Dorian Zavala is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Saguaro High School for AZPreps365.com.

Sports are fun, and Saguaro High School's student-athletes make it look easy on the field. Nevertheless, most of these fans don't realize how much preparation these athletes put in off the field to perform at their best.

Providing athletes with assistance from their schools to help them succeed is a critical part of building their confidence. Saguaro High School believes in that message.

So, with the help of the Saguaro Football Booster Club, it got approval from the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board in 2021 to build a film room that athletic teams can use and better prepare for their opponents during the season.

The film room is available to all Saguaro High School athletic teams during their seasons. The film room has new theater-like seating and a state-of-the-art video projection system that allows coaches and instructors to stop, play and slow down video during film sessions.

Saguaro Athletic Director Matt Harris is ecstatic about how this new addition to the athletic facilities will help student-athletes in their upcoming season. Harris says he knows how vital preparation is to athletics and hopes this facility will help add to the ever-expanding trophy case.

"We as a faculty noticed how our football team had to be split into different rooms to go through film because we didn't have a big enough space to accommodate our student-athletes," said Harris.

According to a report in the Scottsdale Independent, the SUSD approved a $107,701 fund for the design and construction of an athletics film room at Saguaro High School. The article also states that the Saguaro Football Booster Organization and Saguaro athletics supporters raised an extra $115,387 for audio/visual, lighting control, and seating, with additional improvements like paint, super graphics, and flooring to come in future phases.

"Our coaches were using classrooms or a community room with a typical projector and screen you know very outdated equipment ... at Saguaro High School we want the best for our student athletes," said Harris.

The film room paid immense dividends for the boy's soccer team as they reached the championship game.

"It helped us out tremendously," said soccer head coach Nagui Sabbagh. "It made it easier for us to show our student-athletes where they needed to clean up some stuff on the field while also making it easier for us as we also noticed where we as a coaching staff needed to get better."

Film Rooms are a great resource to have. It allows coaches to show student-athletes their mistakes on the field while also creating an environment of accountability because there is no hiding from criticism during these sessions. The idea of these film study sessions is to teach these athletes how to avoid making the same mistakes on the field.

Senior midfielder Anthony Ponce says the film room was instrumental in helping him better understand how his teammates move during a game.

"Knowing where my guys are going to be when we cross midfield makes it so much easier for me because it just allows me to play on instinct," said Ponce.

The Saguaro football team is eagerly waiting to use the facility as spring football creeps just around the corner. Senior linebacker Joseph Clark IV is excited to finally see game film as a whole team because he believes it would help the team immensely throughout the season.

"This room is going to help me and my teammates come together and learn how to play as one," said Clark. "I truly believe this will help us come together as brothers and keep each other accountable so we can reach our goal at the end of the season."