Looking for the best coaching and team management software?

Why a coach should move past GroupMe, Google Sheets, TeamSnap, TrainingPeaks, CoachNow, Hudl . . . and simplify it all with CrewLAB.

Why team management matters

If you coach a competitive rowing, swimming, or running program, you’re probably managing your team across a patchwork of apps that were never designed to work together. GroupMe for messaging. Google Sheets for workouts. Email for parents. Maybe TrainingPeaks for the serious athletes and Hudl for video. It works — until it doesn’t.

Based on years of coaching and years of trying everything, I founded CrewLAB. It is team management software endorsed by USRowing, USA Swimming, Rowing New Zealand, and Rowing Canada, used by 2,000+ competitive programs worldwide.

We continually survey the tools coaches commonly use to manage teams — from free messaging apps to dedicated coaching platforms. We look at our competition and listen to our customers.

When you look at the competition, you see that CrewLAB is your one-stop solution.

We have met the enemy: The Status Quo

Let’s name the real competitor: doing things the way you’ve always done them.

Coaches are resourceful and adaptable. They make the most of what they’ve got.

• GroupMe or WhatsApp for team messaging
• Google Sheets or Excel for workout plans and data
• Google Drive or Dropbox for video storage
• Email for parent communication and admin
• TrainingPeaks or Final Surge for the athletes who want performance data
• A whiteboard for motivation

Coaches report spending 8+ hours per week on administration instead of actual coaching.

And even with all that time spent . . .

• Important messages get buried in GroupMe threads.
• Athletes forget to check the Google Sheet.
• Video lives in three different folders.
• And none of it is SafeSport compliant.

Enter CrewLAB

CrewLAB solves the biggest problem: fragmentation itself.

Built by Simon Hoadley while coaching rowing at UCLA and now at LA Lions Rowing, CrewLAB puts communication, workouts, video, wellness tracking, leaderboards, and team culture in one platform designed for competitive endurance sports programs. Athletes engage with a team feed that creates peer visibility and voluntary accountability. Coaches track wellness trends and catch burnout before it becomes a crisis. And the entire platform is SafeSport compliant by design — no private coach-athlete messaging, transparent communication, endorsed by four Olympic national governing bodies.

The free tier includes unlimited athletes, video, chats, workouts, and more. Most teams start there and never need to upgrade.

What the results look like

Rowing New Zealand’s pathway program used CrewLAB to connect athletes scattered across the North and South Islands during their 2025 U19 and U22 campaigns. At the end of the season, athletes ranked CrewLAB alongside the training program itself as a top performance factor. Simon Wickham, CEO of Rowing New Zealand, called CrewLAB “a key pathway tool” for developing athletes.

Loyola Marymount University’s D1 rowing teams adopted CrewLAB and saw athletes begin journaling voluntarily and posting workouts without being asked.

The Basis for Comparison

A Deep Dive into the Competition and Features

Free messaging apps (GroupMe, WhatsApp, BAND)

These are the default starting point for most teams. They’re free, everyone already has them, and they work for basic group communication.

The problem: messaging apps weren’t designed for coaching. There’s no workout tracking, no wellness monitoring, no video organization, no leaderboards, and no SafeSport compliance. Private messaging is enabled by default, which creates risk for any program working with minors. Important information gets buried in a stream of messages. Three months into the season, finding that workout plan from September requires scrolling through thousands of messages.

When they make sense: for casual, recreational groups where the only need is basic coordination.

When to upgrade: when you need athletes to follow a training plan, track wellness, share video, or maintain SafeSport-compliant communication.

Spreadsheets (Google Sheets, Excel)

The coach’s Swiss Army knife. Workout plans, attendance logs, erg scores, race results — it all goes in the spreadsheet.

The problem: spreadsheets are powerful but invisible. Athletes don’t check them unless reminded. There’s no social engagement, no accountability mechanism, and no way to connect workout data with wellness or communication. Coaching success has never been about who keeps the best spreadsheets.

When they make sense: for individual data tracking where only the coach needs to see the information.

When to upgrade: when you want athletes to engage with their own data, hold each other accountable, and see the training plan as something they’re part of — not something done to them.

Scheduling and admin platforms (TeamSnap, SportsEngine)

TeamSnap is the most widely used team management app in the world, with 25 million users. SportsEngine handles league-level administration for youth sports organizations.

The problem for competitive coaches: these platforms solve admin problems (scheduling, RSVPs, fee collection, parent communication) but don’t address coaching problems (athlete development, team culture, buy-in, wellness, accountability). TeamSnap describes itself as the “easiest way to manage your team” — and for recreational programs where the main challenge is logistics, that’s accurate.

But if you run a competitive program where the challenge is getting 40 athletes to follow the training plan, build peer accountability, and develop as whole athletes — a scheduling app won’t get you there.

When they make sense: for recreational and youth programs where parent coordination and game scheduling are the primary needs.

When to upgrade: when your program is competitive and the challenge shifts from “who’s coming to practice” to “how do I build a culture that wins.”

Individual training platforms (TrainingPeaks, Final Surge, Strava)

These are excellent tools for individual athletes. TrainingPeaks is the standard for serious endurance athletes who want TSS scores, power curves, and periodized training plans. Final Surge delivers training plans affordably. Strava adds a social layer to individual activity.

The problem for team coaches: they’re designed for coach-to-individual-athlete relationships, not for teams. There’s no team feed, no peer accountability, no group communication, no wellness tracking across a roster, and no team culture features. Many coaches end up using TrainingPeaks for their top athletes AND GroupMe for team communication AND Google Sheets for everything else — which creates more fragmentation, not less.

When they make sense: for individual coaching relationships or athletes who want personal performance data alongside a team platform.

When to upgrade: when you need the team to function as a team, not just a collection of individuals following separate plans.

Video platforms (Hudl)

Hudl is the dominant video analysis platform for team ball sports — football, basketball, soccer. It’s built for game film review with tagging, clipping, and team playlists.

The problem for endurance sports: Hudl wasn’t designed for rowing, swimming, or running. The pricing reflects its enterprise focus. And it’s a video-only tool — you still need everything else alongside it.

When it makes sense: for football, basketball, and other sports where game film is the primary coaching tool.

When to upgrade: for endurance sports programs that need video alongside communication, workouts, and wellness in one place.

1:1 coaching platforms (CoachNow)

CoachNow is designed for private coaches working with individual athletes. Its video annotation tools are strong — frame-by-frame drawing, drill libraries, direct messaging.

The problem for team coaches: the platform is built around individual coach-athlete relationships, not team dynamics. There’s no team-wide feed, no peer accountability, no wellness tracking, and no SafeSport compliance features. Per-athlete pricing adds up quickly for larger programs.

When it makes sense: for private golf instructors, personal tennis coaches, or any 1:1 coaching relationship.

When to upgrade: when you’re coaching a team and need peer accountability, team culture, and shared experiences — not just individual feedback.

Frequently asked questions

Simon Hoadley is co-founder and president of CrewLAB and head coach of LA Lions Rowing. He built CrewLAB after years of managing a college rowing program with spreadsheets, GroupMe, and too many browser tabs.