Triple Crown Sports Teams Up with HiCast Sports Network to Bring Families Across America Together on One Playing Field

Triple Crown Sports will host its second annual US Club Nationals at legendary East Cobb Baseball Complex in Marietta, Georgia on July 18 - 22, bringing together 12 baseball clubs from across the country and one from Canada representing 900 youth athletes from 9U to 14U age divisions to compete for coveted championship titles. Even though each of the teams will be competing in their own age divisions, they’ll be earning points for their clubs. Triple Crown Sports will crown one club the overall champion at the closing ceremonies to be held at The Battery Atlanta and SunTrust Park (home of the Atlanta Braves) on July 22.

Joe Santilli, Executive Director of Baseball for Triple Crown Sports, shares “The geographic representation is phenomenal. We limit how many clubs we invite from each region. Our criteria is not just performance on the field. We invite clubs that are highly competitive and highly organized. They’ll be 10-16 games in each division, but because of the high caliber of play, you know every game is going to be a good one.” Clubs represented in this year’s event include:

• Alabama – Central Alabama Nationals
• California – South Bay Surf
• Colorado – Slammers Baseball
• Florida – Five Star Tigers
• Georgia – 6-4-3 DB Baseball, Georgia Bombers and East Cobb Baseball
• North Carolina – EvoShield Canes
• Oregon – Mound Time Baseball
• Texas – Dallas Patriots and Dallas Tigers
• Virginia – Tidewater Drillers
• Ontario, Canada – Fieldhouse Pirates

Triple Crown Sports selected East Cobb Baseball Complex to host the US Club Nationals because of the park’s reputation. “It’s a beautiful facility. Well kept. The East Cobb Baseball organization is legendary in travel baseball. And what we saw last year with the HiCast Sports Network at East Cobb Baseball Complex was just great. It enhanced the experience,” shared Santilli. True to their core value of putting “Family First,” Triple Crown Sports goes beyond the competition on the field to create a fun experience for the whole family including tickets to an Atlanta Braves game and tours at the new SunTrust Park and entertainment at The Battery Atlanta.

“Triple Crown Sports is about building memories. And our events are all about providing those moments that will give someone a lifelong memory. When I was originally involved as a coach with Triple Crown Sports, I still have these crystal clear memories in my head of teams that I coached in the Steam Boat World Series, but HiCast is actually capturing those memories. So no matter how clear it is in my head, no matter how I explain these memories to someone, it’s never going to be the same. HiCast makes it possible for someone to save and actually show it to someone. Triple Crown Sports is creating the event for these memories to happen, and HiCast is capturing them, which is just a great addition and a great partnership for us.”

Catch the entire tournament live or on-demand July 18-22 on the HiCast Sports Network using your mobile device or computer and use our HiCast Sports mobile app to save and share your favorite highlights from the tournament. Championship Games for 13U and 14U will also be televised on ESPN3.

Covering the Leap of Faith at Baseball Heaven

Salvatore Catanzaro of Woodridge, NJ started playing baseball at age four at the local YMCA in Garfield, NJ. While most kids his age were focused on learning to hit the ball off a tee, Salvatore’s dad Sal was pitching balls to him from the get-go in the backyard or at the local park. “As soon as he was able to stand up and walk, he had a bat in his hand,” shared Sal Catanzaro.

By age six, his early skill in the recreational league caught the eye of a Legit Baseball Club coach. They sought him out to join their competitive team of top players throughout Bergen County – a team of eight and nine year-olds. “He was pitching, and he held his own despite the age difference,” said Sal. Salvatore’s been playing for the Legit Baseball Club travel team ever since, competing in tournaments not only in the northeast, but up and down the east coast. Salvatore will often play 5-6 games most weekends throughout the spring and summer months. “It’s a lot of commitment and sometimes it’s tough, but it’s fun,” shares Sal. 

While many young athletes playing travel baseball tend to focus intensively on the sport year-round to stay competitive, Salvatore builds his confidence and skills with a focus on speed and agility – training four days each week, while playing other sports year round.

But something special happened on a baseball field at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank, NY on Saturday, June 10. Salvatore’s team, Legit Baseball Club 10U, was playing in one of several National Youth Baseball Championship Qualifier games that weekend. It was the third inning of the game, and Salvatore’s team had the lead but the score was close. Salvatore had just stolen third base. His coach at third told Salvatore that if the catcher drops the ball and it goes behind him, “You’re stealing on the pitch.” 

