History
Assistant Software Coach created a game analysis tool for the University of Illinois in 1988. By 1994 Southern Illinois, Temple, and Ohio State were using the program as well. Beginning in 1995 FanPro was marketed to all FCS and BCS teams. FanPro was retired after the 2016 season with FootballAnalysis replacing it.
We have worked with football coaches for 33 seasons and learned from them what they need from our reports to do their job. The first thing we learned was that coaches use different terminology to mean the same thing. So FanPro, and now FootballAnalysis, allow coaches to fill in the game data with any terminology. Next we learned that coaches want to view game data in the format that they like. So FanPro, and now FootballAnalysis, have various report formats to satisfy each coach. Finally we learned that coaches don't typically have time to create their own reports and that is why we will gladly create the reports for you. These reports become a part of release so other coaches can benefit from your ideas.
In 2014 we began the creation FootballAnalysis to replace FanPro. Our first decision was to not use any portion of FanPro. The two overriding goals were simplicity and report presentation. Simplicity for FootballAnalysis means a one time 20 minute setup and then each week import game data and generate reports. Report presentation is a major advancement: each report is a web page. No more printed reports, no report layouts limited to a printer page size, and any browser can display a report. Since 2017 we have marketed FootballAnalysis to all high school and college teams.
The use of web pages has several advantages. First, your players will be able to view them on any device with the browser of their choice including their smart phone. Second, uploading the reports to a web site instantly provides everyone with the latest version. Finally, no more printing reports and distributing all those copies. (In 2020 we added the ability to print reports for coaches that still cling to paper.)
In 2018 our focus changed from only FootballAnalysis to developing multiple programs that competed with Hudl. We intended to offer a lower cost solution than Hudl. The Covid-19 pandemic led to the decision that all the programs would be free so coaches could use their funds for equipment. I also retired my consulting business and did not need any football income for retirement.
The Football Video program was created in 2018. This video editor will allow you to generate play-by-play video with both sideline and end zone videos.
The Report Video program was created in 2019. This program combines a tabular report with play-by-play video created by the Football. You can click on a data field and the plays that make up that data will automatically be displayed.
The Grading program was created in 2021 to provide a simple, objective method to identify the weaknesses and strengths of a player.
The Highlight program was created in 2021 to provide the ability to develop highlight videos for every player. Each player should have video regardless of his skill level because of the effort they apply to achieve their results.
Consideration
In our opinion every high school and college football team should be able to acquire quality software that enhances their competitive position. We provide our Football Suite (the programs mentioned above) at no charge.