A new app from SI Play launching this week aims to bring the world of youth sports into the mobile age, putting schedules, scores and statistics in the palm of parents’, coaches’ and players’ hands.
Parents can use the app to view their children’s game and practice schedules across multiple teams, as well as chat with other team parents to coordinate gameday snacks and upload photos of the action. For coaches and league administrators, SI Play’s app offers roster information, statistics and live scorekeeping. Players, meanwhile, get digital “trading cards” to which coaches can add badges that symbolize accomplishments like being named player of the game.
The goal, says SI Play CEO Jeff Karp, is to create a mobile community for youth sports participants.
“We worked with thousands who are currently involved in youth sports, and we applied our own experiences as volunteers, coaches and parents of players to create a series of exclusive features and tools that will unite everyone connected to youth sports in a way that collectively celebrates their sports lives,” says SI Play CEO Jeff Karp. “It is the perfect addition to our platform and furthers our goals to make youth sports more fun, efficient and rewarding for everyone.”
The app, available for iPhone and Android, also includes content from Sports Illustrated, Sports Illustrated for Kids and other groups, ranging from professional sports news to tips and tricks for young athletes. SI Play is a division of TIME parent company Time Inc.
Launched in 2015, SI Play provides websites and other digital platforms for 10 million active users across youth athletic leagues from baseball to lacrosse. SI Play began after Time Inc. acquired several digital youth sports companies for an undisclosed sum, a move towards providing services that complement the company’s traditional media brands.