Payson Roundup

As mundane as “film exchange” sounds to most of the public, it is the lifeblood of high school football coaching.

Each weekend during the season, coaches depend on exchanging films of past games, usually three, with the coach of their next opponent to compile game plans and strategies for the upcoming contest.

Many games have been won — and others lost — on information gained from film exchanges.

Around the country, game tapes are the rage because, as coaches say, “The big eye in the sky don’t lie.”

Shooting high school football games was a novelty 30 years ago, when only a handful of flush high schools had the money with which to film.

But, filming and exchanging is now a nationwide phenomenon that most coaches deem an absolute necessity.

In recent years, high school football filming has metamorphosed into high tech with coaches and players using computers and the Internet for game preparations.

Former PHS coaches Kenny Hayes and Jerry Rhodes relied heavily on technology for their scouting reports, considering computers key components in game preparation.

However, since the inception of more sophisticated filming and exchanging, there have been some glitches and anomalies in the process — and, to be honest, even a little fudging by some coaches.

Often, the quality of the films being exchanged isn’t equal, some cameramen are not skilled at shooting the action coaches want to see and some coaches wait too late in the week to exchange tapes.

In Florida, prior to a game between Manatee and Venice, the coaches couldn’t agree on a mutually convenient time for video exchange, creating an uproar in which one coach eventually refused to accept films saying they had arrived too late.

In the early 1990s Payson High School was often accused of exchanging less than optimum game films with opponents.

The problem: the games were filmed high atop the crow’s nest on what is now the home sideline. When wind blew, the crow’s nest swayed back and forth producing a game tape difficult for opposing coaches to evaluate.

“Your films make me dizzy,” one coach complained to Payson High.

While most high school coaches are honest and trustworthy, there have been examples of exchanging less than desirable footage in an effort to provide players with a competitive edge.

Those types of problems, and others more sinister, prompted the Iowa Football Coaches Association and the Iowa High School Athletic Association a year ago to listen to coaches’ concerns regarding the quality and integrity of game tapes.

After hearing the concerns, a football advisory committee drafted a set of guidelines to help with the consistency of how games are recorded and exchanged.

A few weeks ago, the Arizona Football Coaches Association decided to follow in the steps of Iowa, and draft a set of rules and regulations governing filming and exchanges.

The proposed guidelines have been sent out to all Arizona coaches to be reviewed and evaluated.

Later this month, AzFCA representatives will meet to discuss proposed filming and exchanging rules and later vote “yes” or “no” on their implementation for next season.

Among the rules being considered is one that requires coaches exchange three films of the opposing coach’s choice.

If coaches cannot agree on the three to exchange, they will trade all games up to that point in the season.

For opening games, coaches can exchange previous year’s films or just scrimmage tapes.

Also in the agreement are stipulations on the site from which the filming will be done and camera mechanics that require the cameraman to be sure both teams are in the frame, take wide shots of the entire offense and defense showing the safeties and corners, shots of the scoreboard and pictures of all officials’ signals on penalties.

Which means, a cameraman that doesn’t have a wide shot of the entire offense including the corners and strong safety in a cover-three look and the corners in a cover-two look, has an unsatisfactory tape.

PHS coach Byron Quinlan said he supports the new rules and regulations, but worries how they are going to be policed.

“What happens when you get a crappy tape?” he asks.

Actual film exchange rules will require coaches to meet and change tapes by noon on Saturday.

At Payson High, in past seasons, when the Horns competed in the 3A East Region, exchanging films was a relatively simple process.

Most often the Payson coach agreed to meet the opposing coach, say Show Low, at a midway point — usually a convenience store in Heber — where the exchange would be made.

In other programs around the state, exchanges are made at police stations, garages, drugstores and diners prompting a frustrated football coach’s wife to once complain, “It seems coaches can’t wait to prepare for next week’s game.”