We continue our list of the Top 15 Softball Stories of 2020, which will run through December 31st when we’ll present our No. 1 story of the year.
Here are the previous stories (clink on link to read):
- #15… NCAA Allows College Athletes to Be Compensated for “Their Name, Image & Likeness”
- #14… The Emotional Tribute for Texas Tech Signee Jaycee Hamlin
- #13… Two USC Union College Teammates Killed in Car Accident by Drunk Driver
- #12… USA Stand Beside Her Tour… Great Start for Team USA’s Barnstorming Event
- #11… The Scrap Yard Dawgs Tweet Controversy & the Quick Dissolution of the Pro Team
- #10… Maggie Bowle’s Softball Career Was Short… but Her Legacy Lives On
We’ve surveyed the softball community and talked internally as well to come up with what were the most impactful and relevant stories of the year pertaining to the world of fastpitch softball.
Where applicable, we are providing the text to the original articles and/or references when the story first happened.
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2019
- Click Here to see the Top 15 Stories of 2018
Today’s story… … #9: Andrew Biele has had an esteemed career as a club coach already—he was ranked in the recent Top 30 of the Extra Elite 100 Club Coach rankings—but his legacy may ultimately come from his creation and development of innovative technologies, products and services under the AthletesGoLive umbrella, which combine live streaming with scoring capabilities and in 2020 hit all levels of the game.
To provide comments, insights or thoughts, email: info@extrainningsoftball.com.
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With the onset of COVID-19, many in the sport have been greatly impacted including college coaches who have been forced to stay at home and evaluate online through the streaming and broadcasting of games wherever possible.
Good companies adapt and change with the times and, in the softball world, one technology company that did it almost better than anyone was AthletesGoLive, which provided a combination of live streaming and live scoring to allow coaches the next best thing to being there: watching remotely and being able to not just watch live, but also tap into replays and highlights.
The Dead Period has been pushed back no less than a half dozen times so coaches’ hands were tied in not being able to travel to watch prospective athletes in person, but Andrew Biele’s company helped fill that void by fine-tuning its products and services throughout the year.
In November, the Bolts 5-Star showcase in Birmingham, Alabama set a single tournament record with a two-day viewership of more than 1,200 college coach views as tracked by AGL.
One SEC coach said, “AthletesGoLive has been a breath of fresh air for coaches during the pandemic. During the NCAA recruiting dead period having the ability to watch live streamed games with live scoring was a game changer. AthletesGoLive was instrumental in helping me and my staff stay connected to the game.”
A Big Ten coach added, “It was the most important tool to keep college coaches engaged in the sport (this year.”
Subscription-based, the AGL platform allows subscribers to do everything from create individual profiles to pull video clips to receiving notifications when an athlete is practicing or playing. Originally just one backstop camera, it has grown to allow baseline video and eventually even high broadcast quality at a fraction of what a full production would cost.
The folks at AGL hit a home run with this product,” said Scott Smith of the Texas Bombers organization. “It has been a huge shot in the arm for players to continue the recruiting process during these incredibly challenging times. This product will make a huge difference for many years to come.”
According to Biele, the company has had 50,000 users in six months with “2,400 college coaches actively using AGL on a monthly basis.”
Also of note: over 1,100 organizations have registered with AGL including some of the most well-known programs in the nation including Athletics Mercado, Corona Angels, Batbusters, Firecrackers, Bombers, EC Bullets, Georgia Impact, Texas Glory, Impact Gold and many more.
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The following article was originally published May 11, 2020 on Extra Inning Softball…
Softball Technology: AthletesGoLive Combines Live Streaming & Game Scoring into One Innovative App
There is nothing like cheering on your team from the stands, but when family, fans and college coaches can’t make it to the game, a fast-growing company based in Georgia, AthletesGoLive (“AGL”), is making sure they don’t miss a minute of the action.
AthletesGoLive has launched a revolutionary, multi-functional mobile and desktop application which provides live streaming and live scoring with high-quality visuals and sound to any device. Completed games are also available on-demand and the framework will benefit everyone in softball from individual athletes, fans, teams, coaches to organizations and tournament hosts.
For example, the newly-announced Texas FastPitch League (TFL) will use the technology for its series of games coming up this summer.
