California has the largest, most operationally complex HS sports landscape in the country. Lightning for Schools is built for CIF athletic departments — across all 10 sections — with the SOPIPA and CCPA compliance California schools require and pricing with 10 included coach seats plus low-cost extras that scales with the actual coach counts at California HS programs.
Built for CIF
Governing Body
California Interscholastic Federation (CIF)
Member-school eligibility rules, classification, and championship workflows shape what an athletic department needs from its software. Lightning for Schools is configured to support CIF-aligned workflows out of the box — not generic NFHS templates that don't map to your state's specifics. Reference:
www.cifstate.org.
Compliant with California SOPIPA & CCPA
Student Data Privacy
California SOPIPA & CCPA
California has two layered student-data protections: SOPIPA (Student Online Personal Information Protection Act, Business & Professions Code §22584) restricts what online operators can do with K-12 student data, and CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) extends consumer privacy rights to students and families. Lightning's data-handling practices are built to meet these requirements; a vendor that can't speak to your state's privacy framework should not be on your shortlist.
What California athletic directors actually deal with
- CIF operates 10 distinct sections (Southern, Central, North Coast, Sac-Joaquin, Oakland, San Francisco, Central Coast, Northern, San Diego, Los Angeles City) — each with its own commissioner, playoff bracket, classification system, and transfer rules. Same sport in CIF-SS vs CIF-LA Section runs different brackets entirely.
- CIF Southern Section alone has 580+ member schools — operationally larger than many entire states. The CIF-SS commissioner's office handles administrative workload that scales beyond what single-section states experience.
- Trinity League (CIF-SS Catholic private schools: Mater Dei, JSerra, Servite, Santa Margarita, St. John Bosco, Orange Lutheran) is one of the top HS football conferences in the country — produces national recruiting visibility that pulls SEC + Big Ten attention to LA-area HS football year-round.
- SOPIPA (Student Online Personal Information Protection Act) and CCPA layer student-data privacy requirements beyond FERPA — CA school districts actively review vendor practices during procurement and prefer documented compliance.
What Lightning for Schools includes
10 coach seats included
Flat $150/yr base includes 10 full coach seats. Need more for a big multi-sport department? Add extra seats anytime at 50% of the coach-tier price.
Roster + eligibility
Per-sport, per-season roster management with eligibility tracking, transfer documentation, and out-of-season practice limits.
Recruiting portal integration
Your student-athletes' Lightning profiles roll into a searchable college-coach portal — recruiting attention without leaving the AD platform.
DPA-compliant data handling
Aligned with California SOPIPA & CCPA requirements. Documentation available for your district's procurement review.
Stat verification
Coach Verified and Tournament Verified stats flow into the recruiting layer automatically. Reduces manual roster-update workload for AD staff.
Multi-season scheduling
Fall / winter / spring sport scheduling in one tool — facility allocation, transportation requests, official assignments.
Built for athletic departments across California
We're looking for our first partner departments in the state. If you're an AD in one of these areas and want to talk through a pilot:
Los Angeles Unified
San Diego Unified
San Francisco Unified
Orange County
Sacramento area
Bay Area
Talk to Christian directly
I'm the founder. California athletic directors who want to talk through a pilot or just get specific questions answered can reach me directly: [email protected] or (443) 996-6563.