iHigh.com, the Global Youth Network, and eCoach Sports, have formed an alliance under which eCoach Sports will become the exclusive provider of online performance improvement and mobile video motion analysis services, including tips, drills and related content, to the iHigh.com network of athletes, schools and sports organizations. Through the use of iHigh.com's proprietary technologies, led by the iHigh Production Truck, eCoach Sports will capture and leverage in-game content (live and archived) to develop a new category of online sports performance training. "As the quality of iHigh.com broadcasts continues to rapidly improve, the opportunities for in-game video motion analysis will become limitless," says Rich Hempel, co-founder of eCoach Sports.
iHigh.com is the nation's #1 digital television network for high school and amateur sports, providing high schools, colleges and youth organizations with free full-featured, robust websites and live streaming broadcast software that connects coaches, athletes and fans through digital platforms. The iHigh.com digital network consists of approximately 8000 teams and affinity groups and had over 10.6 million unique visitors in 2011. Presently tracking at over 1.5 million hits a month and over 50,000 video events broadcast live, iHigh.com is rapidly becoming the worldwide leader for amateur sports broadcast coverage. Its tremendous growth has been fueled by 600+ new site registrations per month and live broadcasts that will grow to over 75,000 in 2012. The iHigh Production Truck is like having a portable television studio, with multiple camera video switching, on-screen graphics and patent-pending Ad Trigger technology allows schools, teams and leagues to insert local and national commercials into their broadcasts, creating new sources of revenue. The iHigh.com platform also includes a new profile system with patent-pending "iHigh-liting" technology that allows users to "clip" their plays from video in the iHigh.com network and then highlight the clips in their profile. "These video clips- or highlight videos- will be great for video review and coaching using the eCoach Sports advance motion analysis software and Connect-to-Coach TechnologyTM that allows athletes to send video to a coach of their choosing from anywhere," says Hempel.
Featured in the Winter 2012 edition of Inside Pitch, eCoach Sports is a brand focused on connecting athletes of all ages and skill levels to experts in their respective sports through digital apps and state-of-the-art video analysis coaching software. eCoach Sports provides athletic performance improvement offerings in the form of online transactions between athletes and expert coaches around the world without the barriers of time and distance. "Being able to provide in-game performance evaluation and coaching remotely will forever change amateur sports," says Chris Burke, former All-American and MLB player and Director of Coaching for eCoach Sports. "Having played the game at every level and now focusing my expertise on coaching, it has become clear that practice performance in a cage or on a field does not always translate to the field. Although players strive to remain consistent, many times the elements outside of your control for a player to alter their mechanics with in-game video now readily available, we will be able to assist players with in-game adjustments that are critical to succeeding," commented Burke.
Also critical to the iHigh.com/eCoach Sports alliance is the creation of the eCoach Sports Network, powered by iHigh.com and its suite of products. This digital broadcast network will feature elite sporting events, camps and showcases hosted by eCoach Sports partners like Perfect Game USA. Perfect Game is the world leader in baseball scouting services, with over 5000 Perfect Game event players drafted by MLB clubs in the past seven years.
The broadcast of this exciting content will not only bring players, coaches and fans closer together, but it will be an excellent source of in-game video for coaching through the eCoach Sports platform. One such event that is planned for this spring is the inaugural broadcast of the high regarded Perfect Game National Game of the Week scheduled for the weekend of April 20-21 between two nationally-ranked state powerhouse programs, Farragut from Knoxville, TN and Lexington Catholic from Lexington, KY. Being able to present the National Game of the Week in a live, online digital broadcast through the iHigh.com/eCoach Sports Network is a great opportunity for our athletes, coaches, scouts and fans. Scouting and recruiting will forever change with technology advances that allow us to broadcast our events live on all digital platforms including the widely popular iPhone, iPad and Android. "We are extremely excited to take this next exciting step and feel that the possibilities in recruiting, scouting and coaching are becoming limitless," says Perfect Game founder Jerry Ford.