Scott Smith, owner of the Bomber organization and one of the founders of the TFL, said, “This is the best technology in our sport and, without a shadow of a doubt, this is going to be the standard for every organization, team and athlete in the country.”
In addition to providing game action, players are able to take clips of their performances and send them to college coaches who can follow them for free.
Coach Kris Ganeff of the Univ. of Notre Dame softball program said, “AthletesGoLive is going to be an invaluable tool for college coaches.”
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Here are six key reasons why AthletesGoLive is becoming widely popular across the nation in meeting the needs of those looking for streaming and/or scoring solutions…
1. Opportunities for Athletes and their Parents
A Fan Pass from AthletesGoLive allows parents and fans to watch any game live or on-demand.
To assist athletes in the college recruiting process, the system also allows the creation of an advanced player profile. Highlights of a walk-off home run or a game-saving defensive play can be saved as a clip to the athlete’s file, emailed to college coaches or posted on social media – all from the AthletesGoLive app.
A recording of a player’s own clips from a player’s hitting or pitching lesson or workout can also be saved to the individual file and the athlete is notified any time a college coach views her profile, a live or archived game, or an uploaded video clip.
To facilitate the interaction between player and college coach, AthletesGoLive maintains a complete database of every college coach in the country allowing athletes to search, access and add their favorite schools and college coaches to their watch list.
2. Benefits for Teams
Teams can live stream and live score their games. All games stream with live audio and have an in-game scoreboard which displays the inning, score, count, and identifies players at bat, on deck and on base as well as defensive positions. Line-ups and the box score is available.
Teams connect directly through the AthletesGoLive app with any IOS or android device or with an AthletesGoLive custom camera specifically designed for baseball and softball.
The camera is 100 percent dust proof, waterproof and was designed with an operating temperature of 140 degrees so it will not overheat. It was built with a wide-angle lens to capture the entire field. The camera is available on the company’s website and rebate promotions are available for teams.
Once live streaming begins from a camera mounted on the fence, the team opens the AthletesGoLive app on another device and live scores the games with the user-friendly scoring system. Teams have access to over 95 advanced, sortable player and team stats.
Coming soon, athletes will have the ability to load their certified metrics/analytics directly to their Athlete Advanced Profile.
3. Advantages for Organizations
Organizations receive free access to view live or on-demand games for any team in their organization. Team and individual stats, player profiles and activity by college coaches is available to organization management
In addition, AthletesGoLive provides automatic revenue to organizations via a sponsorship program.
4. AthletesGoLive Provides Recruiting Edge to College Coaches
There are thousands of athletes capable of playing at the college level; however, coaches do not have time to attend every tournament.
AGL provides unlimited access to live and on-demand games, free to college coaches. In the past four weeks alone, over 1,500 college coaches have registered to use AthletesGolive, according to one company source.
College coaches have access to any athlete’s profile. Players and teams may be added to a coach’s “watch list” which triggers a notification when related games or events are streaming live.
The capability to record and save video clips to a folder and share with other coaches on their staff provides time-saving connectivity.
Another benefit: college coaches are able to post camp information and provide the information directly to the potential camp attendee.
5. Value of Live Streaming for Tournament Hosts
AthletesGoLive provides the platform for Tournament Hosts to live stream and live score every game of their entire event.
AGL creates a custom widget for the event capable of flowing directly to the event company’s website and will include a banner with all games being played, completed games and up and coming games.
The public can click “game and login” and “buy pass”. The widget will also include the ability to have tournament standings, team stat leaders and individual player stat leader boards.
AthletesGoLive provides direct exposure with every college coach in the nation having free access to watch any game live or on-demand. College coaches receive direct emails inviting them to preregister for “in-person attendance” at the tournament or to “view live online.”
A list of colleges and coaches who register is available and/or auto-directed to the event website.
AthletesGoLive offers Event hosts the ability to generate revenue from streaming the tournament. To learn more contact distribution@athletesgolive.com
6. AthletesGoLive Gives Back
As part of AthletesGoLive’s giveback to the sport, the company founders are offering AthletesGoLive FREE to everyone for the month of May and June with no contract and no obligation.
Sign up at https://athletesgolive.com/ and use Promo Code AGL2066 to get going today and receive all the benefits listed above…
