[Behind-the-Scenes] A Look at TeamSnap+ Coaches Pack from Two Soccer Coaches: TeamSnap CTO Reed Shaffner + Former NFL Reporter Sean Jensen

Check out a behind-the-scenes look at TeamSnap+ Coaches Pack from TeamSnap CTO Reed Shaffner + Former NFL Reporter Sean Jensen

Ben Sherwood and Reed Shaffner both achieved greatness professionally. But the two strangers joining forces to create what is now the TeamSnap+ Coaches Pack was inspired, in large part, personally.

Sherwood, the former President of Disney and ABC News, tapped into his struggle of finding resources and tools to help him gain enough insight to coach his two sons in four different sports. Shaffner, meanwhile, was expecting his first child with his wife.

“Sports played a big role in my life,” Shaffner said, “and the idea of getting to build this company at a time when my child would hopefully be playing sports was personally exciting.”

The two kicked around different ideas but ultimately landed on wanting to create something to support a youth sports parent or volunteer starting in their coaching journey. 

Sherwood recalled in a December 2023 interview with the New York Post that he had purchased an expensive program from a renowned Dutch youth soccer program for his son’s U-6 team. 

“(There were) around 20 DVDs and a big notebook of Xs and Os,” Sherwood said in the interview, “but my team of 5-year-olds didn’t respond very well to such an advanced system.”

Sherwood, a graduate of Harvard and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, was frustrated by the process. He was drawn to find a solution for that massive problem.

Technology in Sports Coaching

When they teamed up to create Mojo, Sherwood and Shaffner drew inspiration from a harried parent who was getting off work, racing across town and needing to lead a productive practice for the kids. 

I could relate: I was that coach!

While I played multiple sports growing up and covered the NFL for 17 years, I still was overwhelmed when I stepped up to coach my son’s U-7 soccer team when another parent who hadn’t coached or played the sport initially volunteered but bucked the duty to me. I scoured the internet, watched YouTube videos and cobbled together a practice plan.

Since I hadn’t planned to coach, I was doing this on the fly, which meant I was scrambling the night before each practice to figure out what to do next. Some of the drills or games worked, some of them didn’t. But it wasn’t until years later, when I had the fortune to lead a High School Boys Soccer Program, that I realized less is actually more, meaning there wasn’t a reward for the volume of elements to each practice. 

Once again, though, my own story reinforces why Shaffner and Sherwood started with soccer. Unlike many other youth sports, its popularity was growing in the U.S., and it had strong representation across genders, races and socio-economic classes. In addition, at the youngest ages, soccer still heavily leaned on parent or volunteer coaches who often lack knowledge of the sport. The initial iterations of their creation was simple and concise, providing that harried soccer coach the flexibility to personalize a plan based on the length of practice and the skill level of their players. 

Technology Resource for Youth Sports Coach

Shaffner provided the technical expertise, starting his career at Microsoft and transitioning to gaming companies, Zynga and Scopely, before co-founding an HR technology company called Workpop.

“You have to have empathy for what it’s like to be a coach,” Shaffner said. “Some days, I want more depth. Some days I want less. And some teams want to be able to move to more advanced content, and some teams might have eight-year-olds who have never played before.

“We were really focused on every step of that journey, and meeting the realities of what that coach is going through. How do you reduce the stress? How do you make that coach more successful in as little time as possible?”

They didn’t just tap coaches but experts in other fields like kinesiology to develop a library of drills, practice plans and even week-by-week curriculums for soccer. Later, they added baseball and softball, and more sports are coming. They’ve also been able to partner with leagues such as Major League Soccer and Major League Baseball, and teams such as FC Barcelona.

Resources for Youth Sports Coaches

When TeamSnap purchased Mojo in December 2023, Sherwood called the deal a “perfect fit,” and TeamSnap CEO Peter Frintzilas called it a “defining moment” for his company. 

I couldn’t agree more. 

Full disclosure: TeamSnap is the Presenting Sponsor of my youth sports podcast, Winning Is Not Everything. But its mission and vision align with mine. As a parent, it’s integral for my ability to see the latest updates on practice times, or game locations, as well as an ability to share a photo or ask for a ride for one of my kids. As a coach, it’s the most efficient and effective way for me to have a central communication home for an assortment of things, from times and places but also attendance reports and volunteer requests. 

Privileged to lead the entire Boys Soccer Program, I have found parent coaches to be the optimal option for the middle school teams. Their schedules are generally the most flexible to accommodate the practices, they know the culture of the school and they can rally and connect with peer parents far more effectively. The barrier, though, is unfamiliarity with soccer. I address that challenge by creating two practice plans for the middle school teams and sending one of my Varsity assistants to a practice one a week. 

I can only imagine how many youth sports leaders are welcoming the TeamSnap+ Coaches Pack to remove one big headache for them!

Soccer Coaching Technology

Moving forward, Shaffner is inspired to add more sports and foster excitement among the young athletes, their supporters and, of course, their coaches. 

For athletes, Shaffner is hoping to incentivize them for going to practices and games, and just playing outside. The athletes can build their own “player card” with a profile that can be shared with relatives, who could watch highlights or livestreams of games. 

For coaches, Shaffner wants to keep leveraging graphics and videos, as well as well-written summaries and directions to empower them to lead their athletes. 

“Regardless of your skill level, your constraints, we want to make sure you can’t wait for practice this Thursday or next Tuesday,” Shaffner said. “That’s ultimately the end goal.”

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Keys to Great Youth Sports Coaching

Ready for some keys to great youth sports coaching? Check out our guide here or this downloadable resource.

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Sean K. Jensen was born in South Korea, but he was raised in California, Massachusetts and Virginia, mostly on or near military bases. Given his unique background, he’s always been drawn to storytelling, a skill he developed at Northwestern University and crafted for 16 years as a reporter and columnist, almost exclusively covering the NFL. He’s now an inspirational speaker and author of The Middle School Rules, a book series that tells the defining moments of professional athletes. He is also the Head Boys Varsity Soccer Coach at Minnehaha Academy in Minneapolis and the host of Winning Is Not Everything, a podcast that aims to “bring sanity back to youth sports” through conversations with high-character athletes, coaches, and parents. TeamSnap is the Presenting Sponsor of the podcast.