Why We're Still in Private Beta

By Reece

I'm glad we haven't made any promises on release dates and launches and whatnot. The few we have, we've met (cut it close, but we did it). It's just the nature of application development to take longer than expected. The problem is the 'expectations.' The point of Beta testing is the 'unexpected.'

As we developed HomeField, we thought through a specific process for our users, based on our time as players, and research we did with coaches. We tried to build the system so that the work-flow of HomeField fell right in line with any coach who used it. So we handed it over to Brown Lacrosse and within thirty minutes we discovered a nasty glitch and an opportunity for a great new feature - not what we expected.

Sure, our proud delivery sort of failed, but it was actually a huge success. We had the bug fixed by the end of the day, and future users (you) will never have to worry about it again. We then took the time to weigh the options of adding a new feature, designed and developed it and now players and coaches can print text-only versions of their scouting reports to paper or pdf.

There were actually a few ideas born out of our testing period so far, and we appreciate them all, but we ultimately chose to implement our printing functionality because it is a major step in the process of scouting another team. In our playing days, we always received a paper scouting report. In the spirit of being green, however, some teams have left this behind and leave printing up to the individual players. So, we felt it was necessary to accommodate those players and we think all users will benefit from this added feature.

Thank you to everyone who has shared ideas with us! We'll keep picking the ones that make the most sense and continue building HomeField into the best resource for you and your team.

The Bears In The Bronx

By Reece

What a beautiful day in the Bronx this past Saturday, watching the Brown Bears play the Jaspers of Manhattan in some D-I pre-season action. Dan and I hopped on the 1 train and took it all the way to 242nd St. - I didn't even know the numbers went that high - the last stop. Manhattan College has a nice field out there underneath the elevated trains, and there was a good crowd in attendance for a scrimmage.

The Bears jumped out to an early lead and for the most part seemed to control the game. Brown's Thomas Muldoon always impresses me, and I dig Jack Walsh as a player, a scrappy hustler who makes things happen.

Manhattan kept right in it though, and put a few goals in on Bruno. One way they didn't score, however, was on their man-up. Brown had plenty of penalties - questionable calls, but who cares? It's a time to practice man-down anyway. Or was it?

Starting sometime in the second or third quarter, the Jaspers ran a stall offense on man-up, literally standing still with the ball in their stick behind the net. Not - a - single - pass. At first, believing it to be a trick play that lulls the opponent to sleep before a quick cut from up top, the Bears stayed on their toes in their box-and-one. D-middie Mike Cummins' head swiveled around looking for the sneak attack, but alas, there was none.

Brown fans were baffled and unamused, especially when it continued to happen on every Brown penalty for the rest of the five quarter game! "You're wasting my time!" and "Let the kids play!" were heard from the Bears faithful. Understandably so. In pre-season, where the coaches ultimately have control over the match (five quarters for example), it is a time for the players to get up to game speed. Stalling on man-up, for whatever reason, is a waste of your opponent's time. The Bears came down from Providence to get better on Saturday, but their man-down might as well have practiced at home. Eventually, they decided to press out and try to take the ball away.

Had the Jaspers simply not put in a man-up play yet? Was it because Inside Lacrosse ranked the Brown man-down unit third in a pre-season poll? Did Manhattan have a secret weapon that they didn't want to be seen on film yet? The sidelines were lost until we found the answer after the game. Apparently, the Jaspers had not run their earlier man-up plays as practiced, and the Manhattan coaching staff decided to teach them a little lesson as to who's calling the shots. 'Run our plays, or don't run at all.' I don't know what their incentive (READ: punishment) was to keep the players from even passing the ball, but the Jaspers responded and the Bears once again garnered a great man-down percentage.

While I would've been aggravated as an opposing player (admittedly, I was aggravated as a fan), there's something to be learned from Manhattan's coaching decision. Sometimes, a coach has to make decisions that not everyone agrees with, regardless of the consequences, but in the end proving a point. Now the Jaspers are forced to work their man-up even harder in practice and hope to be ready for the season. Maybe it's just the kind of motivation that will work. We'll see.

Hofstra Lacrosse Coaches Clinic

By Reece

Spent the morning on Long Island at the Hofstra Lacrosse Coaches Clinic, courtesy of Coach Seth Tierney. He had a huge turnout for his clinic for youth and high school coaches and we took a few minutes to promote HOMEFIELD and talk with the coaches in attendance. Great responses from the coaches of the traditional hot-bed for the game of lacrosse. We can't wait to start letting in users from the LI high school area. It's such a solid area for high school sports, and we know HOMEFIELD can make an impact for a lot of programs there.

A side note on Hofstra... what a facility! Coach Tierney gave us a quick tour and it was well worth it. I never saw the offices before, but they've really made some nice upgrades - including a stadium-seating classroom dedicated to game film! Watch out for Hofstra this year; they will be a well-prepared team (though I'll still be rooting against them on March 1. Go Brown Bears!).

Thanks to Coach Tierney, his staff and team for having us, and thanks to all the coaches for their interest in HOMEFIELD.