Difficult behaviour on the sports field? Every youth coach, player and parent we spoke to recognised it. App4Support is developing an app with practical tools for youth coaches. At the Hockey World Cup in Amstelveen, the main questions were: who would pay for it, who is the customer and which payment model could work?
The app was well received. Visitors were interested in the demo and found the examples and design clear. But paying for it was a different story. Coaches generally do not want to pay for the app themselves. A sports club or federation seems more logical, but this has not yet been tested with the people who actually control the budget.
The test also showed that a stand-alone app may not be enough. To make a real impact, App4Support needs to become part of the broader support structure within a sports club. This could be through sports federations, sports service organisations or education programmes.
One striking finding: despite the interest, there were few app downloads. So the team will continue to explore how to best reach and activate its target audience.
The next step? Finding a partner to bring the app to market, finding paying customers and testing different payment models. App4Support will also explore how the app could become part of coach education and a broader support offer for sports clubs.
In collaboration with: Regieorgaan SIA, Sportinnovator and Feeton.