It’s the latest thing for the oh-so-overcommitted sports parent: an app that summarizes their kids’ workouts, practices and games. Without parents even being there.
GameChanger is a mobile app and website providing scorekeeping, stats and team management for the coaching staff - plus live game updates, stats and recap stories for families and fans. Using the app, parents or friends and relatives can keep up with a child’s game in a way they would keep track of a professional basketball, baseball or softball game.
Here’s how it works: a coach, manager, or designated parent inputs each play, such as a ball, strike, out or hit, into the app (it’s free for coaches) using a simple, intuitive graphical interface. Then once the app has a full game's worth of data and the game is concluded, the app runs the numbers and delivers the stats and charts into a full game recap. Parents or other approved parties can read the recap on their phones or tablets for free, but if they are a subscriber to the service, which costs $7.99 a month or $39.99 per year, they can gain access to live “gamestream” capabilities, game replay, in-game alerts, season stats and charts and recap stories. The GameChanger app in its premium subscription form can also be used to schedule events and provide reminders for game and practice times.
According to ABC News’ Susanna Kim, GameChanger, which was launched in 2010, currently has 120,000 team communities as customers, and its "sweet spot" is high school sports. The company also serves some college teams and some semi-professional and adult recreational leagues. Ted Sullivan, founder and CEO of GameChanger, told Kim that he app solves two specific problems. First, coaches of amateur teams have archaic tools for managing one of the most painful parts of their jobs: keeping track of data. This includes score keeping and the team's records. Second, parents and fans also have trouble following their favorite players, "typically their kids and grandkids, with incredible passion; but they have nowhere close to the same tools that you and I have to follow our favorite professional teams."
"I felt that the market was really underserved, particularly in amateur sports," Sullivan told Kim.
Currently, the GameChanger app is available for baseball, softball and basketball teams. The company says it will soon release an app for lacrosse.
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