Welcome to “3-3-3 with YB” – three key insights in three minutes for education-based athletics leaders. I’m Jon Youngblood, Co-Founder of Play Axion. From 33 years in Texas education, including 500+ wins as a head basketball coach, plus 5 years in K-12 athletic software, our team at Play Axion has seen what works and what doesn’t. Today’s focus: UIL Playoffs Coordination. Here are three things that should make you think differently, share with your staff, and take action on.
Insight 1: The Foundation – Know Your Neutral Site Reality
It’s Tuesday morning, and your team just clinched the district title. By Friday, you need to have a venue secured, opponent coordination complete, and logistics locked down. Every AD and head coach I know has been here, staring at a 72-hour window to pull together what should take weeks to plan properly.
In my 33 years coaching and working in Texas education, I learned something crucial: the schools that never scramble for postseason venues do one thing differently. They map their neutral site options in August, not November. As a head coach with 500+ wins, I made this mistake exactly once – waiting until we clinched to start thinking about UIL playoffs logistics. Never again.
Here’s the foundation most ADs miss – UIL playoffs coordination isn’t just about finding an available field. You’re managing two fan bases, travel logistics, officials assignments, and revenue splits while your coaches are trying to prepare for the biggest games of the season. Our team designed Play Axion’s Playoff Planner specifically for this chaos because we know that 90% of UIL playoffs stress comes from venue uncertainty.
Bottom line: Start building your neutral site database now. Know capacity, costs, and contact information for every viable venue within your region before you need them.
Insight 2: The Challenge – The 48-Hour Coordination Nightmare
Here’s what happens every November across Texas: ADs and head coaches get 48 hours to coordinate what professional sports teams plan for months. After 33 years in Texas education and 500+ wins as a head coach, I’ve watched this disaster unfold hundreds of times. School A wants their “home” venue. School B has the same idea. Nobody wants to drive 200 miles. The coin flip happens on Thursday. The game is on Friday.
In year 18 of coaching, I realized the real problem isn’t finding venues – it’s the communication breakdown between multiple parties working on different timelines with different priorities. You’re texting the other AD or head coach while calling venue managers and emailing officials coordinators. Everything happens at once with zero room for error.
What our team at Play Axion discovered is that successful postseason coordination requires three things happening simultaneously: venue confirmation, stakeholder notification, and contract finalization. Most ADs and head coaches handle these sequentially because they don’t have systems that support parallel processing.
Action step: This week, create a UIL playoffs coordination checklist with contact information for every person you’ll need to reach during crunch time. Test those phone numbers and email addresses now, not when you’re under pressure.
Insight 3: The Opportunity – Technology Finally Catches Up
Here’s what’s changing in postseason coordination: the ADs and head coaches who embrace digital solutions are getting their venues locked down while others are still playing phone tag. The old way – spreadsheets, phone calls, and hoping for the best – just can’t handle the speed and complexity of modern UIL playoffs coordination.
From 500+ wins to founder, with 33 years in Texas education, including coaching and administration, I’ve learned that the best systems are invisible until you need them. As a coach, I hated wasting time on logistics when I should have been focusing on my team. As an administrator, I saw how UIL playoffs chaos affected entire athletic departments. As Co-Founder of Play Axion, our team built the Playoff Planner because we got tired of watching great ADs and head coaches waste time on coordination chaos instead of supporting their teams.
The opportunity right now is massive. Most of your competition is still coordinating postseason events like it’s 1995. Districts that adopt comprehensive playoff management systems are securing better venues, reducing stress, and delivering superior experiences for their communities.
Challenge: Pick one aspect of postseason coordination that frustrated you last season. Research digital solutions that address that specific pain point. The ADs who master UIL playoffs technology will be the ones who consistently deliver championship experiences.
That’s your 3-3-3 for July. Three insights that should change how you think about UIL playoffs coordination. Pick ONE to share with your staff this week. Take ONE action step. Because that’s how we grow – together, one conversation and one improvement at a time. From 500+ wins to founder, our team at Play Axion is building solutions for the problems that matter to your program.
Your 3 Action Steps:
- Think: Which insight hits closest to home for your program?
- Share: Pass one takeaway to a colleague who needs to hear it
- Do: Pick one specific action and try it this month
Ready to streamline your operations and get back to what matters most?
