In the 2025 season, Texas high school football teams will have access to a play-calling technology allowing coaches to transmit plays directly to their players.
North Crowley High School unveils its 2025 football schedule for Texas high school football.
According to
a report by TexasFootball.com
The University Scholastic League (UIL) has sanctioned wearable play-calling technology for the forthcoming 2025 high school football season.
The Texas association emphasized in an emailed statement to athletic directors and coaches that although this wearable tech has received approval, it is intended solely as a wristband-type device rather than for helmet-based coach-to-player communications.
UIL informed athletic directors and football coaches via email about allowing coach-to-player communication during the 2025 season through restricted one-way wearable tech in football games. As stated, this does not involve direct helmet communications; instead, it uses devices similar to wristbands to relay messages to players.
Per the report, the new wristband-like communication is unique in a sense because of the following ways of how it will be utilized:
• Wristbands equipped with tech can facilitate communication solely between coaches and players for real-time play strategies during games.
• Communication from coaches-to-players can only come from the coaching booth or press box
• The communication between coaches and players occurs exclusively through text messages, with no audio permitted.
• The innovative tech is a unidirectional play-communication wristband system designed for coaches to players.
Sign stealing by coaches was a concern at the UIL 2024 high school football state championships to the point that people were removed from games for it.
There were individuals disqualified from the state championship games due to sign-stealing,” stated Joe Martin, the executive director of the Texas High School Coaches Association, to the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “Our coaches strongly insist on having access to this, although some may choose to utilize it while others might not.
One Texas high school football head coach via a report said that his team may use the new technology, but are unsure since use of it would’ve been needed during the current spring football period.
“There is a possibility that we might use it, but I don’t know how much,” Coppel head coach Antonio Wiley said to the
Tyler Morning Telegraph
. “The things that we do, mostly with formations, I think it would be harder for us to revert to that in this short of a time frame without having used it in spring ball. I think it’s an advantage for guys who are worried about their offensive signals and formations and plays being stolen during the course of the game.”
A few weeks back, GoRout from Minnesota, which manufactures wristband-style communication devices, issued a statement addressing the UIL’s approval of their technology for use during the 2025 season.
“The Liberty League trial established a precedent for the creative methods coaches use to communicate with players,” stated Drew Robinson, the Chief Partnerships Officer at GoRout.
a press release via the company’s website
. “We’re thrilled that Texas coaches recognize the value of wearables and understand that this is where the game is headed. Texas is leading the way when it comes to innovation in football, and we expect this to set a precedent for teams and leagues at all levels.”
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— Andy Villamarzo |
[email protected]
| @Dailyexe
This article was originally published on
www.si.com/high-school
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Texas’ UIL approves wearable wristband play-calling technology for 2025
.
