Picture a camera 25 feet up a mast at midfield. No cables run up the pole. Down on the sideline, one person follows every breakaway with an Xbox controller, adds the score, and rolls instant replays without missing the next play.
That person is Robbie Morris, a one-person sports livestreamer from Virginia. His wireless YoloBox Ultra rig won the Wildest Scenario category of the YoloBox Setup Showdown (#PushItToTheExtreme). In the live draw on October 29, he also took home the grand prize: a YoloBox Extreme.
In this post, we break down how his setup works, station by station, and what other solo sports streamers can borrow from it.
Five Years of Solo Sports Livestreaming
For almost five years, Robbie has livestreamed high school and club soccer, field hockey, and lacrosse entirely on his own. This year alone, he has streamed 60 games so far.
He works by a few simple rules:
- Carry everything yourself. Sometimes that means walking a quarter mile from the parking lot.
- Arrive 30 minutes before kickoff, and be live 10 to 15 minutes before the game starts.
- Every piece of gear has to earn its place and stay compact.
Those rules shaped every decision in the setup you’re about to see.
Before YoloBox: Record, Upload, Repeat
Before YoloBox, Robbie recorded each game, uploaded the video afterward, and sent out the links. Every game meant another hour or more of work at home, for an event that was already over.
Keeping viewers updated on the score was clumsy too. He had to pan and zoom to the scoreboard after every goal or break. Highlights simply didn’t happen.
With the YoloBox Ultra, all of that moved to the field. He now delivers a live broadcast with a scoreboard, game clock, period indicator, instant replays and custom overlays, all by himself. As he puts it: when the game ends, his work is done.
The bigger change, he says, is engagement. Families who can’t make it to the field now watch live, not knowing what happens next, instead of catching a recording later.
The Problem: Cables Running Up a 25-Foot Mast
Once the broadcast side became easy, Robbie started asking what else one person could do. Seeing what others in the YoloBox user group were building pushed him further.
His biggest headache was the mast. His Sony FDR-AX700 sits about 25 feet up a Hi-Pod at midfield, giving viewers a broadcast-style angle instead of a wide, distant view. But the cables running up the pole were heavy and slow to set up. They tangled, and they wore out.
So this fall, he converted a Proaim Jr. pan-tilt head to wireless control, using ESP32 microcontrollers he programmed himself. He had never built anything like it before.
The result: no wires run up the mast. Video comes down over a Hollyland wireless link, and control commands go up over a direct ESP32 radio link.
Three Stations That Click Together on Site
Robbie’s rig is built as three self-contained stations. Each one is packed and powered on its own, then clicks together at the field and talks to the others wirelessly.
- Head station. The Proaim Jr. pan-tilt head stays mounted with its ESP32 board and motor driver, powered by a Milwaukee M12 battery. He attaches it to the Hi-Pod before leaving the car.
- Camera station. The camcorder travels with everything it needs already attached: a V-mount battery, a Hollyland Mars 300 PRO transmitter, and a small ESP32 that handles zoom, record and recording status. At the field, it clicks onto the head.
- Ground station. Built around the YoloBox Ultra and its cage, it clamps to the base of the Hi-Pod. It holds the YoloBox, a 5G hotspot, the video receiver and the battery that powers them. A third ESP32 links the Xbox controller to the head, the camera and the YoloBox.
The tripod with the head attached goes on his shoulder, and everything else fits in a backpack. In his words, setup comes down to: click, clamp, raise the mast, and stream.
A second angle comes from a DJI Osmo Pocket 3. It streams over RTMP to a relay on a Chromebook, which the YoloBox pulls in as a source.
One Xbox Controller Runs the Whole Broadcast
During a game, Robbie runs camera moves and the YoloBox functions he uses most from a single Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2. One stick pans and tilts, the other zooms. He can follow a breakaway, zoom in on the finish, and roll the replay without missing the next play.
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Left stick | Pan and tilt |
| Right stick up/down | Zoom in/out, variable speed |
| Left paddles (hold) | Slow, fine control |
| Right paddles (hold) | Turbo |
| LT / RT / A / X or LB | Capture and play instant replays, exit replay |
| B or RB | Start/stop game clock |
| Y | Show/hide clock |
| D-pad | Home and away score +1/-1 |
| Hold Menu (1 second) | Camera record start/stop |
| Profile button | Switch between three pan/tilt speed profiles |
He tuned the stick response in his own code. Small movements stay very gentle, so slow follows look smooth. Tilt gets less power and more travel than pan, because vertical moves need to be slower. The three speed profiles match the pace of each sport: slower for soccer’s long build-ups, quicker for lacrosse and field hockey transitions.
