There is a new type of "huddle" in the world of high school sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of "huddling up" on the football field traditionally has meant to put the team together and make a strategic plan, but in the case of high school sports during COVID, it's taken a larger team effort on many levels to put protections and strategies in place for our teams to even play - let alone have fans! Playing in isolation has been one of the pains endured for many high school students since Wisconsin schools have started to offer shorter sports seasons with the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions - student athletes miss having their parents and their friends in the stands to cheer them on!

Seeing kids miss out on so many cherished high school memories, like those surrounding sports, moved the Belleville IT (Information Technology) team into action to address the problem. They solved it (unsurprisingly) through a new development in technology. Moments before the second Belleville High School football game was held on April 16th, Chris Armstrong (Director of IT), David Edge (7-12 Technology Assistant) and members of the School District of Belleville's facilities crew could be found on the roof of the Belleville Press Box high above the Wildcats' football stadium. They were there to install the second of the Hudl Focus cameras purchased during the pandemic to provide live streaming coverage of the Wildcats' athletic events to fans waiting anxiously at home.

Hudl Focus cameras provide auto-tracking technology that follows sports action without having to have a cameraperson in place. Belleville High School now has two Hudl cams installed - one for indoor use to capture sports action like basketball and volleyball held in our main gym and one developed for outdoor use to capture sporting events held in the stadium - like football and soccer.

Installation of these two different Hudl cameras was not as easy as it may seem. Planning and testing to make it possible and financially feasible were all part of the strategic plan that Belleville's IT team needed to take into consideration. The more difficult installation revolved around setting up the stadium's outdoor Hudl device. Though this model was carefully selected to incur the elements associated with Wisconsin weather, it does require hooking up to the Belleville High School's internet. Stretching wire from the high school building out to the stadium was a hurdle the IT staff needed to overcome and they did it through selecting equipment that allowed them the ability to create a wireless bridge to provide a connection from the high school to the stadium press box. Chris Armstrong notes how this was a tremendous help in the overall cost of the installation, "This allows us to extend our network without incurring the cost of burying wires to that location." The wireless bridge worked and Wildcat fans were able to watch the Belleville Football team play their homecoming game live as it streamed to the high school's YouTube channel.

Like the world adjusted post-9/11, our nation has perhaps been forever changed by learning to "huddle up" and create solutions to problems caused by this worldwide pandemic. Streaming high school events through devices like these two Hudl cameras will allow schools like Belleville to provide access to their graduation ceremony this coming June and to provide network connectivity for teachers who may want to hold class (safely distanced) in the stands as we continue to cope with the challenges the COVID-19 virus brings. While COVID may have presented one of the most trying times our newest generation of students has had to manage, the problem solving solutions that have emerged in the field of technology have also offered us hope.

The "wins" brought to us through the work of dedicated IT staff like Chris Armstrong and David Edge have helped turn the page during a time many of us would like to forget and offer us a new beginning and a glimpse into a better future. Just think - no longer will grandparents have to miss out on their grandchildren's special events just because physical distance or their health concerns have created a real obstacle for them to attend the special occasions in which they want to make memories. Perhaps this crisis has created some benefits we just won't want to give up and will allow us all a chance to "huddle up" when it's all over and enjoy the special events that make life worth living (even if it involves a screen, a link, and some wireless connectivity!).