Gear Guide
SportRelay runs on the coach's phone. Your player needs something to receive the call: an earbud for the spoken call, or a watch for the call as text (SportRelay Pro). Which setup is legal depends on the sport and your governing body, so this page describes gear by what it does, not by brand, and links to plain retailer searches. We earn nothing from any link on this page.
The umpire and your state association have the final say. The rule summaries below are our reading of the published NFHS rules and interpretations; they are not a guarantee that any product is permitted in your game. Check with your league before the first pitch, and keep signs ready.
What the rules ask for
Baseball (NFHS)
NFHS Rule 1-6-2 allows one-way communication from one dugout coach to the catcher (and the pitcher as well under the 2027 rules). Under the 2024 NFHS interpretation (Situation 6), a device that can send audio back — which includes most wireless earbuds, because they have microphones — can be ruled illegal even when muted. The same interpretations (Situation 5) treat a receive-only earpiece with no microphone as legal. NCAA rules permit an exclusively one-way device to the catcher.
Softball (NFHS)
NFHS softball rules allow one-way communication to the catcher (and the pitcher under the 2027 rules). The 2025 NFHS interpretation (Situation 5) says an earpiece with a microphone is legal as long as it only receives, and a smartwatch works the same way (Rules 1-8-6, 3-6-11).
Youth, travel and adult leagues set their own equipment rules, and some have not adopted one-way communication at all.
The receive-only rig Baseball & softball
Two inexpensive parts. Nothing in this setup can transmit, which is the point.
1. A small Bluetooth audio receiver
- Bluetooth 5.0 or newer, with a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It pairs to the coach's phone like a pair of headphones.
- Clip-on or pocket size, with its own battery (look for 8+ hours; a doubleheader is 5). It rides in the catcher's back pocket or inside the chest protector.
- A microphone on the receiver is irrelevant — it never gets used — but for baseball, choose one without a mic so there is nothing for an umpire to question.
2. A wired mono earpiece, no microphone
- Single ear, wired, 3.5 mm plug. One ear stays open for the game.
- No microphone, no inline control. This is the detail that matters in baseball.
- A short cable (under 1 m) tucks under the jersey; a right-angle plug survives sliding better.
A smartwatch SportRelay Pro
With SportRelay Pro, calls land on an Apple Watch or a Wear OS watch as text. Nothing is spoken and nothing is transmitted back. In softball the NFHS interpretation names a smartwatch as the same case as a receive-only earpiece; in baseball ask your state association, since the published interpretations address earpieces. The watch is worn by the player; the coach keeps the phone.
What to avoid
- Any earbud with a microphone, in baseball. That is nearly every wireless earbud sold, including the ones that came with a phone. Muting it does not help under the 2024 interpretation.
- Two-way radios, walkie-talkie earpieces, or anything with push-to-talk. Not one-way, not allowed anywhere we know of.
- Hearing-aid-style in-ear monitors with a transmitter pack. Expensive, and the pack is a transmitter.
Setting it up
- Charge the receiver. Pair it to the coach's phone in the phone's Bluetooth settings, exactly like headphones.
- Plug the earpiece into the receiver. Tuck the cable under the jersey, receiver in the back pocket or chest protector.
- Open SportRelay, go to Settings › Voice, and tap Test voice. The sample call should play in the earpiece. Set the volume on the receiver, not the phone.
- Before first pitch, send one call from the dugout at game distance. If it plays from the phone's speaker instead, the receiver has disconnected — reconnect before you call a pitch.
- Turn on Do Not Disturb on the phone so an incoming call can't interrupt the audio mid-game.
Questions
Found a setup that works, or one that got tossed? Tell us at support@sportrelay.app and we'll update this page.