Dave: Hey everyone, Dave here with another episode of the Philly Tech Connect podcast. Today, I’m speaking with Justin Tiel. Justin founded Coach Tools in 2021 with a vision to empower athletic programs while helping coaches and players build authentic relationships. Prior to Coach Tools, Justin attended Gettysburg College, where he studied business and management, was an accomplished student-athlete, and an entrepreneurial fellow. Justin, how are you doing?
Justin: Doing well, Dave. Appreciate you having me on.
Dave: Of course, my pleasure. I’m excited to hear about Coach Tools and what you’ve been working on the last couple of years. You were a student-athlete, so I imagine that connects to the story. Tell me and the audience a little bit about how you got started with Coach Tools.
Justin: Absolutely. So, going back a few years to my senior year at Gettysburg College—that was right at the beginning of the pandemic. Actually, my junior year was when it started. Going into my senior year of football, we didn’t have a season because of the pandemic.
During that time, I had a lot of time to reflect on my playing days, think about what was working, what wasn’t working, and figure out what I wanted to do after graduating. It was like the perfect storm: the timing, the ideas, and my personal experience as a player all came together.
What I originally did was reach out to coaches in the Centennial Conference—coaches at schools like Dickinson College, Franklin & Marshall, and, of course, Gettysburg. What I realized was that the feedback coaches were giving us as players had some disconnects.
For example, on the field, they’d say things like, “Justin, on this play you did X right, but you messed up on your technique.” But the written feedback didn’t always provide the same level of context. It wasn’t teaching players how they were performing within the true context of the game.
Coach Tools was built to bridge that gap—helping coaches communicate more effectively and players better understand how the feedback could improve their game. That’s really the backstory of how it got started.
Dave: Super cool! I’m interested to learn more about the nuts and bolts of it. Software needs data to produce analytics and recommendations, but football and sports in general aren’t exactly digital. How does the data get into the software, and how do the coach and player use it to optimize their performance?
Justin: Definitely. To draw a parallel with a more well-known platform, think of Coach Tools as being similar to Pro Football Focus. For those unfamiliar, Pro Football Focus grades NFL and FBS college players on various categories.
With Coach Tools, the difference is that the coaches input the grades themselves, making it unique. It’s all coach-generated content rather than third-party data. This allows coaches to analyze not only player performance but also the effectiveness of specific plays in given scenarios—whether they’re on offense or defense.
That said, I’d recommend coaches use data as a supplement to their intuition. It’s not a replacement for experience, but it’s a tool to help them take things a step further.
Dave: Got it. So, is someone on the sidelines tracking everything? Like, do they note, “On third-and-seven we ran this play and gained three yards”? Or does the data come from somewhere else?
Justin: It depends on the school. Most high schools use a platform called Hudl for their film. Hudl has a feature called Hudl Assist, where someone from Hudl records basic play information, saving coaches from having to input every detail.
Sometimes players or staff on the sidelines track down-and-distance, play numbers, and other variables. When I was injured in college, I actually helped collect data like that, which was probably my first experience with football coaching and data collection.
Dave: Sorry to hear about your injury! That sounds rough, but it’s inspiring how you turned those challenges into something positive, like starting Coach Tools. Do you see opportunities to expand the platform to other sports?
Justin: Football is the sport I know best, thanks to my playing and coaching experience. Eventually, we could expand to sports like basketball, lacrosse, or rugby—anything with plays and patterns. But for now, as an early-stage startup, we’re focused on football.
Dave: Makes sense. The sports world seems to be moving toward being more data-driven. How are coaches reacting to analytics? Is there resistance from traditionalists?
Justin: Great question. Coaches who’ve been in the game for decades are understandably hesitant—they’ve been successful without it. But younger coaches, in their 20s to 40s, are more receptive to incorporating analytics into their decision-making. It really depends on the coach and their environment, but I’m optimistic about the future. Analytics is definitely becoming an integral part of sports.
Dave: Agreed. I can’t think of an industry where analytics isn’t becoming more essential. What’s next for Coach Tools, and how can people stay in touch?
Justin: We’re gearing up for the AFCA Coaches Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, and looking ahead to the next football season. People can find us at coachtoolsllc.com or on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. We also have a podcast on Spotify and YouTube—just search for Coach Tools LLC.
Dave: Awesome! Thanks for being on the show, Justin. Best of luck with Coach Tools.
Justin: Thanks so much, Dave. Appreciate it!