And it happened. Salvatore shared, “I was ready to run, but then I hesitated to go back to the base. And then I was like, ‘you know what, I’m just gonna go.’ I was going and when the catcher got the ball I thought ‘oh no, why am I doing this?’ and I had to think of something fast. I’m too small to run over the catcher, but I knew I could jump over him, so I did.” And after the umpire called “Safe!”… Salvatore shared, “I felt amazing.”

But his dad wasn’t there to see it. “I couldn’t make it to the game because I had to work,” shared Sal. He works for the Post Office so he’s never able to make his son’s games on Saturdays. Shortly after Salvatore scored, a dad of a teammate sent a text message to Sal telling him that his son just jumped over the catcher to score. Sal confessed that he didn’t think much about it, even after Salvatore came home after the game and told him about it. “I just thought, he does crazy stuff like this all the time.”

The next morning, another teammate’s dad used the HiCast Sports mobile app to replay that highlight from the game on-demand. The HiCast Sports Network covers games live and on-demand in partnership with Baseball Heaven and other top ballparks nationwide. The user saved the video highlight from the game, and shared it with Sal via text message so he could watch it.

Sal said, “I didn’t think anyone had video of it. It was just so clear. If I had been there video taping it, it wouldn’t have been the same because the camera angle was so perfect. Having the HiCast Sports Network there… it was just meant to be. When I saw the video and showed it to Salvatore, he said ‘I told you I did that!’ He was very happy that it was actually on a video that he could save and share with his friends.” Salvatore texted the video to his friends and shared it on his Instagram account. What did his friends think? Salvatore replied, “Some of them didn’t even believe it was me!” 

Sal shared the highlight with a friend who shared the highlight on Twitter and within no time, the video went viral – viewed, retweeted, shared, and applauded by millions of fans worldwide throughout social media, fueled by traditional media shares from ESPN, USA Today, Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, and the Washington Post. The highlight went on to land in the number one spot of Sports Center’s Top Ten Plays of the week. “I was amazed. I felt really proud,” said Salvatore. 

The Washington Post likened Salvatore’s jump over the catcher to a similar move unsuccessfully executed by MLB Pirates player Andrew McCutchen just the week before, but Salvatore hadn’t seen it. Sal shared, “The funny thing is, he didn’t copy anyone. He rarely watches TV because he’s always doing something outside. The timing of it was pure coincidence.”

Sal shared, “There were lots of comments on the video and I’ve read some but the one that really stood out to me was from a guy who said, ‘If this was my son, I’d be so proud of him.’ I’m not sure who wrote it, but it was a really nice comment. It was a special moment. I’m so happy that HiCast Sports has cameras at these fields.”

“We’re all about bringing families together around youth sports and giving our users the power to save and share the moments that matter with the people who matter most. We’re proud to partner with our venues like Baseball Heaven across the country to cover memorable moments like this one by Salvatore.” said Stephanie Calabrese, Chief Brand Officer and Co-founder of the HiCast Sports Network.

Salvatore and his team lost their semi-final game that weekend and didn’t qualify for the National Youth Baseball Championship Finals, but you can find Salvatore in a number 7 jersey pitching or playing center field (or over home plate doing the #salvatoresteal) for the Legit Baseball Club on the HiCast Sports Network at Baseball Heaven in Yaphank NY, Diamond Nation in Flemington, NJ and Sports at the Beach in Georgetown, DE.

This video is © HiCast Sports Network. For media inquiries or usage requests, send an email to: scalabrese@hicastsports.com

East Cobb Baseball on the HiCast Sports Network

We're proud to partner with East Cobb Baseball Complex where we're covering their nationally-ranked East Cobb Baseball teams and travel ball tournaments lead by Triple Crown Sports, Perfect Game, CABA and Travel Ball Select hosted at this legendary ballpark in Marietta, Georgia.

Documenting a Day at East Cobb Baseball Complex

Guerry Baldwin, founder of East Cobb Baseball Complex

We sure loved documenting a day at East Cobb Baseball Complex. ECB is the legendary, nationally-recognized youth baseball program and facility lead by founder Guerry Baldwin with support from his top-notch staff including Director of Baseball Operations, Jamie Crane. 

