Sideline Sports started on a family baseball trip in the summer of 2007.
Steve, our founder, planned a five-stadium baseball trip with his son-in-law, and soon, when two turned into seven, nerves set in. Will the family survive 45 innings of baseball? Will the casual fans stand the August heat? How, he wondered, would he keep everyone engaged?
The answer: Baseball Bingo.
Fast forward to Opening Night in Milwaukee. Bingo cards in hand. Nearby fans straining their necks to get a glimpse. Was that a 6-4-3 double play? YES! Five games, over eight days (Milwaukee, Chicago, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Baltimore) and the Bingo excitement grew. Soon, necessity gave way to innovation, and Sideline Sports began.
Our vision is clear: engage, entertain and educate fans, all in one fell swoop. We serve the fans, help teams build their fan base, and help sponsors drive revenue.
We’re creative, innovative, and technically skilled. Most importantly, we pride ourselves on our customer service, responding to each and every request quickly and efficiently. We care, and it shows.
From those first 45 innings of baseball to now, we’ve helped entertain over 8 million fans. And we continue to grow.
Meet the Team
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Olivia Coe
VP, PRODUCT & OPERATIONS
Steve (dad) and I started Sideline in the fall of 2007 in Melyssa's (sister) old bedroom at our home in Virginia. This was after our five-stadium baseball trip that summer. Today, I handle all things operations at Sideline, but the best part of my job is Guinea Pig Extraordinaire, being the first to see what Ryan, James, Dell, and Steve have created.
Sideline was my first job out of college, after I convinced Steve that this was a good idea. I took a detour along the way and gained experience working for Simon & Schuster in Business Operations.
In my non-Sideline time, I'm with Nick and George, I should probably stop watching New Girl on repeat, and I love checking things off of any list - doesn't even have to be my list.
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Melyssa Jaskiewicz
VP, SALES & MARKETING
Hello! I'm Melyssa and I run the sales team here at Sideline Sports. I went to college in Providence, while working three jobs and graduated with honors, a big achievement considering my high school guidance counselor told my mother "College isn't for her".
I live in Charleston, SC with my kayak fishing husband, my lacrosse playing son and my drum playing animal loving daughter. We spend most weekends at sports tournaments, beach fishing, or by the fire pit.
The furthest place I've traveled is Australia, and next on my bucket list is a visit to the Amalfi Coast. And after years of deciding on a hobby, I finally chose house plants (most of which are still alive).
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Ryan Mitchell
LEAD DEVELOPER
I've been with Sideline since 2015. I started out wearing all the tech and design hats—think the peddler in _Caps for Sale_—but over the years I've happily passed most of them off. Nowadays I split my time between coding and overseeing projects at all stages of the project lifecycle. If something is late, it's usually my fault.
Before Sideline, I studied Greek and Latin late antiquity in grad school. After a few years, I was surprised to find that the job prospects for experts in Pseudo-Dionysius weren't great. I left grad school and turned my hobby (software development) into a career.
Outside of work, I enjoy cooking and reading fantasy. I also have a second full time job where I handle operations, training, and logistics for my four year old son.
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James Tillman
DEVELOPER
Hello! I’m James, one of the programmers at Sideline Sports. I spend most of my time working on new features and new products. Before Sideline, I worked at several NYC companies and also decided for incomprehensible reasons to get a master’s degree in philosophy.
In my spare time, I read enormous amounts of fantasy and science fiction, and enjoy electric skateboarding.
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Dell Castillo
UX DESIGNER
I never thought nerding out on sports was possible until I joined Sideline in 2019. They've been kind enough to let me flex my UX chops as a side hustle, and it has been a dream!
You might be asking, "what is UX"? My focus is providing users simple and thoughtful experiences. Aside from my Carolina snapback, I try to wear many hats too. I contribute to product strategies, work on the occasional marketing stuff, and turn any pipe dream design ideas into reality.
When I'm not designing or cheering for the Gamecocks, I'm playing my guitar, singing about daydreams of chasing the sun in Hawaii with my wife and two dogs.
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Ashley Goverman
MARKETING
I have been with Sideline since August 2021 providing marketing support. I owned a photography business for several years and still pick up my camera from time to time for fun. My favorite genre was fantasy composites, so clearly I love creating in Photoshop and making magic happen.
When I’m not working, I’m living my best life as a taxi service and carpool connoisseur for my 13 year old daughter and 10 year old son. I am a soccer mom extraordinaire. When we aren’t on the road for sports, one of our favorite family game night options is, “Kids Against Maturity.” It leads to a whole lot of laughter and I highly recommend it! I am a Harry Potter fanatic and if there is an HP marathon on, you can be sure I won’t accomplish anything except sitting on the couch and watching them back to back! Hogwarts for life!
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Steve Ferber
PRESIDENT
I have the pleasure of working with two of our daughters, and an extraordinary staff, here at Sideline. What began as a bid to keep my daughters and wife engaged on a five-stadium, eight-day baseball trip, has turned into an enterprise we never could have imagined.
By trade, I’m a journalist, writer and columnist, having co-founded a Washington, DC-based publishing company that lives on today. While there, I helped create a dozen publications, among them Inside the White House, Inside EPA and Inside the Pentagon.
My deepest passions revolve around family and education. Our family tree begins with my remarkable wife, and extends to our three daughters, their husbands, and five energetic grandchildren who, each day, remind us to embrace all that life has to offer. My love of education began when our daughters entered elementary school – and the subsequent 12 years, working as a full-time volunteer, remain among my most rewarding and memorable days.
Above all, I love to create – games, challenges, solutions and prose. I seek to learn from those whose beliefs are different than mine and, above all, I strive to love and support my family and friends. We are, after all, on this journey together, let’s find a way to support one another.
