Consistency is not a term normally used to define the high school experience for most students. It’s a time of radical change and growth, both physically and mentally for the vast majority of students.
The high school athletics experience can also vary wildly. New teachers in physical education, new coaches for sports and strength training, and constant adaptation and progression in training technique can all introduce chaos into an environment that’s just begging for constancy and uniformity any which way you look at it.
For John Beerbower, Ed.D., Head Strength And Conditioning Coach for McHenry Community (Ill.) High School, adopting a central software solution for managing the schools many athletic endeavors simplified management processes, enhanced communication and provided valuable insights into student progress over time.
When Beerbower adopted the TeamBuildr athletic management platform, he began to really understand this concept and how a single piece of software – properly applied – could become a “unifying thread” for athletes and coaches, alike.
“One pretty significant factor that we didn’t realize until we began using TeamBuildr was how much we were collecting data in all these little buckets with all these different coaches and different teachers,” he says. “For example, most high school coaches understand that for a kid who’s been in a program all four years, their schedules definitely caused them to have different teachers in different years and different periods. Maybe they go out for a sport, but they didn’t do that the next year. They end up working with a variety of people over those four years. For us, TeamBuildr has allowed us to streamline that. TeamBuildr has been the unifying thread for the whole program.”
Delivering Consistency Through Software
For Beerbower, who manages not only student-athletes for after-school athletics programs, but also physical education within the high school’s curriculum, adopting a single piece of software to manage it has resulted in numerous advantages.
“It’s something that is unique to high schools: the fact that our athletes are around so many different people throughout their journey,” he says. “To have a software that keeps that data with them and that travels with them and allows that to be the entry point – the unifying thread throughout the whole program – that’s a tremendous resource for management with all those users and all the athletes over the years.”
There are a variety of advantages Beerbower has leveraged through his use of TeamBuildr.
Consistency
Having a single software system in place creates a consistent experience for students, teachers and coaches. This consistency facilitates ease of use, familiarity, and efficiency in managing everyone’s highly variable activities and reduces the learning curve and potential confusion caused by multiple software solutions.
Data Centralization
A single software platform ensures that all relevant data is stored together, making it easier for administrators, coaches and athletes to access, manage and analyze progress. This centralization simplifies processes, streamlines decision-making and helps identify trends and patterns.
Improved Collaboration
A single software system fosters better communication and collaboration among students, teachers and coaches. It provides a platform for sharing resources, announcements, motivational queues and general updates, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and working toward common goals.
Holistic View Of Progress
By integrating all training aspects of students’ high school athletic endeavors, TeamBuildr methodically creates a comprehensive overview of athletic progress. This enables teachers and coaches to identify areas of strength and weakness, and tailor support accordingly.
Time/Cost Efficiency
Implementing a single instance of TeamBuildr reduced the need for multiple systems, which can be costly and time-consuming to manage. This allows coaches and teachers to allocate resources more effectively and focus on enhancing the overall high school experience.
Customization And Adaptability
A unified software system can be tailored to meet the unique needs of each high school – particularly with TeamBuildr’s uncanny ability to integrate information flowing from other hardware/software – allowing for flexibility and adaptability in response to changing circumstances or requirements.
Enhanced Security And Ownership
With a single software solution, administrators can implement consistent security measures to protect sensitive student data. This reduces the risk of data breaches and ensures compliance with privacy regulations. It also places that secure data in the hands of all interested stakeholders, which cultivates a sense of ownership and accountability for an athlete’s own data.
“Whether you’re in any of our 26 sports at either campus, during any year of your journey, once you go to McHenry you have an account and you’ll have it until you graduate,” says Beerbower. “Your data then travels with you to the next teacher. What you did on your max testing week when you were with this or that coach is now available to others. Now that your schedule caused you to be with a different coach during a different period – or all of a sudden, you have a coaching change, and there’s a new head coach – no one took your numbers with them. The data is all still there. TeamBuildr’s the one unifying thing that ties it all together.”
More Information About TeamBuildr
Details
Whether you are programming phys ed, weights classes, or sport-specific workouts, students and athletes can input workout data via their mobile devices or by using our weight room view tablet feature. This feature allows 4-8 athletes to receive their individualized workouts, including prescribed loads and intensities, using tablets in the weight room. Our reporting features help coaches view student progress over time, identify strengths and weaknesses, and visualize the effectiveness of the strength and conditioning program.