"Do we have really good players? We do. Have we had a lot who have done incredibly well? We have. But it's also about kids having fun with the game, and getting better no matter what their level is." – Guerry Baldwin

Wishing BIG luck to Caleb Reis, 16-year old athlete for the ECB Astros. Catcher, pitcher and first baseman. Super impressed with this young man who spent time with us yesterday. His high school team, Mt. Bethel Christian Academy, will play in the State Championship game at ECB this Monday night.

We can't wait to share the video story with you! And we sure are proud to have ECB among our partners.

Caleb Reis, ECB Astros 16U, catcher, pitcher and first baseman

Jamie Crane, Director of Baseball Operations at East Cobb Baseball Complex

Android? We've got you covered.

We're excited to announce the official release of our HiCast Sports App for Android today! Now you can stay in the game and share the Moments That Matter™ using any device. Anytime. Anywhere. Create your HiCast Sports account to get started, then download our app from the Google Play Store.

Need help? Check our answers to frequently asked questions or give our coaching staff a shout.

Catch Your Game and Highlights on the Big Screen

You asked for it, so we delivered! Now you can watch games live and on-demand, and follow subscriber highlights shared in our HiCast Feed using our Web Viewer on your computer. We've already heard from some grandparents telling us how much they love watching your games when they can't be in the stands. Sharing your Moments that Matter™ with the people who matter most makes us happy!

If you're already a HiCast Sports Network subscriber, you can login to our Web Viewer just as you would using our HiCast Sports mobile app. Your one account works across all of our viewing platforms. To save, edit and share your favorite highlights from the game, you'll need our app for that.

If you're new to our HiCast Sports Network, join now and try it for free! We've got a 24-hour free pass waiting for you.

Sitting in the Stands? Live tag your moments on the field!

Did you know that you can use our mobile app like a remote control to live-tag your player's game while you keep your eyes on the field? It's easy.

Make sure your location services is turned on for our HiCast Sports app. If it is, we'll serve up our super cool Live Tag feature when you visit one of our ballparks. Find your venue, then the field and game in our app, and tap the Live Tag bar to reveal the tag screen. It's synced with our cameras so when a great hit or play happens, tap to tag your moments, then edit and share 'em between innings or after the game.

Need help? Give us a shout and someone from our coaching staff will get right back to you.

Come Test Drive Our HiCast Sports App for Android

We've got a pre-release of our Android app ready for you to try now in the Google Play Store! 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.hicast.android

Test drive our Android app to watch games on-demand, and save and share your favorite highlights. We're still refining our live view, adding more features like our zoom tool and the ability to make highlight reels, and tightening functionality to get it ready for prime time. But we're eager to get it in your hands, and we welcome your feedback!

You can share comments, issues and questions with us in the Google Play Store after you download the app, or give us a shout and include your Android device type and version information found in your Device settings.

Welcome NYO Sports to the HiCast Sports Network

We're proud to welcome our newest venue partner, Northside Youth Organization (NYO Sports), home to young athletes, in Atlanta, Georgia. We'll be covering the Wilkins Field, and bringing you their youth baseball games for their Broncos and Majors teams starting this weekend, NYO's Jane Wilkins Baseball/Softball Opening Day. Welcome NYO Sports players, coaches, families and fans!

Welcome Spring-Klein Sports Association

Updated April 4: We're fired up to welcome our newest venue partner, Spring Klein Sports Association, home of many great World Series and championship teams, in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston. We'll be covering their 14 baseball fields, and bringing you their full lineup of youth baseball and adult softball league games and Nations Baseball Travel Tournaments.  

We are currently working through the final stages of integration for the Spring Klein ballpark installation. We're eager to get the games in your hands, and we'll give you a heads up when we're live soon. Welcome Spring-Klein players, coaches, families and fans!

Envisioning the Future of Entertainment

We're thankful and proud to have contributed our perspective in the creation of this compelling report on The Future of Entertainment According to AT&T Foundry created by AT&T Foundry, Ericsson, and Rocketspace. This report from The Futurist Report Series puts forward  10 Bold Projections:

1. User-generated content will become part of primetime television

2. Algorithms will enable the Gold Age of Storytelling

3. Media companies will be run by fans

4. A digital rights revolution will empower creators

5. A new media gateway will emerge as your TV Guide

6. Virtual assistants will win your living room (and your Connected Life)

7. Screens will be fluid, not fixed

8. Live experiences will transcend boundaries of time and space

9. Media will be emotionally intelligent

10. Immersive experiences will be full-sensory and social

We're aligned with and excited by these projections, and we believe that you – the player, the coach, the fan – should not only have access to the media you care about, but be empowered to save and share the memories that matter most to you.

