoach replay system. Currently, they have a total of six iPads: four that coaches carry around and two are connected to TVs on their sideline tech cart, which holds all of their iPads, headsets, chargers, wires and much more that may be needed on Friday nights. The tech cart is covered up and wheeled onto a trailer and hauled to all away games, as well as home games.
Gardner Edgerton’s tech cart
Even without replay at the beginning of the season, the Trailblazers still managed to dominate their first three opponents and enter the Week 4 contest 3-0 against the Mill Valley, the 6A defending champions for the last five years.
“That first game we made the switch, we beat Mill Valley. We beat them 49-10 that game,” he said, adding, “We could just tell the in-game adjustments we were able to make because of SkyCoach made us a lot better. It was a game changer for sure.
“It’s very beneficial for the coaches to have video replay at their fingertips. As soon as their position group comes off the field, they’re able to show them the film and tell them this is what we’re doing or this is what we’re changing. Things like that helped a lot.”
The TrailerBlazers marched forward throughout the rest of the season and finished with a 12-1 record and captured their first-ever title with a 22-19 win over Derby in the 6A Kansas State High School Association Football Championship.
“We’ve been pleased with SkyCoach. That instant feedback and being able to change play calls, formations and being able to see what the other team is doing is the best thing and other coaches need to realize that instant feedback is the best,” Webb said.
Going into Year 2 with SkyCoach this 2024 season, Gardner Edgerton is ranked as the No. 1 team in the state of Kansas, according to MaxPreps.
