North Carolina HS athletics is increasingly recruiting-dense — basketball at scale, growing football and lacrosse footprints, and a deep pipeline across the Charlotte, Triangle, and Triad metros. Lightning for Schools is built for NCHSAA athletic directors: FERPA-compliant student-data handling, 10 included coach seats plus low-cost extras, and a recruiting portal integration that matches the recruiting volume of NC HS sports.
Built for NCHSAA
Governing Body
North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA)
Member-school eligibility rules, classification, and championship workflows shape what an athletic department needs from its software. Lightning for Schools is configured to support NCHSAA-aligned workflows out of the box — not generic NFHS templates that don't map to your state's specifics. Reference:
www.nchsaa.org.
Compliant with FERPA + North Carolina data protection standards
Student Data Privacy
FERPA + North Carolina data protection standards
Student-athlete records in North Carolina public schools are governed by FERPA plus North Carolina's Identity Theft Protection Act and general data-security standards. Vendors handling NC student-athlete data must meet FERPA's third-party handling requirements. 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 North Carolina athletic directors actually deal with
- NCISAA (North Carolina Independent School Athletic Association) governs NC's private schools (Greensboro Day, Charlotte Country Day, Ravenscroft, Charlotte Latin, Cary Academy, Durham Academy) — NC ADs at public schools operate alongside but separately from this parallel system.
- ACC basketball recruiting density (Duke, UNC, NC State, Wake Forest) drives unusual recruiting visibility for top NC HS basketball programs — particularly through Charlotte, Triangle, and Triad metros at Hopewell, Vance, West Charlotte, and Greensboro Dudley.
- NCHSAA recently moved from 4-class to 8-class football (1A through 4A, plus separate -A subdivisions) to address enrollment disparity — ongoing realignment cycles create classification rework that 4-class states don't face.
- North Carolina HS football's Mallard Creek, Vance, Charlotte Catholic, Independence, Wake Forest HS produce ACC and SEC recruiting attention that pulls coach visits and showcase invitations beyond typical NC HS programs.
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 FERPA + North Carolina data protection standards 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 North Carolina
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:
Charlotte metro
Raleigh-Durham (Triangle)
Greensboro-Winston-Salem (Triad)
Wilmington area
Asheville area
Talk to Christian directly
I'm the founder. North Carolina 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.