What does a software company have to do with pregame rituals? Well, to be honest, we don’t have much to do with the rituals themselves, but if any of them involve the atmosphere or environment surrounding your athletes or fans on game day, then we likely are the catalyst. Nothing beats the thrilling rush before game time, and even though we are not sports psychologists, our research on fan engagement has led us to believe the energy of your fans impacts your players’ performance. So what does it mean to be a catalyst? Our expertise is creating an experience at all levels of sporting events and at all times through your scoreboard.
In case you weren’t aware, our tools supply more than just scoring logic and production features. We have an app developed for football practice and an app for capturing highlights. Our schools can record games and create highlights on the road; no streaming equipment is necessary.
We are always thinking ahead of how athletes and fans impact the tools we provide. So when it comes to pregame, rest assured we’ve thought of that too. Preparing your team and fans for the competition can set your experience apart from your competitors. Doing so gives you the power to help your athletes focus and energize your fans.
Music plays an instrumental role in preparing your team for game time. In an article we read by Nicholas White on Global Sports Matter, he shared how music stimulates the amygdala, the part of the brain that processes emotions and triggers memories. So when a song is associated with a big play or a victory, your players can recall those moments, which feeds into their adrenaline and helps them focus. Many players often have a ritual that involves a playlist. Our software has a built-in pregame sequence feature with music, advertising, and a game clock for warm-ups. You have complete control over the content within the sequence and your music. Given the research above, you may want to connect your athletes to your pregame production by allowing them to select songs you use within your pregame playlist.
To use the pregame playlist feature, you must import the .mp3 files you have downloaded to the ScoreVision Cloud. If you don’t have .mp3 files handy, don’t worry. You don’t have to use the pregame playlist feature in the app; you can connect your phone or computer via AirPlay to your system and play music from whatever service you use. Creating a Spotify playlist with your team captains as collaborators is an example of getting your players involved. Before you get worried about them adding music with explicit content, Spotify has a setting to shut off any content deemed inappropriate. We’ve also heard from many of our schools that Neptune Now is an excellent service if you want to keep out any explicit content. Regardless of the service, your athletes will feel the impact of your pregame music selection.
Your season highlights can set the tone for the game. We mentioned before that your ScoreVision system allows you to set up a pregame sequence to display advertisements, but another neat feature is the ability to play on-demand content. One way your school can utilize this feature is by creating a video with your season highlights and importing it into the cloud. You can then interrupt your default media sequence and play the highlights right before your team heads into the locker room during warm-ups. After the on-demand content plays, your original sequence will then automatically resume. Get your team and your fans excited right before the game.
Set the tone for sportsmanship. You can upload personalized graphics to welcome the opposing team. All you need to do is create the graphic and add it to your pregame media sequence. Create a culture where good sportsmanship is expected.
Let the fans get to know the players. We’ve seen a lot of movement in the sports industry, with entertainment pieces highlighting players’ sense of humor. You can keep the fans preoccupied during warmups by playing an on-demand video of your production staff interviewing your team. We’ve created a list of questions to help you get started:
If filming players or creating a video is daunting, you can create a simple player accolade graphic and highlight players with their season statistics, and provide an answer to one of the questions. Asking players about their future is always a great way to share what your athletes are aspiring to be. By allowing fans to get inspired by your athletes, you can prepare them to follow their favorite players throughout the game and cheer them on.
Just as the athlete has a pregame ritual, so should the production team. Getting your team and fans excited for game time is very important. In an LA Times article by Hilary E. Macgregor, she shares how essential fans are in creating a thriving culture for athletic performance. Her research showed, “In general, crowds can improve performance in sports that involve strength, endurance, or teams. They also can prove beneficial in events that go on long enough for an athlete to get really tired. This effect on athletes has been dubbed ‘social facilitation,’ by sports psychologists.” Fans impact your athletes’ performance, and your pregame ritual as a production team has the power to transform the atmosphere of your game day. With the ScoreVision system as the catalyst, you can create a personalized pregame that excites your athletes and fans.
Sources:
Global Sports Matter: Music Does More than Hype Athletes, It Helps Prep the Brain for Action
LA Times: For Athletes' the Crowd Roar is Double-Edged