Affordable and Accessible Sports Software In Youth Sports

More Sports Software Companies Should Target Youth Athletes

Sports are a significant part of cultural identities from Soccer in Europe to Cricket in India to Football in the US. So, for families worldwide, there is an expectation that children will take part in sports. The reason could be to help kids be active, meet other kids, build relationships, or because the parent played the same sport. In this article, I will make a case for why more sports coaching software companies should target the “$19.2 billion market [US] youth sports market [that] rivals the size of the $15 billion NFL” (GLOBE NEWSWIRE). Within this market, “Youth Team, League, and Tournament Sports Software” is [expected] to reach a market size of $6.9 Billion by 2023 (Research And Markets). With Millennials growing up in a semi-digital world and the generations after only knowing a fully digital one, participation in sports will come with an expectation that it uses technology. In general, the hope is that access to affordable software, at the youth level, would lead to lowering a barrier to participation. This increase in youth sports participation will encourage continued involvement in athletics at higher levels. As a result, a market that is already at a considerable-size will grow significantly, making it desirable for more software companies to enter the space.

Youth Sports Can Have A High-Level Of Competition At The Lower Age Groups

The advanced features, in sports coaching software, are often not needed until the high school level. Still, athletics at a young age may be reasonably competitive for some athletes. Having the ability to track development and provide feedback or instruction should be adequate for most young athletes. The competition referred to is created because of the benefits received by top athletes, which are financial or other perks. So, to develop standout young athletes, organizations like the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) were created. As a result of systems like the AAU, competition in youth sports can be high. It also helps to set an understanding that youth athletes can benefit from coaching software. In short, the high value and growth potential of this industry should attract more companies to enter. Though increased competition between companies should help in driving down the cost of software and increase benefits (features) received, in the long run, it will make better youth athletes while increasing participation and retention rates.

Digital Coaching At The Youth Level Will Have The Most Significant Impact

For many youth athletes, the prominent pain point is a lack of quality coaches or volunteers just willing to coach. The lack of coaches highlights a desperate need for technology. To this point, a recent article published in September 2019 on si.com, from JohnWallStreet’s title reads “Real-Time Personalized Virtual Training Fills Hole in Youth Sports Coaching Pipeline.” The article goes on to state that software “will help young athletes to reach their full potential…[though it] ‘can never replicate…a coach physically being there…[but if] kids have the tools to practice skills and drills…there will be a compounding effect on long-term participation rates.’’ This increase in participation, through technology, would help sports like football where “participants in boys 11-player football” is on a five-year decline reported by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) in 2019. This year-over-year decline may be part of the reason why like Catapult Sports, which makes sports software, is partnered with Atavus. The partnership leverages “Catapult’s expertise in video… [combining it] with Atavus’ advanced tackling system” (Catapult Sports). The aim is to improve athlete and team performance while reducing injuries, which is a solution to decreasing the high rate of concussions in youth football. Making sports coaching software more affordable for the lower levels and easily accessible would have significant positive impacts on youth sports.

The Progression Of Private Digital Coaching Is Taking This Path:

• Video — Athlete watches a video, learns new concepts, and mimics what they learn and see
• Video Submission — Athlete sends a video and receives feedback (feedback is not real-time)
• Live Video Session — Athlete live streams session and is provided with feedback in real-time (instant feedback)
• Motion Tracking — Software recognizes body parts and their motion then gives feedback
• Virtual Reality — Practices occurs in a virtual world (Feedback provided by coach or software)
• Augmented Reality — Virtual meets reality by layering 3D objects into physical space allowing the athlete to get the closest to a real game situation (Feedback provided by coach or software)

Two Types Of Coaching And Athletes Need Both To Properly Develop

Coaching can come in two forms, either team or private. The latter tends to arrive at a high cost for most people. For many sports teams, professional-quality coaching software is now more accessible. However, it can still be unaffordable because of its advanced features like an Athlete Management System (AMS), from companies like Catapult. An AMS focuses on the team overall, supplying various performance insights on athletes per practice or game. Still, companies like DribbleUp and eCoach are taking advantage of the opportunity to use technology to provide high quality and affordable private coaching through mobile apps. Athletes can get private sessions, on-demand, using the software. The interaction is usually one-directional because, in most cases, there is not a human coach involved. They both allow an athlete to practice and learn anywhere. The software can give feedback or send it to a coach. In general, to best develop athletes, the necessary features must be the ability to track an athlete’s development and step in where needed to improve skills, concept understanding, or reduce the potential of injury from overtraining without rest. Both private and team coaching, aided by technology, produces better athletes who enter college with the prerequisite skills expected by their new coaches.

Sports Software Can Help To Improve The Recruiting Process

One problem with the transition from youth sports to college is that athletes many first-year student-athletes are entering college undereducated in the prerequisite skills, game sense, and fundamentals needed at this elevated level. With five seasons of experience coaching college, Division II lacrosse, this is a common theme year-after-year. So, coaches become careful of where they recruit from, generally targeting hotbed (an area known for quality athletes in a given sport) areas. They recruit this way to improve the likelihood of finding quality athletes because most coaches understand that successful recruiting significantly enhances the possibility of winning. The reason why is given in the 2019 MIT Sloan Conference research paper submission How Much Do Coaches Matter?, by researchers C. Berry and A. Fowler at the University of Chicago, who estimated that “coaches [might only] explain about 20–30 percent of the variation in a team’s success.” This low impact of coaching on a team’s success puts companies like Catapult, Hudl, and other sports software companies in a unique position. They can use technology to significantly aid in recruiting, especially in the longtail, which represents top-quality athletes in areas coaches do not visit. College coaches and professionals teams want to find high-quality athletes that the competition missed. So, the advantage many coaches seek in winning games resides more in recruiting than coaching. Sports coaching technology, if used at the youth level, can be the solution through increasing the pool of high-quality athletes and helping to connect them with coaches.

Leverage Existing Platforms Like Android And iOS To Reduce Cost

Premium sports coaching software, mentioned above, may fully satisfy the needs of many sports teams, but as said, it can carry a price tag that restricts many from being able to buy it. The more affordable options currently on the market lack advanced features like those provided by Catapult. To make the software more affordable for a broader audience, companies must look to design the software to work solely on existing platforms like Android and iOS without the need for added hardware. These companies would take advantage of the advancements in smartphones like accelerometers, GPS, and other advanced functionality. The result is by companies removing the need for proprietary hardware, the cost of the software reduces, but software quality should not decrease. So, as companies enter the youth sports software market, they need to aim to make their products more accessible and affordable.

Increased Participation In Youth Athletics Is A Win-Win For Everyone

Introducing high-quality coaching software at the youth level of athletics would be extremely beneficial for athletes, colleges, professional teams, and sports software companies. The benefit comes from an athlete’s desire to stand out in the recruiting process, coaches need to find better athletes to push their teams forward, and the sports software companies need for substantial market growth. This benefit for all involved relies on increased participation in youth athletics, which influences increased retention of athletes at the higher levels of play, from the Pee-Wee league to college. So, through significant growth in participation and retention in athletics, it will also mean a considerable increase in market size for sports software in youth sports. Therefore, through introducing high-quality sports coaching software at the youth level, athletes will improve skills, coaches will have better and more athletes to choose from, and the sports software companies will generate higher revenues.