A Match.com for coaches and players

Mar 22, 2013

Startups & Venture Capital

CoachUp: At the top of their game

Taryn Plumb, Special to the Journal

W. Marc Bernsau

Jordan Fliegel says he was a decent basketball player as a teen. But he admits he initially spent more time on the bench than the court.
Then his parents hired a personal coach. Equipped with new skills, he went on to become a varsity starter in high school and a starter at Bowdoin College, before playing professionally in Israel from 2008 to 2010.
Later, when he became a coach himself, he figured there had to be a service that linked private coaches and players. There wasn’t. So he started one.
Launched in May 2012, Fliegel’s CoachUp site now lists more than 6,000 coaches across the country specializing in nearly 60 sports, according to Fliegel.
A graduate of the MassChallenge and TechStars Boston startup accelerators, the Boston-based company now has 20 employees.
CoachUp received a $2.2 million round of investment led by General Catalyst Partners and Breakaway Innovation Group in November.
“Private coaching is the best way to improve in sports, period,” said Fliegel, who holds an MBA from Tel Aviv University and previously worked for Waltham-based Zintro.
Players or their parents visit the CoachUp website to search for coaches in their area, specializing in anything from traditional sports like basketball or football, to motocross or baton-twirling. They can then choose to book directly through the site – just one session or a package of them – or contact the coach.
It’s free for all coaches to join. They are all given background checks, and to be eligible, the coaches have to have either played or coached at the collegiate level or higher. The goal, according to Fliegel, is to create a “meritocracy” – coaches are scored and ranked based on reviews and the numbers of sessions booked.
The site has been keeping Brandon Ball busy.
The Boston-based basketball coach typically trains athletes twice a day, ramping up to four to six times a day in the summer, working with players from elementary-school age to college students.
“I love helping kids out,” Ball said. “It’s gratifying when you get a kid to thank you, and really see their development. CoachUp is special. It provides opportunities for players to really develop.”
CoachUp receives a cut of the training packages and coaches’ earnings facilitated through the site. Going forward, one focus for the startup will be to work more closely with coaches to help them build out and manage their businesses. The company also hopes to forge partnerships with youth sports organizations, trade associations and governing bodies for youth sports, said Fliegel, who coaches basketball and takes boxing lessons through CoachUp.
But, ultimately, private coaching doesn’t just have to be for elite athletes, or families with ample disposable income.
“Sports play a positive role in shaping peoples’ lives,” Fliegel said. “No matter what stage you’re at, you can do a little better, and private coaching goes a long way.”

Original story link.