Our latest app update is ready for you!

We've been working hard to continue to improve your experience with our HiCast Sports Network and we're excited to announce that our latest app update, version 3.03, is now ready for you. If your iOS device is set to auto update your apps, you've got it in your hands. If not, go to the App Store app and tap Updates. You'll find our HiCast Sports update waiting for you. 

In this update, we've squashed some bugs, improved video playback performance, and made some enhancements to your user experience. Now you can...

– Move forward and back in the event video timeline with more precision to find your favorite highlights. Tap the arrows to move second-by-second, or tap and hold to jump in 10-second increments.

– Get real-time camera status updates letting you know when a camera is live or temporarily down, and the ability to request a notification when the camera status changes.

– Follow all the highlights from your favorite venue. Just tap on the Search icon on the HiCast Feed screen and you'll see all user highlights sorted by venue. 

– Track your highlight views. When you share a highlight in our HiCast Feed, you can now see your number of views. Just tap on the views to see who liked your highlight.

We hope you love it, and we're here if you need any help. Check our Support page for answers to frequently asked questions or give us a shout support@hicastsports.com.

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Support the Cypress Mounds Flood Relief Tournament

Baseball brings families together, and we're so proud to have Cypress Mounds in Baton Rouge, LA as one of our newest ballpark partners.

Our friends and fans in the southern parts of LA suffered great tragedy due to record rainfall in August that lead to catastrophic flooding. It submerged thousands of houses and businesses and has been called the worst US natural disaster since Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

This weekend, several hundred young ball players ages 9-14, their coaches and families will come together for the Cypress Mounds Flood Relief Tournament. Please tune in to show your support by watching these players on our HiCast Sports Network this weekend. A portion of your in-app HiCast Pass purchase goes right back to our ballpark partners.

HiCast Sports Network Featured on Futurecast Innovation Series

Moderator Andrew Keen interviews HiCast Sports Network Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie Calabrese, in a collaborative discussion on Technology Shaping the Future of Sports at AT&T Park, San Francisco, in conjunction with AT&T's SHAPE Tech Expo on July 15, 2016.

The Futurecast Technology Innovation Series is sponsored by AT&T Foundry and Ericsson. It's a series of discussion-based events that revolve around how technology is shaping our world and bring together leaders in technology, government, business and beyond. Attendees debate and challenge one another to vet current solutions and propose new ones to move our collective technology future forward.

Futurecast: How Technology is Enhancing the Fan Experience

"Just as technology has reshaped so many aspects of daily life, it’s brought new dimensions to the way sports are played, as well as the ways fans engage with their favorite teams and players. From real-time data analytics, live streaming, virtual reality and more, sports in the 21st century is a whole new ball game." – futurecastseries.com

We're really honored to have been invited to participate in Futurecast, an ongoing technology series hosted by AT&T Foundry and Ericsson. On July 15 at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA, HiCast Sports Network leaders joined featured guest, Kenny Lauer, VP Marketing and Digital for the Golden State Warriors; moderator Andrew Keen, author, entrepreneur and Techcrunch chat show host; and a select group of sports technology innovators and media influencers for a salon-style discussion that explored "How Technology is Sharing the Future of Sports".

In this video excerpt from the event, hear Chief Brand Officer, Stephanie Calabrese, share a perspective from HiCast Sports Network, then catch more of the conversation at Futurecast.

We're on it!

Wow! Whoa. We've had a huge response since the launch of our newest app update, version 3.0, last Thursday. Since the launch, our team has been working to expand our capacity and refine our systems to manage this rapid growth in users and a significant increase in usage of our app.

During this time, we've been challenged to provide consistent live video coverage to all of our users, at all times. Please know that we're on it! And working 24/7 to enhance our platform over the next several days to keep up with growing demands so you'll see better and more consistent performance. Your games are important to all of us and we're committed to giving you the best experience possible. We appreciate your patience and continued support to help us make the HiCast Sports Network the best it can be.

If you experience any issues or have any questions, please contact us at support@hicastsports.com so we can take care of you.

HiCast Sports 3.0 is Here

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It's finally ready! After nearly a year of reinventing our technology platform for better performance and reliability, and creating a brand new mobile app user experience based on your feedback, our team is fired-up to place our newest and biggest app update, HiCast Sports 3.0, in your hands. Update your app and try it free today!

