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eTRaXC.com Article... continued from Page 1 
Question:
You mention on your website that you created eTRaXC.com (formerly CClog2.com) as a way to motivate your athletes to track
their summer training. Describe how you progressed from that simple goal to where eTRaXC.com is today.
BS: It has been kind of incredible how that happened. I am a math/computer programming teacher and when I was offered a chance to coach again at Robbinsdale (MN) Cooper High School (Steve Plascencia's alma mater) I recalled that, in my previous "coaching life" (when I had the good fortune to coach two state champions), I was never really happy with the accountability of paper-and-pencil mileage tracking programs. I felt that this was a way to try to keep the kids motivated throughout the course of the summer. Then one thing led to another. I had a couple of brave coaches try it that first summer (some of them are still with us) and I continued to use it during the season myself. Every process that I had to do in a manual, disconnected manner (with files of Word and Excel documents, etc) I tried to automate. I also have tapped in to the needs of the users to see what they wanted to see in it and that has been key in developing it to where it is now. Question: In a nutshell, what are the key features that users like the best? BS: Along with the things referenced above, the ability to accommodate training by mileage or minutes has been huge. The training statistics utility has been very well received, as has been the "My Logs" utility where you can manage weight, pulse, diet, sleep, shoe use, etc. The in-season management tools are also becoming much more incorporated into people's coaching repertoire. Question: You are currently in the process of migrating your website from the former CClog2.com to the new eTRaXC.com... tell us how the transition is going and when you expect to have everything moved and ready to roll? BS: We made the transition this weekend and it seems to have gone pretty well. There have been a couple of glitches that we are still working on but they are pretty minor. You can log in under either the old link or www.etraxc.com/ and you will arrive at the same site. Question: When you have completed your migration to eTRaXC.com (and actually have some more free time), what are some of the future upgrades you are planning for your service? BS: Boy, the list just keeps growing. I am personally excited about adding a site-based and team-based chat rooms where coaches and athletes that are online can "talk" to each other. I am also working on a "Personal" log (kind of like a diary) where kids can log things happening in their lives OTHER than running, an Injury log so coaches and individuals can track their injuries, time lost, rehab process, etc. I am also working on a utility that the college coaches could use to contact potential recruits for their programs. There is much, much more. I want to make it an age-graded program as well as a grade-level program. I want to make it able to import training and roster data from other utilities out there (Hy-Tek, for instance). Question: As a satisfied customer myself, I am still amazed at how inexpensive a subscription to eTRaXC.com is. Describe for others your subscription fee plan and what they can expect for that fee. BS: We charge $50/year for a single-gender team and $75/year for combined gender teams. There is no roster limit so coaches can have as big a team as they wish. They can also add multiple teams to their account for $25/year. We also offer a lifetime subscription for $250. I really think this is the way to go because you will get all future enhancements and upgrades, you can add multiple teams for free, and the subscription follows the coach if they leave their current school/team. This has been difficult to sell to people who see all the free (individual) training logs out there and wonder why we charge at all. First of all, those sites are supported by advertising and I personally find those pop-ups annoying. I am also not completely comfortable that my data is secure with some of them from a "spam" standpoint. All of these sites need to be supported somehow. I am certainly not getting rich on this. I am just trying to create a safe and versatile way to manage your team and I am charging what I need to keep my servers, software, etc able to handle the increased load. Secondly, there is really no comparison of features that our service includes. The things I have mentioned above are just scratching the surface. I would say the biggest reasons to use this service is that it is cheap (I hear that all the time from serious users), it is used by many of the best high school and college programs in the country, it is the best way to CONDITION kids to get regular about logging their training, and it facilitates team unity and communication during the off-season when teams generally become a little disjointed. Question: From our previous discussions, it's quite apparent that your background as a runner and coach has been a tremendous plus for you in developing eTRaXC.com. For those who don't know, briefly describe your background as a runner and a coach.  BS:
I was a "no-talent" kid (6:01 mile best in 11th grade) but, largely due to my parents and my coaches, I learned
the value of persistence and dedication. As a result, I was able to run a 4:25 college mile time (not a good time overall
but huge improvement for me). I kept running my entire life and ended up running a 2:38:39 marathon (pre mile, close to
how fast I ran in high school for a single mile). As a master I ran 15:38 for 5k on a certified course, and won the
Minnesota Master's Grand Prix event in 1995.
I became a student of the sport and, along with my family and my teaching, running defined me. I started the cross-country
program at a small Minnesota school in the 1980s and we were able to have a couple of state champions as well as a 3rd and
4th place team finish in the state meet. Everything I have learned from the sport I try to put into place in eTRaXC.
Question: Lastly... anything else you would like to include? BS: Probably the two things that I would try to get people to understand is that this service is developed and run by a coach for coaches and athletes. As a result, they will always have access to me, as I try to strike a balance between creating a professionally designed and functioning web service and still be available individually to help it become what people need it to become for THEIR program. The other thing is that, while we have a high level of retention from year-to-year, we do lose some teams. The reason is almost always about how frequently their kids used the service. I really believe that kids can be conditioned to use this type of a log much more easily than another type of log. It takes some work on the part of the coach and we are always looking for ways to make the site more attractive to the kids that are using it. I guess, in a nutshell, I don't understand why everyone wouldn't jump on this but I am a little biased. Sincerely~ Bob Schneider www.eTRaXC.com Bob Schneider is a former collegiate runner and high school teacher/coach in Minnesota who now devotes much of his free time developing his business - Hangar51 Software® | www.h51software.net | 952-474-3215 |
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