On the Cutting Edge: Helpful Coaching Apps

These days, it seems like there’s an app for everything. Sure, some may prove to be handy, but finding the right ones can be a headache-inducing process. Maybe that’s why some coaches still stick to tried-and-true tools like whiteboards and stopwatches. After all, if it isn’t broken why fix it, right?

We totally understand the inclination to stick with what works, but the truth is that there are a lot of helpful coaching apps out there that can make coaches’ lives a little (or even a lot) easier. That’s why we sifted through a big pile of them with the goal of finding a few that coaches could appreciate. Check out our list of apps for coaches and maybe you’ll find something can help make coaching your team go a lot smoother, or something useful that you can pass along to parents and student-athletes.

The Right Profile
What it’s for: athlete assessment

Developed more than 30 years ago and used by the NFL, NBA, MLB and US Military Special Forces, the Troutwine Athletic Profile (TAP) test has helped evaluate the mindset of athletes to build successful teams. The Right Profile offers the test through their partnership with AthleteTypes.

Volt
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: training plans

Used by more than 250,000 athletes and coaches, Volt offers personalized, sport-specific training plans developed through scientific research. Gatorade serves as a partner of Volt.

Fitplan
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: at-home training

Offering step-by-step fitness plans from top trainers, Fitplan helps users achieve their fitness goals, whether that’s building muscle, weight loss or marathon prep. Audio- and video-guided instructions lead users through gym and home workouts, offering an alternative to personal training.

American Red Cross
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: emergency education

This app from the well-known organization offers expert advice for everyday emergencies with the aid of videos, interactive quizzes and step-by-step advice. Additionally, interactive quizzes help users brush up on their lifesaving knowledge.

RecruitSpot
What it’s for: recruiting questionnaires

For a huge number of college athletic programs, the first step in the recruiting process is to have potential recruits fill out their recruiting questionnaire. RecruitSpot helps streamline the process so that student-athletes aren’t spending valuable time filling out forms.

myStudentAid
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: student financial aid

As the official FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) app, myStudentAid attempts to make filling out the FAFSA a seamless endeavor. Built so it can be used by students, parents and preparers, myStudentAid also synchs with myFederalLoans, some state aid applications and the IRS Data Retrieval Tool, helping to simplify the process.

SportsEngine
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: team management

Once you’ve signed up on the SportsEngine platform, their helpful app offers several features to help manage teams and practices. Coaches can enter and update the location of practice so that parents can find it without contacting them, see which players have RSVPd for practice, update a calendar that synchs with parents’ calendars and communicate through a team chat, among other things.

TeamSnap
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: team management

Another team management app built for coaches, players, admins and parents, TeamSnap has several useful features. Users can manage their teams and organizations with registration, payments, scheduling, contact information, member RSVPs, messaging and chat capabilities.

CoachTube
What it’s for: online coaching

Offering access to online video lessons from coaches around the world, CoachTube helps athletes get instruction, knowledge and motivation whenever their coach is not available. Users can check out videos such as Defensive and Rebound Skills by Tom Izzo, NBA Shooting Secrets by J.J. Redick, and High Jump by Olympian Amy Acuff. Coaches can also submit their own courses.

CoachUp
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: personalized training

Connecting users with experienced coaches, CoachUp helps people improve their athletic performance with private coaching. Users can sign up for individual lessons, group training, classes, clinics, camps and virtual training. NBA superstar Stephen Curry serves as a partner.

MyFitnessPal
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: nutrition planning

Sponsored by Under Armour, MyFitnessPal bills itself as the world’s most popular health and fitness app. It helps users to count calories and keep track of what they’re eating with a database of more than 6 million foods. Users can also scan the barcodes on food packaging to add nutrition facts.

Coach’s Eye
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: video analysis

Coach’s Eye helps make video analysis easy and effective by helping users to record film with a variety of mobile devices and cameras, review videos in slow motion and frame-by-frame, provide feedback with telestration, view videos offline and share film with a shared video locker, among other features.

Sport-specific apps

TrainingPeaks
Available on iTunes and Google Play.
What it’s for: running, cycling and triathlons; remote coaching

With TrainingPeaks, coaches can easily communicate with their athletes while planning and tracking their workouts. The app also allows coaches to monitor fitness, form and fatigue over time.

Firstdown Playbook
What it’s for: football; digital playbook

Stuffed with more than 34,000 unique play drawings and detailed coaching points from NFL coaches for every play, Firstdown Playbook is designed so football coaches can use it on computers, tablets and phones.

Tactical Soccer
Available for Mac OS, iPad, Windows, and Android.
What it’s for: soccer; coach tools

Designed specifically for the U.S. soccer market, Tactical Soccer allows users to create exercises, match formations, training sessions, set pieces, lineups, strategies and more. It’s also a helpful tool for creating and analyzing statistics.

Baseball Radar Gun High Heat
Available on iTunes.
What it’s for: baseball; radar gun

Out scouting or running practice and don’t have a radar gun within reach? This radar gun app can help in a pinch and has more than one million users nationwide.