Texas’ UIL approves wearable wristband play-calling technology for 2025

Come this 2025 season, Texas high school football teams will be able to use a form of play-calling technology that coaches can send plays to players.

According to a report by TexasFootball.com, the University Scholastic League (UIL) has approved wearable play-calling technology for the upcoming 2025 high school football season.

The Texas association stressed in an email sent out to athletic directors and coaches that though this wearable technology has been approved, it is not for helmet communication from coach-to-player but a wristband-like device.

“Coach-to-player communication will be allowed through one-way wearable technologies in UIL football games for the 2025 season, with some important restrictions,” UIL emailed athletic directors, football coaches per the report. “Again, this is not coach-to-player helmet communication but utilizing wristband-like technology to communicate with your athletes.”

Per the report, the new wristband-like communication is unique in a sense because of the following ways of how it will be utilized:

• Wearable wristband-like technology can be used only for coaches to communicate with players for in-game play calling

• Communication from coaches-to-players can only come from the coaching booth or press box

• Communication from coaches-to-players is only via text messaging with no audio allowed

• The new technology is a one-way play-calling communication wristband system from coach-to-player

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 people removed at the state championship games for stealing signs,” Texas High School Coaches Association Executive Director Joe Martin said to the Tyler Morning Telegraph. “Our coaches are really adamant about being able to have access to this, and some will use it and some will 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.”

GoRout of Minnesota, a company that produces the wearable wristband-like communication, released a statement a couple weeks ago regarding the UIL’s decision to approve the technology for the 2025 season.

“The Liberty League trial set a precedent when it comes to the innovative ways coaches communicate with players,” GoRout Chief Partnerships Officer Drew Robinson said in 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 | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi