Built by coaches, for the bench
The sports industry runs on legacy tools — overly complex, dated, or priced out of reach. BenchIQ puts enterprise-grade technology in the hands of every coach, player, and club — from first-year volunteers to elite programs — without the crippling cost.
Mission & Vision
Why we're here
Our mission
Give every coach, athlete, and family one platform to design, teach, and develop — from the first drill drawn to the last shift of the season.
Behind every team — house league to elite program — is a coaching staff juggling drill sketches, practice plans, game film, stat sheets, schedules, and team messages across tools that don’t talk to each other. We exist to put the whole bench in one place.
Our vision
A future where every athlete’s development is visible, connected, and theirs to keep.
From a mite’s first crossover to a junior tryout reel — we envision development that follows the athlete: drills that become practices, film that becomes coaching, and numbers that become a story a family can see and own.
Our Story
Born behind the bench
Kyle Shrauger
Founder — and still coaching
BenchIQ was founded from hockey experience that spans the whole game: grassroots youth programs, NCAA collegiate athletics, and professional-level training and development. Founder Kyle Shrauger has run rinks, served as a hockey director for 2,500+ players, operated multiple non-profit organizations — and still coaches today.
His professional life ran in parallel: enterprise technology and advanced AI platforms, with 15+ years delivering next-generation software for global federal operations across civilian, defense, and intelligence agencies.
“As a coach, I was researching, trialing, and paying for multiple tools — some priced beyond what any individual or youth program could justify. The technology I delivered professionally was decades ahead of anything on my bench.”
The sports industry’s legacy tools are overly complex, built on deprecated technology, or severely overpriced. It was time for a modern solution — one where the speed of technology keeps pace with the evolution of the game. So he changed the model: enterprise-grade technology in the hands of every coach, player, and club, without the crippling cost. The volunteer coach gains access to professional tools; professional coaches and elite programs enhance their capabilities with modern ones. And every feature still gets tested on real benches first.
The journey
The Problem
Coaching tools haven't kept pace with the game. The sports industry is full of legacy software — overly complex, built on deprecated technology, or severely overpriced for the average coach or organization. Coaches end up researching, trialing, and paying for a half-dozen tools that still don't talk to each other.
The Insight
In the enterprise world, advanced AI platforms and modern software had transformed how the most demanding organizations on earth operate. After 15+ years delivering next-generation systems for global federal operations — civilian, defense, and intelligence — the gap was impossible to ignore: none of that speed had reached the bench.
The Decision
Combine a lifetime inside the game — grassroots youth programs, NCAA collegiate athletics, professional-level training, rink and program operations — with enterprise-grade engineering, and change the model: one purpose-built platform instead of a pile of subscriptions.
BenchIQ
Enterprise-grade technology in the hands of every coach, player, and club — without the crippling cost. Volunteer coaches get professional tools; professional coaches and elite programs get modern capabilities — delivered at the speed the game evolves.
It takes a community
Built with the people who use it
It takes a community to be successful — and BenchIQ infuses that belief into everything we do. We network with coaches, clubs, professionals, and athletes to make sure every part of the system is thoughtfully built for them.
Coaches
On benches every week, telling us what works at ice level. Features are shaped in those conversations — and shipped back fast.
Clubs
Organizations pressure-test the platform at scale — registration, seasons, scheduling — and steer what running a program should feel like.
Professionals
Specialists in skills, film study, and sports science sharpen the analysis tools, so 'good enough' never ships.
Athletes & families
The people the work is for. Their experience decides what stays, what changes, and what goes.
Real feedback. Real solutions. Real problems — solved together.
Working with our community toward the absolute best platform in the industry.
Our Values
What we stand for
Coach-first, always
Every feature starts on a real bench. If it doesn't survive a Tuesday-night practice with 15 kids and 50 minutes of ice, it doesn't ship.
True to the game
A true-to-scale rink, geometrically authentic markings, and drills stored in real rink feet. Coaches notice when the dots are in the wrong place — so do we.
One platform, whole team
Drills, practice plans, film, stats, messaging, and athlete development belong together. Coaches, athletes, and families shouldn't need six apps to run one season.
Youth safety is non-negotiable
Age-aware AI rules, guardian-consented athlete accounts, and team-isolated data. We build for kids' sports, so we hold ourselves to kids'-sports standards.
Your work is yours
Nothing saves behind your back, your library is portable, and your data is never sold. The drills you draw and the film you tag belong to you.
Enterprise-grade, not enterprise-priced
Pro-caliber technology shouldn't be gated behind pro-franchise budgets. A genuinely useful free tier, and plans an individual coach, a youth program, or an elite club can all say yes to.
Made in Raleigh, North Carolina — between practices.
See what the bench looks like on BenchIQ
Start drawing for free, or talk to us about your team, club, or association.