Being a student-athlete can be a full-time job. Between classes, practice, and games, there is no extra time to sharpen up on skills off the field. That’s why Kathy and John Tomlinson want to give more football quarterbacks the ability to sharpen their skills directly from their phones with Quarterback Equalizer.
Quarterback Equalizer — which officially launched in 2019 — is an app that teaches quarterbacks at various levels how to better read defenses. The couple got the idea for the app in 2014, after John spent years working as a football coach. He used PowerPoint slides and animations to teach his quarterbacks how to maneuver during a live game.
“My wife thought it would be cool if I took how I teach kids and turned it into a game,” John said. “She made a lot of sense.”
Despite being apprehensive at first, John agreed, and the two began developing what is now Quarterback Equalizer. Kathy works as the president, John is the CEO and the two are now working on ways to expand the company.
“I’m not trying to compete with Madden,” John said. “This is a teaching game. This a tool.”
Quarterback Equalizer currently divides the game into three modes: Rookie, Collegiate, and All-Pro. In each mode, players are shown images of defensive diagrams on a timer. Players must then find a strategy to respond to the formation, quickening their decision-making skills in intense gaming situations.
“It’s building on what players are learning at practice, but it’s at their speed and need. I want it to be the primary tool that they go to get that extra assistance,” John said. “It’s no different from going to a math tutor.”
Quarterback Equalizer plans to incorporate headsets to improve the app’s gameplay and is set to release an additional game mode in 2020. John said he wants the company to focus more on selling to schools as it develops new features for the game.
Quarterback Equalizer can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play.
