Fair Play
Every player deserves equal opportunities to play, learn, and grow. Fair play isn't just about winning - it's about giving every kid a chance to succeed.
As a rec ball coach, I wanted nothing more than to be fair to every player on my team. I believed that every kid deserved equal opportunities to play, learn, and grow. But I quickly discovered that wanting to be fair and actually being fair were two very different things.
There simply weren't any tools designed to help coaches like me track playing time, manage position rotations, or keep balanced opportunities in view for every player. I found myself spending hours before each game trying to create fair lineups with pen and paper, only to realize during the game that I had no way to track who was playing where and for how long.
I started using spreadsheets to track which innings each player participated in, but I quickly realized that manual data entry was prone to errors. I would forget to update the spreadsheet during the heat of the game, or I'd make mistakes when entering the information later. Even though my intentions were good, I wasn't actually achieving the fairness I wanted for my players.
"I wanted to be fair, but I had no way to prove I was being fair."
— Joel Hill, Founder
That's when I realized I needed to build a better solution. I love baseball and softball, and I wanted our kids to love these sports too. But I had seen too many talented players quit because they were never given a shot at the positions they wanted to play. They felt overlooked, undervalued, and ultimately lost their passion for the game.
So I created the Coach Joel's Way - a practical fair play coaching platform designed specifically for rec ball coaches who value fair play. The platform gives coaches history and fairness-focused tools that can help distribute playing opportunities more intentionally, and clearer records of batting order, defensive positions, and bench time across games.
Joel Hill
Founder & CEO, Fair Play Coaching Platform
Reno, Nevada