About

The Story Behind STT

Roots in Resilience

Our founder, Mark Reilly ("Reills"), grew up obsessed with sports. But behind his passion was a difficult home life. At just nine years old, Mark lost his mother to breast cancer after a grueling five-year battle. Soon after, his father remarried, and his stepmother became physically and emotionally abusive.
Amidst the chaos, sports became Mark’s sanctuary. Hockey, basketball, football, volleyball, and skiing weren’t just games — they were outlets that kept him centered. His coaches became mentors. His teammates became family. Through sport, life regained meaning, focus, and joy.

From Athlete to Champion

Mark’s athletic career took off when he played college volleyball, where he won a national championship in 1994. He was named First Team All-Canadian, All-Conference, and National Finals MVP.
Driven to master his craft, Mark moved to California to train in beach volleyball. His relentless work ethic paid off — he became a top-ranked Canadian athlete, winning multiple national events and competing on the FIVB World Tour and AVP (USA Tour).

Building a Better System

Returning to Toronto, Mark grew frustrated by the lack of government support for athletes. Determined to create opportunity, he launched Canada’s first for-profit volleyball club — a revolutionary idea at the time.
His program thrived. Top athletes were now being paid to coach, and thousands of young players joined both indoor and beach volleyball programs. Every detail of programming was meticulously planned and executed.

But success brought competition. The internet that once fueled his growth became his biggest threat. Years of refined content were copied by others, confusing users and diverting registrations.
Rather than reacting with anger, Mark took a step back. He asked the hard questions:

  • What truly defines athlete development?

  • How do we measure it?

  • How do we report it?

  • And if we can, what kind of advantage could that bring to sport?

These questions changed everything.

The Spark of Innovation

Mark began researching: “What did LeBron James eat as a kid?” “Who trained Sidney Crosby?” “How did Usain Bolt develop his speed?”
Every search returned the same answer: nothing. There was no centralized data or system tracking how elite athletes developed. Mark realized he was onto something powerful.

The first prototype started humbly — spreadsheets with skill algorithms that scored athletes on proper movement mechanics. Reports were emailed manually. Then, he discovered Adobe Flex, which allowed him to create an interactive layer between video and user — a system where athletes could train online and generate automated progress reports.

“At the time, not everyone had computers. We were asking athletes, coaches, and parents to change behavior — and that was met with huge resistance.”

Mobile devices weren’t ready yet. But Mark knew the future was coming.

The Evolution of STT

Fast forward to today — System Training Technologies (STT) has evolved into a cutting-edge platform for athlete development.
Our ecosystem now includes:

  • A robust web-based platform with user-level functionality

  • Responsive web apps

  • iOS and Android apps
    Hundreds of thousands of lines of code have been written — and continue to be written each month — as STT relentlessly advances its technology, improving functionality, user experience, and data-driven insights for coaches and athletes alike.

The Future of Sport

The future of sport depends on technologies that power, measure, and promote development.
At STT, we remain committed to innovation in athlete development, empowering professionals and the athletes they guide to reach their highest potential — not just in sport, but in life.