About six months ago we first began telling you about AthletiCloud. I had been invited to test it out and I was flat out impressed. I saw this as a way for high school coaches and athletic directors to efficiently manage their teams from their mobile devices...in short, I saw a product that every coach would benefit from. AthletiCloud is:
- Mobile team management from your smartphone or tablet
- Mass & group texting & emailing
- Emergency action plan in your pocket
- Attendance
- Roster management
- Task & Calendar assignments / management
- Log and collect payments
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Andrew Oldfield, one of the founders of the company, who told me that very quickly the platform has been embraced by coaches and staff (as well as players and parents) across the country. Oldfield added that they are working closely with existing customers to introduce "Version 2" in the near future and expects that to truly wow coaches in nearly every sport in America. Yes, AthletiCloud is multi-sport and is catching fire in some non traditional sports as well, cheerleading for example. I asked Andrew if he would put me in contact with some current users and I recently spoke with two. Here are some of the things I heard from those that have been using the platform for several months now:
Doug Killgore, director of athletics & activities at Central Arkansas Christian, told me the following:
- One of his coaches requested that they as a department begin using AthletiCloud.
- Once all of the coaches buy into it and the parents buy into it, it makes the job of the coaches far easier.
- On top of that there is the safety / emergency component which would certainly help the coaches to take the appropriate steps in the event of an emergency.
- Having access to all that AthletiCloud does on all handheld devices is truly invaluable for us.
- They've expanded their use to pretty much any group that is traveling or going to be off campus
- His athletic trainer is one of the administrators and she has become one of the biggest users and happiest that they have this
I also spoke with Mindy Kiser, assistant athletic director and head women's basketball coach at Cleveland High School (TN), who told me the following:
- They began using it on July 1. AthletiCloud replaced a messaging system we had been using for years.
- Cleveland is a fairly large school system in Tennessee and they immediately put all of our Fall sports into AthletiCloud.
- Once parents start using it, they love it. Same with coaches who are tech savvy, they really do well with this.
- For data collection, this is great. Having all of the athletes information in one place is great.
- The messaging is very functional. They use it to directly communicate with the players and with larger groups to tell them about events at and around sporting events.
- Their athletic trainer loves having medical information stored and accessible in one place. Further, having the emergency contact information available on your device (and thus on the field) puts your mind at ease and could help save a lot of valuable time in an emergency situation.
- From the perspective of an athletic director, "We're better prepared to protect our students. We can be informed more efficiently."
- Ability to track academics in here...I mean really, this will be the greatest file "cabinet ever" for an athletic director.
- It's a great product and it's just going to get better. I'm excited about "Version 2". Once they get this perfected every team in America will use this.
Having used the platform myself and having spoken with two early adopters, I continue to be impressed with everything that is happening at AthletiCloud. If you are a coach, an athletic director, or even an athletic trainer, this is something you have to begin using...and Version 2 is simply going to be awesome. Have a look for yourself at AthletiCloud.com
Disclosure: AthletiCould has previously advertised with FootballScoop.