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Motiv Launch Event Showcases Leadership in High School Sports Technology

Cincinnati, OH — October 2025 — Motiv, a sports-technology company modernizing the operations of high school athletic departments, successfully hosted its official launch event at the University of Cincinnati’s Nippert Stadium on October 22, 2025. The event brought together athletic directors, coaches, university leaders, and industry partners to celebrate the introduction of Motiv’s unified platform for communication, scheduling, and program management.


Attendees listening to the speaker panel at the Motiv Launch Party at Nippert Stadium West Pavilion

The launch drew strong engagement from school leaders who are actively seeking solutions to the rising administrative demands placed on athletic departments. Throughout the evening, conversations consistently highlighted long-standing challenges related to communication, scheduling inefficiencies, staffing pressures, compliance expectations, and the need for digital systems built specifically for high school sports.



Panel Discussion Highlights

A central feature of the event was a panel discussion with Dr. David J. Kelley, CMAA; Brian Phelps, CMAA; and Eddie Taylor, who offered forward-looking insights into the future of athletic department management. The panel explored how budgets and resource allocation will shift meaningfully over the next five to seven years. Dr. Kelley shared findings from his research, noting a clear national trend toward increased investment in communication technology, athlete safety, and staffing, with substantial differences between large, mid-sized, and small school districts. Mr. Taylor expanded on this perspective by discussing the growing influence of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the high school level, explaining that Ohio is likely to follow states that have already adopted NIL opportunities for student-athletes. He emphasized the importance of early policy development, transparency, and education to prepare schools of all sizes for this shift.



Mr. Phelps provided a practitioner’s lens, describing how Indian Hill High School is already adapting its long-term planning to prioritize digital infrastructure, more strategic capital deployment, and improved operational workflows. The panel then discussed the evolving daily responsibilities of athletic directors, acknowledging that ADs are increasingly expected to manage everything from facilities and events to communication, fundraising, compliance, and staff development. Mr. Taylor noted that NIL oversight will become an additional operational layer for athletic departments, while Dr. Kelley highlighted how revenue-generating opportunities—such as sponsorships and naming rights—will play a more prominent role in the years ahead.


The panel concluded with a discussion on artificial intelligence, with all three speakers agreeing that AI will transform athletic departments by automating routine tasks, improving communication efficiency, enhancing scheduling and game-day operations, and enabling administrators to make more data-informed decisions.


Fireside Chat: Coaching Today & Tomorrow

The event also featured a fireside chat with Head Coach Gage Woolley and Head Coach John Rodenberg, who provided authentic on-the-ground perspectives about how the coaching profession has evolved and where it is heading. Coach Woolley opened the conversation by sharing his personal “why,” explaining that coaching stems from a lifelong love of sport and the fulfillment he gets from mentoring students over several years. He spoke about the unique privilege of watching athletes mature and grow, especially as his current senior class represents the same group he began coaching when they were freshmen.



Coach Rodenberg reflected on how coaching has changed since he first entered the profession. Early in his career, the role was centered on fundamentals—being organized, communicating clearly, and running structured practices that earned the respect of players and parents. Over time, however, he explained that coaching has become far more relationship-driven. Emotional intelligence, understanding student needs, and creating environments where athletes feel supported have become essential components of the modern coaching toolkit. He noted that technology has also reshaped expectations, with tools like Hudl, Motiv, and digital communication systems becoming indispensable in today’s programs.


Looking to the next five to seven years, Rodenberg shared that future coaches will need to be adaptable, empathetic, and increasingly comfortable with technology and data. He anticipates that personalization, analytics, and AI-supported insights will become standard at the high school level, but emphasized that the heart of coaching—connection, culture, and mentorship—will remain paramount. When discussing staffing, Rodenberg acknowledged that recruiting assistant coaches is becoming more challenging due to increased training requirements, growing regulatory expectations, and limited financial resources. He emphasized that strong program culture and a supportive environment will be essential to attracting and retaining quality coaches.



To close the conversation, Rodenberg delivered a message to the athletic directors in attendance: programs thrive when ADs trust their coaches and empower them to build culture. He emphasized that support and partnership from athletic administration directly impact the growth and well-being of student-athletes.


Strong Community and Institutional Support

Motiv extends its sincere appreciation to the organizations that supported the launch event:


Their partnership reflects a shared commitment to elevating the future of high school sports and empowering students, coaches, and administrators.


Looking Ahead

Following the successful launch, Motiv now enters its next phase: onboarding partner schools, expanding platform capabilities, and continuing to build partnerships that support long-term innovation in athletic administration. The strong response to the event reinforces the urgent need for modern tools designed specifically for the unique workflows of athletic departments.



About Motiv: High School Sports Technology

Motiv is a sports management software dedicated to transforming how high school athletic programs operate. Motiv is a software designed specifically for high school athletic departments. It gives athletic directors easy access to their teams while automating announcements, group chats, calendars, attendance, team merchandise and fundraising, and more for teams so that you can spend less time worrying about communications and administration, and more time out on the field with your athletes! Built by former student-athletes and coaches, Motiv’s mission is to empower coaches, streamline administrative processes, and elevate the experience of student-athletes and their families.



Media Contact

TheMotivApp Inc.



 
 
 
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