Brown Computer Graphics Group

COACH

One important part of a coach's job is teaching and reviewing plays with players in a classroom environment. This is a difficult task because a dynamic 3D environment is represented with static 2D images drawn on the chalkboard by the coaches. It can be difficult for players to make the leap from the static chalkboard diagrams to the situation on the football field, especially given the variety of scenarios that may occur during the course of a game. This instruction is an essential part of the coaches' job, however, because there is a limited amount of practice time on the field, and so both coaches and players must make the best possible use of the time available.

We have developed an electronic playbook application (COACH) that helps coaches and players to understand, visualize, and discuss a play before they take the field. COACH provides a gestural user interface that mimics a traditional chalkboard used for play design, analysis, and instruction. It provides a 2D simulation to allow coaches to illustrate and discuss dynamic aspects of a play, and it provides a 3D environment that allows players to view the play in a more realistic manner (e.g. from the first-person point of view of one of the players). Aside from being useful in a classroom environment, such a playbook could be provided to players to supplement the traditional paper playbooks that are provided for reference and review.

The user selects an offensive and defensive formation and customizes those formations by dragging the player icons. Assignments for each player are created by drawing gestures. The starting point of the gesture indicates the player, and the path traced by the mouse is analyzed to identify the specific assignment. The play can then be simulated in 2D...

...or in 3D. Mouse-based camera controls allow the user to view the action from any point of view, including that of one of the players.

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