As a coach, Mitch Mencis knows communication makes all the difference on, and off, the field.
Now he's got a game plan for ending those off-the-field miscues.
CoachesTown.com seeks an end to the bane of moms and dads everywhere - not knowing about time changes or cancellations of their children's soccer practices, swim meets or basketball games.
The brainchild of Mencis, parent Andrew Day and computer whiz Tim Blasko, the newly launched Web site allows coaches to e-mail parents and send text messages to their cell phones.
The service is free, and the site spreads the word to parents of children on any team anywhere there is Internet access, from Hackensack to Honolulu and points beyond, said Mencis, 24, of Sandown. The site also can spread the word to teens and adults in basketball, golf or bowling leagues.
The site has the potential to reach a lot of people, Mencis said. In Sandown and Chester alone, he said there are about 1,000 teams when you factor in every age, sport and season.
And the information is protected. Only the team members get the e-mail or text message.
Now all the site needs is people.
"We are actually seeking leagues to jump on board and use the system," said Day, 29, of Chester.
Mencis, Day, and Blasko, 24, of Watertown, Mass., said the site was born out of their own frustration.
Say, for example, that Mencis, a soccer and baseball coach at Timberlane Regional Middle School in Plaistow, gets word at 2 p.m. on game day from the athletic director that a 3 p.m. game has been canceled. Where's the time to call all of the parents on such short notice?
Mencis said he has a mental image of a parent showing up to an empty field, wondering where all the kids are. Later the parent tells the coach, "I got out of work early to see the game and there was no game."
Blasko remembers his mother getting upset in just that situation when he was a kid playing soccer.
Day, who has two sons, ages 5 and 7, who play baseball and soccer, said the "who called who when" topic is a popular one among parents on the sidelines whenever a practice time is changed.
With CoachesTown.com, parents can find out instantly when a last minute change has to be made.
The three friends demonstrated this at Day's home this week.
Day entered a reminder message on the site, clicked the mouse, and each of their cell phones rang, letting them know that a text message had arrived.
Now he's got a game plan for ending those off-the-field miscues.
CoachesTown.com seeks an end to the bane of moms and dads everywhere - not knowing about time changes or cancellations of their children's soccer practices, swim meets or basketball games.
The brainchild of Mencis, parent Andrew Day and computer whiz Tim Blasko, the newly launched Web site allows coaches to e-mail parents and send text messages to their cell phones.
The service is free, and the site spreads the word to parents of children on any team anywhere there is Internet access, from Hackensack to Honolulu and points beyond, said Mencis, 24, of Sandown. The site also can spread the word to teens and adults in basketball, golf or bowling leagues.
The site has the potential to reach a lot of people, Mencis said. In Sandown and Chester alone, he said there are about 1,000 teams when you factor in every age, sport and season.
And the information is protected. Only the team members get the e-mail or text message.
Now all the site needs is people.
"We are actually seeking leagues to jump on board and use the system," said Day, 29, of Chester.
Mencis, Day, and Blasko, 24, of Watertown, Mass., said the site was born out of their own frustration.
Say, for example, that Mencis, a soccer and baseball coach at Timberlane Regional Middle School in Plaistow, gets word at 2 p.m. on game day from the athletic director that a 3 p.m. game has been canceled. Where's the time to call all of the parents on such short notice?
Mencis said he has a mental image of a parent showing up to an empty field, wondering where all the kids are. Later the parent tells the coach, "I got out of work early to see the game and there was no game."
Blasko remembers his mother getting upset in just that situation when he was a kid playing soccer.
Day, who has two sons, ages 5 and 7, who play baseball and soccer, said the "who called who when" topic is a popular one among parents on the sidelines whenever a practice time is changed.
With CoachesTown.com, parents can find out instantly when a last minute change has to be made.
The three friends demonstrated this at Day's home this week.
Day entered a reminder message on the site, clicked the mouse, and each of their cell phones rang, letting them know that a text message had arrived.
CoachesTown.com isn't the only Web site of its kind, but Mencis said it's the only free one he is aware of.
The trio hopes to earn money by selling advertising on the site. But ultimately, they want CoachesTown.com to connect people and build a sense of community.
Another goal has been to make the service easy to use.
Mencis' father, who only recently learned how to turn on a computer, served as the test subject. When he was able to sign up, they knew it was ready to launch.