New Features We Think You'll Love

Watch continuous game coverage live and on-demand from our growing team of venues. Now you can be in the moment and watch the game as it's happening live or at your leisure.

Create and share a highlight reel of your favorite moments from the game, tournament, or season for recruiters or just for fun. We'll save and organize all of your highlights by date, time and tag for quick and easy access. 

Save and customize moments that matter. Tag and save your favorite game highlights whenever they happen as you watch it live or later. We make it easy to name, zoom, trim and share it.

Share your favorite highlights instantly in our new HiCast Feed, your social network for the ultimate sports experience. Now you can stay in the game by following highlights posted by your teammates, coaches and friends.

AT&T Foundry to Feature HiCast Sports in Upcoming Futurecast Technology Innovation Series

HiCast Sports Network has been selected to participate in the Futurecast Technology Innovation Series, created in partnership between AT&T Foundry (AT&T’s innovation group) and Ericsson. On July 15, we’ll join feature guest, Kenny Lauer, Vice President of Marketing and Digital of the Golden State Warriors, and be among a select group of innovative leaders to participate in a forward-looking, salon-style discussion on “Sports in the Digital World” at AT&T Park (SF Giants ballpark) in San Francisco, CA. This session will be viewed by a live audience of select invitees from the Bay Area (investors, media, technology and innovation influencers, academics, and entrepreneurs, etc.), as well as live online attendees via Periscope. 

It’s a unique and very timely opportunity for us to position HiCast Sports as a thought leader in helping to shape the future of sports and fan-based experiences. On July 16, we'll demo HiCast Sports at SHAPE AT&T Tech Expo with exposure to more than 2,000 innovators and sports-enthusiasts at AT&T Park. 

About the Futurecast Series – The Futurecast Technology Innovation Series is a series of discussion-based events that bring together leaders in technology, government, business and beyond to discuss how technology is shaping our world. These curated discussions with leaders are designed to vet, debate, and ultimately spark ideas that will set the course for our collective technology future. They’ll be filmed and shared globally through AT&T media channels.

Check out past Futurecast Series events.

Huddle up! We've got big news.

Our goal is simple – to make HiCast Sports fun and easy-to-use so you can enjoy the game no matter where you are, and share your favorite highlights with people you love. Thanks to your feedback, we’re making major league improvements to your app experience and we're reinventing the replay!

Here are 4 new features we think you'll love …

Watch live-streamed, continuous game coverage and up to six months of archived events from our ballparks, as well as your favorite athletes’ game highlights in the app or on our website.

No more one-minute replays. Tag and save your favorite game highlights your way! You define when your memorable moment happens and we make it easy to zoom, trim and share it.

Create and share a highlight reel of your favorite plays from the game, tournament, or season using our super simple video editor.

Build a fan base and support the team by sharing your highlights in our HiCast feed. Published highlights get unique URLs so they're easy to share!

Will you join our team of beta testers?

Sign up now to join our team of beta testers for version 3.0 and share your feedback with us. It’s a simple process and we’ll guide you through it. Be one of the first 100 users to sign up and participate, we’ll give you a free three-month single-user pass. Get on the list!

What you need to do to get ready for 3.0

If you want to keep replays you’ve downloaded in our current app version 2.1, save 'em to your camera roll. Here's how. When you update to 3.0, you won't be able to access these replays. From here on out we’ll save your new highlights in our cloud-based locker room for safe keeping so you won't have to do this again. We apologize for any inconvenience, but moving forward it'll be totally worth it!

Questions or need help? Give us a shout!

Sweet Victories, from Dugout to Dogpile

Ten minutes after Robert finalized our installation yesterday on Field One at Baseball USA Powered by Marucci in Houston, Texas, the first playoff game of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools State Championship began. Stellar teams from around the state came to vie for the coveted state title. The weather forecast for Houston predicted rain. I tuned in from sunny Georgia to watch the games from my front porch and caught a triple that drove in a run at 1:25pm ET :-)

While it’s awesome to see great plays happen through our cameras, watching the 4A and 5A championship winners celebrate after that last play of each game warmed our hearts. And we loved seeing players' moms and dads share our replays in Facebook. Sure, Time Warner broadcasted the games live too, but nothing's more fun than saving and sharing these magic moments right after they happen.

Big hi-fives to the winning teams, Concordia Lutheran High School from Tomball and Lutheran South Academy from Houston and a big hugs to the strong competitors they beat.