Before graduating last June from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Va., Chris Ozgo was a four-year starter at point guard who set school records for assists in a game (16), season (169), and career (403). With visions of playing in college, he sought out a private trainer and worked out early in the morning and late at night.
“I was getting better but wasn’t getting better at the rate I felt I should be,” Ozgo said. “I thought to myself, is there a way to create something that helps athletes translate what they’re putting in outside of practice and outside of games into a more effective transition into games?”
Particularly at a position like point guard, reading a defense and directing the offense accordingly is essential. That led Ozgo, 19, to develop StrobeLite Sports Training, a free app that flashes colors at random, prompting players for a response. For example, blue might signal drive right, red could mean drive left, and green may indicate shoot.
“You’re able to make that decision on the fly in the workout, which causes you to react like a game,” Ozgo said.
Ozgo, who is 5’9” and was the Liberty District Defensive Player of the year, had committed to play at Division III Case Western Reserve before a neck injury postponed his plans. He decided to take a gap year before college to rehab and build StrobeLite. He still may play at Case Western but is now considering other schools where he may or may not continue his hoops career.
Wherever he ends up, Ozgo does plan to continue his studies in computer science or engineering. He took two years of computer science courses in high school but said they only provided about 20 percent of the necessary coding background for StrobeLite. The rest he learned on the fly while developing the app, which is now available on iOS and Android.
The concept and implementation of the app are simple, but its uses might be limited only by imagination. StrobeLite will also host a community area where users can share drills and creative implementations. For now, the whole app is free, although Ozgo has considered adding premium features. There are possible applications in other sports, he added, including football, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and tennis. Ozgo recently showed the app to former Marymount basketball player Aaron Walsh, who also does basketball training in the area. Walsh was receptive and helped film Ozgo’s introductory video.
During his year away from school, Ozgo has been coaching eighth grade boys basketball and assisting at his alma mater, Washington-Lee. With both teams, he’s begun implementing StrobeLite into drills to improve the players’ cognitive training.
“You can see, over time, how they start to think less and react more in games,” he said.
Part of the motivation for the app is also about accessibility with regard to travel and cost. Ozgo had been making a nearly 90-minute roundtrip drive to Maryland and back to work with basketball trainer Darryl Adams.
Adams pioneered the Rhythm Dribble program and is also the father of Hawks point guard Jaylen Adams and UConn guard Brendan Adams.
Those sessions, Ozgo said, produced good results but logistically were difficult to attend more than twice per week.
“I wanted to be able to do what he was training us to do on my own,” Ozgo said.