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THE Ohio 7on7 Collective, an organized group of high school and middle school coaches, today launched its platform to protect Ohio football athlete eligibility.
Playing outside of THE Collective poses unnecessary risks, including the potential violation of OHSAA guidelines and a lack of safety measures like our helmets.” - Chris Gillam, Executive Director of THE Ohio 7on7 Collective
CINCINNATI, OH, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2024 /EINPresswire / -- THE Ohio 7on7 Collective, an organized group of high school and middle school coaches, today launched its platform for Ohio Football athletes. THE Ohio 7on7 Collective serves to protect athletes' eligibility who want to play 7on7 football amidst the new OHSAA rule changes. On April 5th, 2024, OHSAA Expanded 7on7 Football opportunities after the restriction of players participating in 7on7 events was highlighted in late February 2024, when Shaker Heights defensive back Trey McNutt was suspended for a game this fall because he played in a national 7on7 tournament in January 2024.
The new OHSAA rule change allows a limit of seven football players from the same school to play together in a 7on7 competition. There is no limit on the number of 7on7 competitions in which a player or coach can participate. After May 15, there is no change to the current regulation. This means there is no limit on the number of players from the same school team who can compete together in a 7on7 competition.
“In uniting Ohio's football coaches, THE Ohio 7on7 Collective aims to elevate the standard of 7on7 events while providing an opportunity for players to showcase their skills and join a community that prioritizes their safety and development. By participating in Collective-sanctioned events, players benefit from insurance coverage and protection against violating OHSAA rules, ensuring compliance during competitions. The use of GameBreaker SoftShell helmets will significantly reduce the risk of head injuries. Playing outside of THE Collective poses unnecessary risks, including the potential violation of OHSAA guidelines and a lack of safety measures like our helmets. With 20 tournament providers in our network, we are dedicated to providing a superior environment for our athletes that prioritizes their well-being and maximizes their exposure." says Chris Gillam, Executive Director of THE Ohio 7on7 Collective.
THE Ohio 7on7 Collective will oversee the formation of 7on7 teams ensuring OHSAA rules are followed by teams to protect athlete eligibility. In order to do so, THE Ohio 7on7 Collective has partnered with Sports Thread, a leading Software-as-a-Service company in the youth sports market. Sports Thread's“Play Safe” service will register athletes, capture and validate critical information to ensure that no team playing within the Collective has more than 7 athletes from any high school and all athletes are within the proper age and grade range for eligibility.
“Sports Thread has become a leader in the youth and amateur sports community by providing software that ensures athletes are able to participate in safe and fair programming. Any athlete who is a part of the Collective can play 7on7 without worrying they will harm their eligibility and future in Football.” Said Sean Leary, CEO of Sports Thread.
The Collective and Sports Thread have created a comprehensive registration and data validation process to protect athlete eligibility require athletes to:
- Enter the school they attend in their registration for THE Collective.
- Submit a photo of a current school transcript/grade card / school ID.
- Submit proof of age.
- Input a headshot of themselves for game-day check in to ensure they are a part of the Collective and on a verified roster.
- Sports Thread will query the verified results using a variety of data science tools to ensure that no team has more than 7 athletes from one school. Athletes are not added to a roster until their school and age are authenticated.
- Athletes will be checked in through their Sports Thread profile once they have passed Sports Thread's“Play Safe” validation process. When an athlete checks in on gameday their headshot and roster will be made instantly visible to event organizers.
THE Ohio 7on7 Collective will host tryouts for 7on7 teams on November 23rd and 24th, 2024. All athletes must register and complete Sports Thread verification before attending tryouts. Athletes will be added to the teams they selected during registration on December 2nd. 7on7 coaches will have 48 hours to review and accept or remove athletes from their rosters, with a maximum of 7 from any school. On December 4th, before rosters are finalized, Sports Thread will check and remove any players from teams in excess of 7 from the same school. On October 5th, Coaches will then be given the ability to draft athletes from a pool of players who are not rostered until December 8th, 2024. Rosters will be locked and no new athletes may be added after December 8th. First games will be played on December 14th, 2024 and on into the 2025 season.
About The Ohio 7on7 Collective
The Ohio 7on7 Collective is an organized group of coaches from high school and middle school teams, along with leaders from their feeder youth programs, who work collaboratively to coordinate and participate in 7on7 events in a structured and professional manner. Our mission is to deliver exceptional programming to Ohio's youth athletic community, grounded in two core principles: safety and compliance for our student-athletes.
About Sports Thread
Sports Thread, based in Denver, Colorado, offers a Software-as-a-Service platform to sports businesses and a free self-promotion platform for the 160 million student-athletes, coaches, parents, and fans in the sports market. The Company was founded by Sean Leary, a former Division 1 college pitcher who was featured in USA Today as one of the“Top 10 Most Innovative Entrepreneurs of 2021”. The Sports Thread app is consistently a Top-100 ranked sports app in the Apple App Store out of more than 40,000 sports apps. The Sports Thread network, including its mobile app, Software-as-a-Service platform and social media sites, is used by more than two million individuals in the athletic community annually.
For Press, contact: Sean Leary
Sports Thread Inc.
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