Rumble feedback keeps his eyes on the field
The controller confirms actions by vibration, so he never has to look down:
- One, two or three buzzes confirm which speed profile is active.
- A short buzz confirms a score change went through.
- Two short buzzes mean the camera actually started recording; one long buzz means it stopped.
- Three strong buzzes warn him if the camera stops on its own, stops responding, or loses connection.
The recording buzzes come from the camera’s real recording status, not the button press. A light on the ground station also stays red the whole time the camera is recording.
Robbie Morris’s Full Gear List
| Station | Gear |
|---|---|
| Ground station | YoloBox Ultra, YC Onion YoloBox Ultra Cage, YoloDeck, Hollyland Mars 300 PRO receiver, Netgear Nighthawk M6 5G hotspot (MR6150), SmallRig NP-F970 USB-C battery, ESP32 ground board, SanDisk 256GB Ultra microSD cards (x3), coiled HDMI 2.0 cables (x2) |
| Camera station | Sony FDR-AX700 4K camcorder, NANO ONE 50Wh V-mount battery, D-Tap to NP-FV50 dummy battery, Hollyland Mars 300 PRO transmitter, ESP32 camera board (LANC control) |
| Head station | Proaim Jr. pan-tilt head converted to wireless, ESP32 head board, Pololu dual motor driver, Milwaukee M12 battery |
| Second camera | DJI Osmo Pocket 3 via RTMP and a MediaMTX relay on a Chromebook |
| Control | Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 |
| Mast and transport | Hi-Pod Lite LX25 (25 ft), FALCAM F22 quick-release plates (x9), compact tripod for venues without elevated filming, Mosiso hardshell backpack |
What Solo Sports Streamers Can Take From This Setup
You don’t need to code ESP32 boards to borrow Robbie’s thinking. A few ideas carry over to any one-person sports livestream:
- Pack in self-contained units. Gear that travels already assembled and powered sets up faster than a pile of loose parts.
- Get the camera high. An elevated midfield angle lets viewers follow individual players, not just a wide view of the field.
- Keep graphics and replays on one device. Scoreboard, clock, overlays and instant replay on the YoloBox mean no laptop to babysit during the game.
- Design for eyes-up operation. Whether it’s a controller, a YoloDeck or presets, every action you can trigger without looking down is a play you don’t miss.
Robbie sums it up in his own words: “YoloBox made it easy, so I dreamed bigger.” People watching from home can’t believe one person produces his streams. Not long ago, he says, neither could he.
Watch one of Robbie’s games on YouTube, and meet all 14 winners in our Setup Showdown recap.
FAQ
Can one person livestream a soccer game with multiple cameras?
Yes. Robbie Morris streams soccer, lacrosse and field hockey alone, with a main camera on a 25-foot mast and a DJI Osmo Pocket 3 as a second angle. The YoloBox Ultra handles switching, the scoreboard, the game clock and instant replays at the field.
Do I need a laptop to add a scoreboard and replays to a sports livestream?
Not with a YoloBox. Robbie runs the scoreboard, game clock, period indicator, instant replays and overlays directly on his YoloBox Ultra, with a YoloDeck in his kit. His only computer at the field is a Chromebook that relays the second camera’s feed.
How do you get a camera high above a sports field?
Robbie uses a Hi-Pod Lite LX25 mast at midfield. A Hollyland Mars 300 PRO wireless link sends video down, so no video cable runs up the pole. For venues that don’t allow elevated filming, he brings a compact tripod.
What internet does Robbie use at the field?
A Netgear Nighthawk M6 5G mobile hotspot, mounted on the ground station with the YoloBox.
Learn more about YoloBox Ultra
The chat went wild when Robbie’s name was drawn for the YoloBox Extreme. Watch the moment for yourself below.
Robbie is one of 14 winners. See all 14 winning YoloBox setups, from rugby through a hurricane to a one-person TikTok Shop LIVE studio, in our Setup Showdown recap.
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a Marketing Specialist at YoloLiv，passionate about creating content that helps users explore the full potential of live streaming.
