Members of Florida's Video Services Department at work in a camera tower above the Gators' practice fields. (File photo/Tim Casey)
Gators Behind Video Cameras Play Key Role for Gators on Field
Friday, October 27, 2023 | Football
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By: Max Bernstein, FloridaGators.com Student Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some of the Gators football team's most valuable players work off the field. Behind the scenes, Florida's Video Services Department is a jack of all trades, ensuring the Gators are at the top of their game every time they suit up.
As part of the Collegiate Sports Video Association's annual Collegiate Sports Video Week, Gators Director of Video Services Reuel Joaquin provided insight into the department's duties and why this week is so special to him.
Joaquin has been involved in football for more than 20 years. He originally started as a video intern for the Jacksonville Jaguars before taking a job at Notre Dame, where he served as the Fighting Irish's assistant video coordinator.
However, when the Gators came calling, Joaquin bit at the opportunity to work for the team he idolized while growing up in Orange Park.
Reuel Joaquin
"I have so many good memories here with Florida," Joaquin said. "I can't imagine working any other place."
He joined the Gators in 2011 and became the director of video services in 2015. Joaquin says his passion for the job comes from seeing the direct results of the department's contributions to the program.
"The reason why I love doing this job is because you feel like you are a part of the team," Joaquin said. "Having that immediate result of whether we won or lost is so, so gratifying."
Joaquin describes the video services department as "IT gurus and AV [audio-visual] people mixed into one."
The department is primarily responsible for taking and distributing practice and game film, as well as assisting with any technological issues on a day-to-day basis. Including Joaquin, the department features four full-time employees, one intern and 19 student assistants.
Joaquin and his team set up seven camera angles during practices to capture every play from various vantage points. As practice advances, the video goes to Joaquin and his assistants, who piece together the recordings and push them into a system that sends it directly to players and coaches as practice ends.
Getting these clips instantly is a huge bonus for team members, allowing them to adjust accordingly and discuss particular plays.
"Coach Napier is really big on quality control and how we can improve," said Joaquin. "So, we're always trying to take it up to the next level."
Gators Video Services Department Director Reuel Joaquin, far left, and the rest of the staff that plays an important role in helping Florida's coaches and players. (Photo: Maddie Washburn/UAA Communications)
On game day, the process is quite similar.
The crew films multiple angles of the action as the game unfolds and arranges the clips so that coaches and staff members can grade the film immediately following the game.
Joaquin said the department's goal is to get game film to the coaches by the time they shower and get on the busses and that they have never had issues with the task thanks to ever-evolving technology in the industry.
Joaquin said it's a far cry from the "nightmarish" days when footage could not be cut until returning to the facility following a game.
Meanwhile, as the Gators review the footage, the video team is busy inputting every NCAA game into their system so that Gator coaches have all the available tape needed to scout upcoming opponents.
This footage also comes in handy during transfer season, as video is available for Gator coaches to evaluate players who have entered the portal.
"The moment our personnel department identifies a player that is going into the transfer portal, we could get into that video," Joaquin said. "Then they can decide if this is a player who fits what Coach Napier wants."
The video department plays a role in-season and out-of-season, constantly providing coaches and players video to evaluate, recording practices in the spring and fall and performing technological duties during special events such as Coach Napier's annual football clinic.
"There is no offseason for football," Joaquin said. "We just do a little bit of everything."
While Collegiate Sports Video Week is unique to many in the industry, arguably, no one has more of a connection to why this week was established than Joaquin.
On a windy day at the Notre Dame campus on Oct. 27, 2010, 20-year-old Declan Sullivan, a student video assistant, was killed when the scissor lift he was using to film a practice fell. In response to the tragedy, the Collegiate Sports Video Association created Collegiate Sports Video Week to fall annually during the week of Oct. 27 to highlight video programs around the country and to celebrate Sullivan's life.
The campaign is meant to bring attention to the profession and bring to the forefront safety issues for sports video departments while honoring the life of Sullivan.
Since the tragedy, the University of Florida and countless other collegiate programs have moved away from using scissor lifts in favor of permanent steel towers and making further strides in establishing safety within the field.
Joaquin was working with Sullivan at Notre Dame at the time of the accident.
"If there's one thing to take away from this whole incident, it has brought an awareness to what we do and has just made things a lot safer for our profession in the future," Joaquin said.
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