USA Field Hockey Wins Big with Smarter Content Workflows

A modern playbook for managing assets

USA Field Hockey is the national governing body for the sport of field hockey in the United States, with headquarters in Colorado Springs. As a nonprofit, the organization’s mission is to grow the game, serve and inspire membership, and succeed internationally. With an increasing need to manage a large volume of photos from competitions, events, and campaigns, USA Field Hockey required a secure, centralized solution. 

The challenge: Content stuck in midfield

As Director of Communications, Teryn Brill Galloway manages content requests, image access, and brand storytelling for USA Field Hockey. She distributes photos to staff, athletes, clubs and sponsors, ensuring proper credit is given. But outdated workflows and limited permissions made it challenging to manage a growing library.

Here were the key challenges:

• Disorganized storage slowed workflows. Without an asset-first system, staff spent valuable time searching for the right image in SharePoint. Teryn said, “We used to just use SharePoint, but that’s only made for organizing files and documents. It was not very friendly for photos.” She added, “All I was doing was searching in SharePoint for photos without the ease of doing it efficiently.”
• Past inefficient digital archives caused present-day problems. Before everything was digitalized photos were kept in storage boxes in a basement. When images made it to computers, there was no centralized hub where they were stored, and oftentimes content got lost. Even after moving to SharePoint, the organization struggled to rebuild archives and maintain confidence in the system.
• Selling photos was a heavy lift. Previously, selling photos required outside production companies to manage the entire process. While effective for large events, it was time-consuming and inflexible for other needs.
• Lack of access controls meant a risk of misuse. Without permissions or restrictions, assets risked being shared without credit or with unauthorized sponsors. This raised copyright concerns and complicated relationships with photographers and partners.

“Back when I first started in 2015, we used to have everything on a cloud server. Things were not organized, photos from past events got lost so the organization made a shift over to SharePoint on Microsoft 365. I’m still trying to build up our archived database of photos and content to better represent our history.”

Teryn Brill Galloway, Director of Communications, USA Field Hockey

The solution: Turning content into a winning system

Before PhotoShelter, USA Field Hockey’s content workflows were slow, insecure, and limited. Now, they operate on one platform that makes content organization, sharing, and protection seamless. The shift not only solved day-to-day challenges but also unlocked new opportunities for athletes and the brand.

Here’s how PhotoShelter made the difference:

• One easy-to-use hub replaced disjointed tools. “We needed PhotoShelter because of the ease of use, sharing, searching, and organization… it just made sense for us.” With everything stored in one place, requests are handled quickly and efficiently.
• Metadata keeps photos searchable and properly credited. Adding details like athlete names, photographer credits, and copyright fields ensures photos are used correctly and easily found. For Teryn and her team, “That copyright field has been a lifesaver.”

• Built-in e-commerce tools simplified photo sales. Instead of outsourcing, USA Field Hockey can now manage photo sales on an event-by-event basis. The flexibility allows them to meet demand without requiring a full production partner.
• Remote access keeps athletes and staff connected worldwide. Photos from global competitions are uploaded, organized, and shared securely. Teryn said, “We have teams playing around the world. I receive those photos, share them with the athletes and our staff, I set up a password, and we’ve had zero issues. The athletes are able to post and highlight their successes as they compete for us, so that has been awesome.”
• Permission settings protect ownership. With clear sharing controls on who can access photos and how they can be used, USA Field Hockey safeguards its content. “We’re just trying to protect the photos that we own, and we don’t want them to get used without our permission… So providing specific access is definitely important for us.”
• Athletes’ personal brands get a boost. Content isn’t just for the organization. It also fuels athletes’ voices and visibility. As Teryn explained, “For our athletes, I am open, willing, and free to share any content that we capture, because growing their brand is definitely big, especially for our sport…Also, in the lead-up to LA28, we want to make sure that these athletes have their own voices and showcase all the good that they’re doing.”

“It is definitely beneficial for us to keep track of photo credits, because we compete worldwide, so I want to make sure that the proper accreditation is used for our images.”

Teryn Brill Galloway, Director of Communications, USA Field Hockey

Clear workflows created more time to grow the game

USA Field Hockey turned a fragmented, high-risk workflow into a streamlined system that supports their mission. Organization became possible because of PhotoShelter’s design for visual content. Athletes can now amplify their stories because metadata and permissions keep things safe and usable. 

“It has been a blessing for us to organize our content with PhotoShelter. And we have a ton.”

Teryn Brill Galloway, Director of Communications, USA Field Hockey

Images provided by USA Field Hockey