When Thanh Huynh sent a cold email to the team at youth sports platform provider GameChanger to inquire about internship opportunities, he expected to receive either an automated reply or nothing at all.
But instead, he received a personal message from a recruiter. Little did Huynh know that this one email would be the start of an exciting career journey that would begin with an unforgettable internship and lead to a full-time role as an associate software engineer.
During the 10-week summer internship, he felt “an immediate connection” with the company’s core values, particularly “Ambitious,” “Team Players” and “Empowered.” Huynh knew that his personal drive to constantly improve, learn and embrace challenges would help him thrive there.
“Considering the company encourages ambitious goals, empowering individuals to tackle tough problems and providing a supportive environment for both professional and personal growth, it was clear to me that GameChanger was not just another internship opportunity but one I could see as a potential launchpad for my career as a software engineer,” he said.
Huynh isn’t the only intern-turned-employee who feels connected to the company’s culture and mission. Having played sports while growing up, Full-Stack Engineer Willen Zhou felt right at home when he joined one of the company’s feature teams as an intern in 2022.
“Playing youth sports taught me teamwork and perseverance, so when I discovered GameChanger, I loved that I could contribute to that same community of coaches, players and families,” he said.
For Zhou, joining GameChanger meant the opportunity to pursue work with personal meaning. It was the same for Software Engineer Ryan Black, who can still recall times when his father, a long-haul truck driver, missed out on many of his games due to his work schedule.
“An app like GameChanger would’ve made a world of difference for my family,” he said. “That’s why I was so excited by the opportunity to contribute to a company that’s helping families and communities stay connected through the power of sports.”
Huynh, Zhou and Black can all agree that the company’s mission was a deciding factor in their decision to join GameChanger interns. But what came as a pleasant surprise was the growth that followed, as well as the opportunity to accumulate a wide range of technical skills that have helped them thrive in the full-time roles they hold today.
About GameChanger
GameChanger’s platform enables youth sports organizations to handle various aspects of team management, from scheduling practice to coordinating team jersey colors. People can also use the platform to livestream games, share gameday moments, connect with players and their families, review season statistics and more.
The Impact Interns Have at GameChanger
Black didn’t initially begin his professional journey as a software engineer, so for him, having the chance to step into the field was a major career milestone.
“From the moment I experienced the culture here, I knew this was where I wanted to build my full-time career,” he said.
As a full-stack web engineering intern on the revenue team, Black helped drive meaningful improvements that both enhanced the user experience and grew the company’s revenue. He worked on various projects, including one that focused on enabling customers to purchase and manage subscriptions directly through the company’s platform.
“This feature was especially impactful for users who don’t use the mobile app, particularly senior citizens, allowing them to stay connected and watch their family members’ games with ease,” Black said. “Beyond its user benefits, the project also contributed significantly to the company’s revenue goals for the year.”
He noted that a “culture of openness” made it even easier to make an impact, as he was encouraged to immerse himself in the community and connect with customers to understand their needs.
Meanwhile, as an intern on the product engineering team, Huynh stayed busy developing experimental volleyball lineup and rotation features that made it easier to track gameplay. He shared that, as he progressed, team members guided him through learning Swift and iOS development.
“They openly encouraged my curiosity, welcomed every question without judgment, and consistently valued my input as if I were already a full member of the team,” Huynh said. “Their consistent encouragement and guidance improved my efficiency, deepened my technical skills and enhanced my confidence in communication.”
“They openly encouraged my curiosity, welcomed every question without judgment, and consistently valued my input as if I were already a full member of the team.”
Although they worked remotely, he and his peers were constantly connecting through daily sync-ups, weekly pair-programming sessions, bi-weekly “brunch-and-bonds” and afternoon game sessions. Huynh said that one of his favorite cultural traditions occurred after the end of each daily meeting, when he and his peers would sign off by clinking their coffee mugs toward their webcams or taking a collective moment to meditate and recharge, creating a “memorable sense of unity, even from afar.”
Zhou had a similar experience as an intern on one of the features team, where he was granted a “front-row seat” to full-time engineering work. He expected working remotely to feel isolating, but instead he felt close to his peers due to regular syncs and pairing sessions with other engineers as well as members of the company’s design, product and quality assurance teams.
“From day one, they treated me as a full-time team member by inviting me to all the planning, refinement and retro sessions, so I always knew my ideas mattered,” Zhou said.
Leaning on support from his peers, he contributed to the platform’s web bulk import feature, which enables organization schedules to be populated with games from a computer system validation. Throughout the experience, Zhou learned how cross-functional teams ship end-to-end features. His technical confidence grew with each sprint.
“Seeing the feature in action at the end and knowing it would save organization administrators hours of manual entry was incredibly rewarding,” he said.
The Greatest Lessons Learned as a GameChanger Intern
- Black: “Trust myself and my abilities. Lack of experience doesn’t mean a lack of value, and it certainly doesn’t mean I can’t contribute meaningful ideas or drive impact. GameChanger reinforced that belief by fostering a culture where every voice matters. No matter your role, you’re encouraged to speak up, share ideas, and actively participate in shaping the product and the company.”
- Huynh: “Embrace curiosity, fearlessness and proactive communication. I learned that asking questions, even ones that might feel trivial, isn’t a weakness but a powerful strength, enabling continuous learning, new perspectives and greater efficiency. The advice I received from my manager and mentor, ‘Overcommunication is better than under-communication,’ profoundly reshaped my approach to teamwork, teaching me to always proactively provide clear context, streamline technical discussions, and minimize confusion.”
- Zhou: “Be proactive and curious — don’t wait for tasks. Ask to pair, volunteer for small improvements, and learn from teammates companywide!”
Why Interns Decide to Stay at GameChanger
Black was impressed by many things during his time as an intern at GameChanger, but what stood out to him the most was how seriously his goals were taken.
“When I shared my aspirations with my managers, they immediately acted to support me,” he said. “That kind of encouragement and responsiveness isn’t common, and it’s one of the many reasons I hope to spend the rest of my career at GameChanger.”
“That kind of encouragement and responsiveness isn’t common, and it’s one of the many reasons I hope to spend the rest of my career at GameChanger.”
Black believes that the company’s workplace is truly unique, upheld by individuals who balance intelligence and determination with kindness and empathy, creating a space where everyone is genuinely eager to see others succeed.
“This sense of community and shared passion for supporting our customers is woven into everything we do,” he said.
Joining GameChanger as an intern helped Huynh discover a passion for iOS engineering. Once he mastered industry-standard software engineering practices and saw his work impact families, athletes and youth sports communities, he knew the company was the perfect place to build a full-time engineering career.
“The visible results of my work, combined with GameChanger’s openness to exploration and cross-team mentorship, solidified my desire to pursue mobile development full-time, which is something I never expected but ended up loving,” Huynh said.
Being an intern at GameChanger is defined by having the chance to make a difference yourself while working with others to drive progress. For Zhou, this emphasis on collaboration spoke volumes about the company’s culture, reflecting the opportunities technologists have to support youth sports teams — as a team.
“Hands-on teamwork, like being able to jump on a huddle call with a designer to tweak a feature live, is exactly why I knew GameChanger’s culture was the right fit for me,” he said.
If someone is interested in GameChanger summer internships, check back on their jobs page in January/February 2026.
