I use TC Whiteboard to do all the posting here. You can do separate drills and put them together in a practice plan that you print out. You need the program to print out the diagram and notes together but I use the export function which makes the gif diagram that I can post here.

You can download the program on the internet and it costs about $70 and you get free upgrades.

http://www.technicoach.com/ is the site you can order from.

Whoops, and the SPA Drill Planner is $49.99. I meant to put that in the last message sorry.

I don't know of anything for free. Not sure what platform you are using (PC or Mac); regardless, look at the enclosed software bundle included with your computer. Do Windows Movie Maker or Quicktime meet your needs? Or check the respective Microsoft / Apple sites to see if there is something to do what you want. If you find something, keep us posted! Happy hunting.

How much $ for Magix Movie Edit Pro?

Ok, here's the only freeware I could find: http://www.kinovea.org/en
I haven't had much time to play with it, but I was able to draw over MPEG4 video using the intuitive editing buttons at the bottom. Kinovea allows you to draw angles, lines, and freehand over the video. There is also a side-by-side video feature. This is sufficient for my needs which is just to show kids some examples from games where they played a particular situation properly. I figure all kids like to see themselves on video and using positive examples would be a good way to build pride and enthusiasm in reacting properly to different game situations. (FYI, we started the season 0-12 and are now on a 7-0-1 undefeated streak, thanks in large part to the ABCs!)

For those who want to pay for something a little more advanced, a Google search with terms "video analysis" AND (sports OR coach) will bring up a number of software packages that allow a user to draw on top of video.

Quote by: CoachJ

Whoops, and the SPA Drill Planner is $49.99. I meant to put that in the last message sorry.

Now that I bought a new laptop, it is time to more closely look at a drill design program.

Looking at SPA, Drill Draw, TC Whiteboard. Are there any more suggestions? Please provide a link and price structure... SPA doesn't post their prices... CoachJ says it's $50/year.

I want one that can categorize drills; be able to draw up one or more drills - even an entire practice plan on one page (3-4 rinks plus description); print in colour or B/W; one that is fairly quick to learn; the ability to export to a .pdf file (Tom - like what you use TC Whiteboard) - I think this would be good, regardless of drill program - so I can keep my work stored on a hard drive if the software company goes belly up or I decide not to renew a description. Does SPA or Drill Draw allow this?

I don't think I need the TOI feature (like on SPA) at this point. Being able to write over video(SPA again) would be nice, but not needed right now. I don't want to purchase other's drill packages. But can one share drills between people if they are using the same software? IE If I buy TC Whiteboard, can Tom and I 'share' (import/export drill files)?

What other features are good / essential to have vs. fluff?

CoachJ, how is the SPA planner working out? IS the $50 price an annual fee or lifetime? Can you print out a couple of drills to a page; like for a practice, or just single drills?

Anyone else on here use Drill Draw? Feedback?

I think I can try all three for a free trial period which I might end up doing. Just thought I could get a head start via other people's experiences!

Thanks in advance...

Dean,

I purchased Drill Draw this year, and I think it's quite good. At the start of the year I was good about entering drills and making complete practices, but as time went on I found it more useful to print out index card sized pieces of paper just to keep me on time between drills.

I think the major benefits of drilldraw are that it's easy to learn, it's a great way to archive and organize all your materials, and you don't need an Internet connection. There is a great tutorial that shows it's features here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op22CtnGnPI

I was leaning towards the TC whiteboard program at first because I liked it's simplicity, but they switched to an online version that relies on the Microsoft Silverlight plug-in to work and I had terrible problems with it working.

Hope this helps....
Dave

Kai and Dave,

Thanks for your advice. Did you guys buy an annual membership or the lifetime version? Which add-ons did you buy? Were they worth it? (Aside from Dave alerting me to the free pdf thing on Drill Draw; rather than purchasing yet another add-on.)

I think I would like to be able to access my pool of drills without being tied to the internet (sounds like this is the case with TCW?) I plan to watch the youtube clip... (Neat to see many companies using youtube to promote / demo their products!)

I have spoken to Tom about TC Whiteboard in the past as he has been using it for years and speaks highly of it. TCW used to be a stand alone, buy it once (no subscription) program... but recently, they changed it to an annual subscription based service (similar to others.) Good to know about the Microsoft Silverlight requirement / issues. Still curious to know if one can share files with other TCW users - seeing as how Tom lives 20 minutes away, this might be a nice feature.

I hope CoachJ or someone with experience with SPA checks into this discussion...

Thanks

I have 12 months licence but I'll change it to a lifetime licence when the12 months period is over. I have Pro version. I have the export and logo add-on and this (see below) new add-on seems interesting.

Features that will be added to DrillDraw 6 in the next few months
Calendar/Scheduler (add-on module):

- This new add-on module will enables users to plan their practice time, game time, meetings etc... using a calendar type interface
- Create an "attendee" list for each scheduler items
- Send emails to attendees automatically
- Attach drills or practice plans to scheduler items
- Enter games results and player stats for each game in the scheduler

Don't know if this is a stale discussion or not, but thought I would pass on another option for drill software. The site is www.drillshare.com, and yes, I am affiliated with the site. Not trying to spam, but since people were directly asking for info such as this, I thought I would post. The site allows you to create drills in the browser, and categorize them by age, skill level, and skill category. There are a ton of other search options that help in finding your drills, and you can view drills from other coaches in the community. You can also build practice plans from your drills and the drills of others, which you can schedule for automatic delivery to your team members (players, coaches, and parents). One of the more popular features is the ability for associations to mark recommended drills and practices in order to support their volunteer coaches. Their coaches just get a login, and all of their association content is there for them to use/schedule as they wish.

I would love any feedback, or suggestions that might help us expand the functionality to make the site even more valuable.

Thanks,

Scott

Hi Dave,

I can upload them to this site if it is okay with Tom.

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Great to hear from you again Kai. Anything you upload is welcome.