register |  login
› DENVER
Loading Ad
Visit Other Hubs:
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Tower
RECENT STORIES

Denver Entrepreneurs Simplify Soccer Moms' Lives

Contributed by: Andrew Laing on 9/24/2007

A new web-based tool-- OurTeamBase.com -- is bringing some order to the frantic scene of American kids' sports -- long hampered by phone trees, email bugs, sudden weather changes, cancellations and distraught parents.

Sean Leman and James Wall, both parents of sports-playing kids in Denver, were fed-up with old world communications methods employed in the world of kids and youth sports. So, they decided to create a web-based tool that would give parents, kids and coaches an online base from which to systematize their teams' roster, game and practice schedules, plus add the ability to email and send text messages to the whole team directly from the base site. Voila, OurTeamBase.com.

"It's free, easy to use and saves time and hassle," says Leman. "Parents in this day-and-age are frazzled. We figured that any way we could help ease some of this hassle when it came to the world of youth sports would be helpful for our families and others in Colorado and around the country.

"And we'll keep adding more features when we find they're useful and will save parents aggravation."

Features on OurTeamBase include photos posted on the site using Flickr (so grandpa and Auntie Jean can look at Jonnie's game the same evening, online), full calendar function with note features that allow snack schedules, linemen/referee rotas, etc. and the ability for the coach and parents to email or text message directly from the site. Users can post messages on the site, post new directions to games, practices, etc., rendering the phone and email tree extinct.

While this may seem like a cute idea to help out their fellow parents, founders Leman and Wall have undertaken serious research and found that the model can be scaled into a significant business, along similar lines to invitation site Evite, dating sites such as eHarmony, marriage organization sites such as theKnot and the social networking sites growing like weeds in cyberspace (Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc.).

Says Wall: "Many of the top brands in America are going after the young family market, and with OurTeamBase, the demographic is perfect for these brands. If we are able to present these brands to our users in such a way as not be obnoxious or 'in your face' then I think we're onto a winner."

There are more than 70 million people in America who participate in youth sports of some kind, according to Wall. Add in the global market and this represents a very big opportunity.


SUBMIT COMMENT

Rate the above story



Talk Back : submit comments to the story

*Note: you need to log-in to add a comment or rating.

CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Andrew Laing

Denver , CO

Andrew Laing has posted 19 stories and 2 comments since joining on 10/27/2005. Andrew Laing 's average story rating is 5.
SAVE AND SHARE THIS STORY
STORY RSS FEEDS
WANT TO WRITE FOR YOURHUB.COM?
Want to see the stories you write and the photos you shoot featured in the YourHub.com Thursday print section available all over the Front Range and with home subscriptions of the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post? All you have to do is register, then post a story or column, start a blog or tell everyone what events are happening in town. We will print the best stories, columns, event listings, photos and blog entries in our print sections.

ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

Loading Ad
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading Ad

This YourHub.com community is produced by The Denver Newspaper Agency
Web Development and Channel Analytics provided by Indigio

terms of use //  privacy policy
the staff //  advertise //  help & faq
buy photos