MaxPreps.com, the leader in high school sports, is evolving again.
To better serve high school coaches and how they communicate with their teams, parents and fans, the new MaxPreps Team Wall will be released tonight and replace existing team pages. It is the first of several new features that will serve in this purpose, said MaxPreps Founder and President Andy Beal.
"We are transforming the way MaxPreps communicates so we can help players and coaches achieve their athletic ambitions," Beal said. "Traditionally, MaxPreps focused on recording game results. Stats were ‘our thing' and still are. Yet, to serve our audience of high school coaches and athletes better, we need to do more."
An example of the MaxPreps Team Wall.
The premise of the MaxPreps Team Wall is to update team information immediately with a very familiar Facebook-like design and functionality.
When teams update their scores, schedules, statistics and Players of the Week, for instance, the newest information always appears at the top of the page. The new design allows MaxPreps users to easily share information from the team page with their personal Facebook pages.
Also, the MaxPreps Team Wall will help coaches manage their team's communication, a place to post practice schedules, meetings, school forms and links to local newspaper and Web site articles on their teams. Stories from MaxPreps' national writing team will automatically be linked to the top of MaxPreps Team Wall pages.
"MaxPreps can be a complete communications hub for every team," Beal said.
And Beal would know. A longtime assistant basketball coach at Ponderosa High School (Shingle Springs, Calif.), he took over the head coaching position in 2010-11. He helped mastermind the MaxPreps Team Wall concept after a season of managing an entire high school program.
"The coach in me knows that the MaxPreps Team Wall is going to help save time and improve coaching life," Beal said.
Founded in August 2002, MaxPreps is headquartered in Cameron Park, Calif. CBS Corporation acquired MaxPreps in April 2007. It is partnered with nearly 40,000 varsity, junior varsity and freshman coaches throughout the United States.