Scouting Gopher is a service that allows coaches to simplify the process of acquiring and exchanging scouting reports and in turn, save each coach a lot of time. Easier said than done, right? Below is a more detailed description of how the website and the coach interact to provide a time saving tool.
In order to use the site, each coach must input and upload some information in order to make the site work. Upon sign-up, each coach enters simple profile information about him or herself. Next, they review their school's previously loaded schedule in order to confirm that all opponents for the season are covered. Finally, each coach uploads the scouting reports that they have on file on their computer and these are stored in a "My Library" section of the site. The website has an upload tool where you select each file from your hard drive and with one click they are stored securely on the website.
Scouting Gopher uses each coach's schedule and treats it as a wish list for scouting reports. For every opponent on a team's schedule, Scouting Gopher will automatically search through the schedules and saved scouting reports from all other members of the site. Say Team A will be playing Team B in a week. When the coach of Team A enters the website, he or she will see Team B listed at the top of the page as an upcoming opponent. Next to Team B will be a list of schools, call them Team C, who have the scouting report for Team B on file. Scouting Gopher will only display Team C if they need a report for an upcoming contest that Team A already has. Viola. Scouting Gopher has presented you with every team where you can make a one for one trade with in order to obtain a scouting report for a specific game on your schedule.
Once a coach has picked a team that they would like to trade with, they have an option to send a trade proposal to the coach of that team. With one click, that coach is notified that someone would like to trade with them. This notification explains the scouting report they would have to give up and which scouting report they will receive in return. If that coach chooses to accept that trade, they click an accept button on the website and the scouting reports then appear in the each respective coach's library of reports on the website. After this occurs, the coach can then download that report to their computer and prepare it for distribution to his or her players.
After that report has been used and the contest has passed, the coach then updates the scouting report as they normally would. They then upload this document back to the site and replace the old version of that report on the website. Coaches searching for a report on that team can then see that you have an updated report on them and would be more likely to want to trade with that coach.
