Most sports team apps focus on one thing: logistics. Schedules, rosters, game alerts. They're digital clipboards. Hey Coach, which launched in 2024 and secured venture backing in 2025, is trying to do something more ambitious — turn coaches into better mentors.
The platform operates in the youth and school sports space, serving grade schools, high schools, and lower-division colleges. While it handles the usual management tasks — messaging, scheduling, player information — it layers in something different: tools designed to help coaches develop leadership skills and emotional intelligence.
It's a response to a real problem in school athletics. Coaches are often teachers, volunteers, or part-timers who are great at running drills but may not have formal training in mentorship or communication. Parents get frustrated when information is scattered across group texts and social media. School administrators worry about liability when messages aren't documented.
Beyond the Clipboard
The school athletics communication platform consolidates all that fragmentation into one system. Updates, schedules, and team messages live in a single, school-managed interface. But the distinguishing feature is the leadership development component — AI-driven prompts and frameworks that guide coaches on how to communicate with parents, mentor young athletes, and build team culture.
This isn't just feel-good language. Schools are increasingly being held accountable for what happens in their athletic programs, from parent relations to coach conduct. Having a system that tracks communication and reinforces best practices can protect both the institution and the coaches themselves.
Formational, Not Just Functional
Hey Coach describes its approach as "formational" — meaning it's designed to help shape student-athletes as whole people, not just players. That's a deliberate contrast to competitors that prioritize efficiency over development. The platform aims to teach accountability, resilience, and teamwork through structured tools that coaches can actually use in real time.
After significant platform improvements in 2026, the company is now focused on scaling. The goal is to become the primary team management and leadership system for large organizations and entire states — a tall order in a market where schools are often slow to adopt new technology and budgets are tight.
Still, the pitch resonates with a growing number of schools that see athletics as more than just wins and losses. If Hey Coach can prove that better-supported coaches lead to better outcomes — on and off the field — it might carve out a meaningful position in a crowded market.
The company is currently offering enterprise-level solutions to schools, colleges, academies, leagues, and national organizations. Whether it can deliver on its broader vision will depend on how well it balances the practical needs of overwhelmed athletic directors with the loftier goal of youth sports leadership development.
