We are excited to announce the launch of new digital coaching tools and an interactive player learning app built specifically for basketball. After experiencing strong growth with its football product, Just Play Sports Solutions LLC is expanding into basketball.
Just Play co-founder and lead developer, Andy Wachter, built the new platform by drawing from his own basketball experience, at both the Division I and Division II level. Wachter played basketball at Wichita State University and Pittsburg State University, before working as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball program at Pittsburg State University.
In addition, the University of Kansas men’s basketball program used Just Play in a beta version throughout the 2015-2016 season and helped develop Just Play for basketball by offering insights and feedback that were incorporated into the system.
“We could not have found a better partner to help develop a basketball solution than KU,” said Just Play co-founder, Austin Barone. It began when Barone shared the benefits that Just Play offered to football programs with Christian Garrett, who played basketball at KU from 2011 to 2015. Garrett immediately saw the value that Just Play could bring to the basketball world. “Christian pushed for it, setting up meetings between myself and the KU basketball coaching staff,” Barone said. “Really the entire thing was set up by Christian, who, as a player, saw this as a need for KU.”
Garrett, who now plays overseas, talked about why it made sense for KU to partner with Just Play. “Everything that was big in the philosophy of our program, Just Play had within its app,” he said. Garrett went on to explain that student athletes juggle classes, workouts, tutoring sessions, and more and have difficultly finding time to study game plans, film, and scouting reports. With all of the information players need readily accessible at any time, Just Play makes preparation easier and more effective and gives players confidence that they are ready for the game.
Garrett was particularly impressed with Just Play’s player analytics tool, which gives coaches the ability to know how players are utilizing the system. Garrett stated, “Coach Self loves to know who is studying the plays, and he can do that with Just Play.”
Below are a couple of other features that we are excited about.
Scouting:
Just Play’s basketball scouting feature puts an interactive and individualized report in players’ hands. This creates a more focused, confident player, and Just Play’s automation will save coaches hours. Coaches can produce interactive player profiles instantly, complete with notes, video, keys, and more.
Garrett said that having mobile access to interactive scouting reports is important for players. With Just Play, players have access to these reports on any device and it is optimized for them specifically.
Diagrams:
As with the football system, the Just Play basketball diagram tool is the easiest to use on the market. In addition, it allows for framing and animation of player and ball movement, which is essential for basketball. Coaches can quickly draw plays with multiple frames, which players can then study step-by-step.
Overall, we have created a system that allows coaches to prepare in one place. Currently, they are using a variety of tools to provide their team these materials in many different ways. Just Play provides a learning platform that is more efficient and more collaborative for players and coaches. We hope to see you join the Just Play family! To set up a demo, contact us here. To keep up with all that Just Play has to offer, follow our twitter!