Investing in Athletics at DHHS​
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When you Rally for the Red Devils, your donation supports athletics at Druid Hills High School.
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The Druid Hills Athletic Association (DHAA) supports over 1,000 student athletes at DHHS and DHMS participating on 42 teams competing in 21 different Georgia High School Association and club sports.
The Druid Hills Education Foundation (DHEF) funds the operating budget of the DHAA. Funding is used for supplemental coaching stipends, shared equipment, training and facility enhancements. DHAA helps maintain the athletic fields located at DHMS, including investing in facilities enhancements to support student athlete training.
This year, the DHAA made a critical investment in a new app and website.
If your child is a DHHS athlete and you’ve ever been frustrated with team communications, you’re not alone. Coaches, parents, and kids often juggled multiple apps during a season -- maybe TeamSnap for the schedule and roster, and Remind for practice and transportation updates. Our athletics website wasn’t user-friendly or updated frequently. “It has been a constant complaint,” says parent SusanAnne McKenna, president of the Druid Hills Athletic Association (DHAA). “We can’t tell when things are happening.”
Good news: That frustration will soon be a thing of the past. Thanks to a lot of hard work from McKenna and DHHS Athletic Director Sam Hamilton, Druid Hills Athletics has a shiny, brand-new app and website.
DHAA had searched for years to find an affordable, easy-to-use athletics communications solution. In 2024, DeKalb County considered a district-wide partnership with BallFrog, which develops branded apps and websites for high school athletics programs. The opportunity ultimately fell through, but Hamilton saw potential. He contacted BallFrog and, using a DHEF grant, procured a contract for DHHS.
The new website, which mirrors the app, is a vast improvement over the previous version. The homepage features an eye-catching carousel of full-screen action shots, and each team has its own page with rosters, schedules, and news. Teams can post live score updates and connect their social media accounts. Players can link to their individual highlight reels or college recruiting pages.
There’s a Fan Zone section where you can buy tickets and find college recruiting and physical forms. The Sponsors section highlights local businesses who are financially supporting DHHS through the Druid Hills Education Foundation. The app also encourages alumni engagement–they can get notifications, learn about teams, and find out what’s going on in athletics. Best of all (for parents of athletes, anyway), the new system can also handle all inter-team communications. No more app juggling!
The app was introduced as an option at the end of the 2024-25 school year, and it will be mandatory for 2026-27. Once all DHHS teams are up and running with the basics, the possibilities are almost endless. There are plans for a merch store. The DHHS photo club could upload game shots to each team page. Teams could work with The Spotlight and Red Devil TV to feature articles and videos. The app could also capture Druid Hills athletic history, with stories about past teams and athletes.
The cost was about $5,000 in year one, and Hamilton thinks that’s more than a fair price to pay for so much benefit. But he plans to keep the District updated, hoping that in the near future, DHAA can use those funds for other needs. “The hope is to pay for a year,” says Hamilton. “Then the county will take over because it looks so good.”
Your donation to the Druid Hills Education Foundation will help fund the DHAA and support athletic programs at DHHS. Please give to help more students benefit from enriching team sports.