Technology replaces chalkboard X’s, O’s

For a University of Hawaii football player, the "film room" is no longer a dark place.

It can be a coffee shop, a dorm room, anywhere accessible through WiFi.

In place of playbooks, the Warriors use the ThunderCloud program to upload videos and power-point displays. The players can access videos and information on laptops, cell phones or tablets.

"Everything we do is technology based, and that’s convenient for our guys," offensive coordinator Don Bailey said.

For scouting reports, Bailey said, "we give them a two-deep (chart of an opposing team) and the rest is on Thunder."

Bailey recalled the old days of preparing for opponents.

"We killed a lot of trees," he said, noting he’s changed his teaching methods the past five years.

With today’s players, Bailey said, "if I hand them a piece of paper, most likely it’ll sit there collecting dust. … If it’s new, and it’s on that technology, I know they’ll look at it."

He said coaches need to adapt.

"You have to be flexible in how kids can learn," Bailey said. "As a coach, you have to stay on top of that, and sometimes change is hard. You have to adapt, and try to do the things they like to do."

On Thursday, the Warriors had to improvise. The buses were reserved, the bentos were ordered, and the scheduled 45-minute practice was scripted to the minute. But the Warriors forgot to get clearance from Mother Nature.

With the threat of another heavy downpour in Halawa, the Warriors called an audible, moving Thursday’s practice from Aloha Stadium to the Manoa campus.

The Warriors had hoped to use their third stadium visit in as many weeks as a dress rehearsal for the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado. They wanted to perfect the logistics, from where each position group stands on the sideline to the speed of racing onto the field for injury substitutions.

The projected inclement weather scrapped those plans. An hour before the Warriors were scheduled to depart campus, they instead decided to stay put.

The Warriors managed to have a crisp rehearsal. The Warriors would have a personnel group on defense for, say, a first-and-10 situation. When head coach Norm Chow yelled out, "third-and-8," nickel defenders would race onto the field. Chow also would shout out the name of an "injured" player, with the substitute sprinting to fill the alignment.

Chow appeared to be pleased with the workout, praising the players for being alert and following assignments.

The Warriors will have light practices Friday and Saturday before an extensive Sunday night practice.