Thursday, January 12, 2017
Coaches Tribune
offers instruction
on various sports
By Greg Gulas
POLAND
Like all parents, Michele Kiernan wants the very best for her two sons when they compete in their seasonal sports.
At a loss and unable to deliver when asked by her youngest son, Brady, for some advice and coaching assistance on football placekicking, her lack of knowledge of the position left her with one of the loneliest, “unable to” feelings that she has ever experienced.
After scouring the internet and coming up empty, it got the Poland resident to thinking that if it happened to her, then it must be happening to others nationwide so she immediately sought a resolution to her quandary.
What followed was her help in developing “Coaches Tribune,” a website designed to supply tips and instruction on a variety of sports for those in need of quick and rapid help.
“The concept for Coaches Tribune was developed in my living room,” Kiernan said. “I was in the backyard one evening with Brady, who is four years old and plays both basketball and flag football. He grabbed a tee from our garage in order to practice kicking field goals, but after repeated misses asked me what he was doing wrong. I’m an avid football fan but never played the sport, so later that evening I began looking online for information on the correct way to kick a football.”
Coming up empty in her web search might just have been the best thing to happen to Kiernan. After experiencing frustration, it led to develop a site, free of charge, that shared tips and instruction, not just for football but for all revenue and non-revenue sports.
“After 30 minutes of poring through websites, complete with pay walls and videos that provided no answers, I called my husband [Ed] who was in Los Angeles on business. I had to express my frustration at the lack of free, high-quality resources that weren’t in a single location on the web,” Kiernan said. “I’d like to think of myself as a patient person, but not knowing how to help Brady with technique or other pointers was tough for me to accept.”
The Kiernan’s other son Eddie — nicknamed Tripp — is 13 and plays football, basketball and baseball. She was also thinking of his needs, as well as those of other athletes, as she developed her site.
“I just found it odd that while many call themselves coaches, the lack of instructional videos and sharing of drills wasn’t out there, let alone readily available for those needing assistance,” she said.
It was through the Keirnan’s collaboration with Seattle-based Sirocco Media, founded by long-time friend John Kueber, that the process of building the framework for Coaches Tribune actually began.
“John knows the technology side and the site was developed in October, had a soft launch in November and then went live right before Christmas,” Kiernan said. “As parents, we put our sons and daughters in positions to be part of a team sport and they are taught both game and life lessons. Hopefully this becomes the go-to site for parents and athletes from pee-wee on up seeking instructional help. We also want it to serve as a network for coaches as they share their knowledge, instruction and any unique content. It’s a social media, social networking and resource community for all things coaching.”
At launch, Coaches Tribune included football, soccer, baseball, basketball, field hockey and ice hockey, to lacrosse, rugby, snow sports, track and field, volleyball, water sports, wrestling and e-sports.
“We focused on the four major sports, but have content for and the ability to post in the other categories as well,” Kiernan said.
The site continuously adds content and platforms as more users become attracted. It features instructional drills and tips to help youth coaches and parents as they gain insight and ideas from legendary coaches, renowned instructors and some of the leading organizations in sports.
“As we continue to build the platform, we will also be adding camp and educational resources, social networking and coaching gear for anyone who is or aspires to become a coach,” Kiernan said.
Coaches Tribune can be accessed at www.coachestribune.com.