A critical game on the line, only 20 seconds left on the clock, how do you effectively explain your play to the team in order to execute and win the game? Gone are the days of whiteboard and marker, Coachbase digitizes plays and takes the communication to light speed. The company offers an app that provides a modern solution, offering animated plays to share with the team and give coaches of all levels a visual tool to win.
Downloaded over 150,000 times, users ranging from recreational levels, to the NBA, to national teams. Coachbase’s mobile apps have been ranked at the top of iTunes, Mac Store and Android stores for months. Their products have been featured in the documentary ‘Thunderstruck’ starring NBA superstar Kevin Durant, and recently swept the Asia Smartphone Apps contest taking a merit, gold and grand prize. The Hong Kong based company has secured over $300k in angel funding from a group of investors, including Hong Kong-based investor Teddy Lo, Ironfire Angel Partners LP and Felix Lam of Red Chapel Advisors. Above all, the company has recently announced their participation as one of the ten to be selected in the prestigious first ever Nike+Techstar accelerator program.
Founder and CEO Keith Rumjahn originally created the application to solve the problems he was facing as a recreational coach in Canada. Engaging a team of excited 14 year olds was a daunting task; it was difficult to capture their attention and concisely explain a play in under 30 seconds. Replacing the coach’s clipboard with a clear, animated diagram on a tablet, the players knew the exact timing and strategy of the game plan.
To realize his passion, Keith left his software developer position at a financial firm, packed his bags, and headed Hong Kong. This became the first step in Rumjahn’s career as an entrepreneur. Three years later Keith has not only become a recognized face in the Hong Kong startup scene, he has improved the experience of team sports for athletes all over the world.
Asking him about his most memorable experience with a customer, Keith recalls “I contacted a coach once asking about the value he saw in Coach’s Clipboard Pro, the name of our app. He told me in his experience coaching 8-12 years olds. One of his players had a learning disability, and was never able to fully integrate as a member of the team on the court, but his passion was obvious,showing up to every practice full of excitement. Coachbase was not only able to present the strategy in a step-by-step, concise form, but it also allowed their players to access the playbook from the web to study at home. After watching the animation repeatedly, the player was able to understand and execute plays flawlessly with the rest of the kids. When I heard this I was shocked, because I originally intended to create an app to digitally organize plays. I realized I had the ability to impact people’s lives directly in ways I didn’t imagine. The value of sports are often overlooked in Asia, but they are an integral part of both our physical and mental health. Playing team sports can teach us life lessons that cannot be found elsewhere. Sports are my passion and it has gotten me to where I am today. Knowing that I can improve the experience of playing sports is what keeps me going today.”
With the app, playmakers can easily create step-by-step animations for over 20 different sports, save and load plays, cutting preparation times from minutes to seconds. Coachbase shares plays with the rest of the coaching staff, players, or with the Coachbase community of over 6000 members. New coaches can download plays submitted by others (sometimes professional level), allowing anyone to start with little playmaking experience.
Coachbase’s application suite can be found on the iTunes store under the name “Coach’s clipboard Pro” ($9.99 for each sport, containing a slew of sport-specific features). It is supported by a web community (www.coachba.se) that supports sharing and downloading unique plays. Cloud computing technology automatically syncs content across devices, making coaching easy so you can focus on winning. Coach’s Clipboard is available on iOS, OSX, Android, and other major platforms.
