Online Tools Like TeamSnap Help Connect Youth Sports Groups During Coronavirus Shutdown

When Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus on March 11, his result didn’t just shut down the NBA and other pro sports leagues.

The resulting shockwaves also led to the suspension of youth sports across North America — an industry that generated somewhere between $19 and $24 billion in the United States in 2019.

How big is that number? Well, the NFL’s revenue from the 2018 is estimated at $16 billion, while MLB took in a record $10.7 billion in 2019. So — big.

The shutdown caught different sports at different stages of their seasons. In Toronto, coach Amy Stuart had her 2009-born boys’ Toronto Eagles Atom ‘A’ team ready to compete for a championship.

“In our division, in our age group, there are about 30 teams,” said Stuart. “We had advanced through two rounds of playoffs and we were in the final four.

“I think we played two or three games in that series. We played Tuesday, then on Thursday (March 12), Hockey Canada made a blanket announcement. I think a lot of the organizations were wavering about cancelling. Hockey Canada, as the governing body, gave the organizations no choice, which is what needed to happen.”

“We had our last game on the 10th, and then we had a game scheduled for the 15th, the next game in our series. And it all just stopped.”

Stuart turned to technology to help give her group some closure after such an abrupt ending.

“We organized a Zoom call for the team,” she said. “We had the kids talk about their feelings on the season ending and what they were doing.

“It was really cathartic. Some of the kids actually were in tears. As coaches, we have a different relationship than their parents do, so we were able to sort of reassure them in a different way.”

The virtual meeting felt so good, the group decided to continue each week.

“During the season, we had had a weekly 11 a.m. Sunday home game,” Stuart explained. “So we said okay — we’ll do our call at 11 a.m. on Sundays.”

To keep kids accountable while they’re off the ice, Stuart and her group are asking players to keep track of their daily athletic activities — which can range from hockey-centric skills like taking shots, making saves or playing mini-sticks to other activities like running, strength training, even pilates or yoga.

“When we have our weekly meeting, we show them the results, and then they we get them to all sort of expand on the entries and what they’ve been doing to keep active,” said Stuart.

“We’re trying to take some of the onus off of the parents, in terms of a fun sense of accountability. I have three boys and I’m really finding with my kids, it’s easier when you’re in this role of a coach or educator to get kids to behave a certain way for you.”

Just like during the season, the weekly meetings are organized using TeamSnap, the online management and communication tool that now serves nearly 22 million players, parents and coaches in 196 countries.

“I like to say that the first thing we did was make sure that we developed a tool that made sure everyone showed up at the right place at the right time with the right stuff,” said TeamSnap CEO Dave DuPont, who’s currently working from home in Boulder, Colorado. “Over time, we’ve built on that initial product, which has been quite successful, and now provide a range of services to clubs, leagues and associations.

“Often, the sports organizations are a center of the community. There are a lot of volunteer folks involved, so their need for help in navigating the present crisis is probably more significant than many other kinds of organizations.”

“I asked my team to come up with a different approach,” DuPont said. “They could benefit from the perspective of somebody else involved in the sports business. Let’s give them direct help in terms of how they work with us, but also let’s give them thoughts about what they can do in their specific markets with their solutions. So — actionable advice.”

“I wanted to really communicate from the heart that we’re big believers in sports,” DuPont continued. “We’re committed to this industry and the benefits that sports provide the community. We want you to know that we’re going to help you in any way we can, so don’t be afraid to ask.

“That’s led to scores of great conversations and some innovative ideas on things we can do to directly help the organizations. It comes down to empathy and practicality.”

In the soccer world, the Pittsburgh Hotspurs were just about to head into their spring season when sports shut down. The organization provides a full development pathway in the region, from eight-year-olds all the way up to men’s and women’s first teams.

“A lot of clubs in America right now, even though they wear the same shirt at the weekend, they’re not necessarily as connected as a lot of people might think,” said Hotspurs director Tom Ovenden. “A big thing for me is to make our class as club-centric as possible so that you know you’re part of a family — you’re part of an organization.

“TeamSnap’s been huge for that because you can get the information out to everyone really consistently, really professionally, and all the teams can feel like they’re part of something rather than just their own little team out in the middle of nowhere.

“We’ve used TeamSnap heavily to get our information out, and then we’ve also been doing weekly technical and practical sessions online to try and keep the players engaged.”

DuPont is hopeful that the support TeamSnap can offer will help clubs and organizations get back on their feet successfully when the games begin again.

“We start with the position that amateur sports, and youth sports in particular, play a valuable role in the community,” he said. “This is a societal good, not just generally, but for our own community.

“It provides a way for people to connect. It teaches really valuable life skills to the participants. It enables families to interact with with other families outside their normal social circles. It provides a unifying force in the community.

“We start there. That informs and motivates us to work with organizations that are involved in providing these activities to make sure that they don’t just weather the crisis but that they emerge stronger, and that we provide a way to have an even more positive impact on on the local communities and society.”