www.sportannex.com

By Kyle Bome and Andrew Domorsky

Syracuse University

11/2010

At this time, it does not appear like this is an abundance of competition for these events. Every year there are stories of misevaluated walk-on athletes who were not offered scholarships, kids transferring because of skill disparity, and talented kids who are not initially offered scholarships because they were not as exposed. These events we are planning are more like a lower level ‘combine’ in a market that is untapped. Students will like these events because they get to showcase their skills more, and coaches will like these so they can recruit better students and advance their careers if they keep winning by selecting the correct athletes.

The biggest competition we believe will be for the basketball and football events, as those are currently the highest revenue driving sports in college athletics. Because of that, there are some national events and camps where players are invited to attend, but these are generally more for the D1 athlete. Our events are targeted more for borderline athletes who want to play in college but may not be talented enough to play D1. At this time, only games and tournaments during a high school students sports career are the only exposure most students can show to college coaches. If a student is injured, has a bad game, or is surrounded by inferior teammates which inhibit his/her performance, these athletic events we are offering are giving these athletes another chance to show off their skills. Coaches will like these events also as it gives them more time to evaluate the students and because there will be dozens of kids whom they can observe over a day or weekend.

Another competitive force we may have to deal with is personal trainers. In lower-level athletics (D3, D2), scholarships are less prevalent because the revenues created are smaller, the schools are usually private, and the schools typically are smaller. This also usually means that the athletes at these schools are wealthier because they can afford to pay unassisted tuition. Borderline athletes who are looking to compete at the college level sometimes hire personal trainers or coaches to help them develop their skills or to create highlight tapes of their athletic skills and achievements. We believe that all athletes should be evaluated equally at the same time and at the same location, in front of their potential coaches so that individual competitiveness is at its highest. For our athletic events we would like to include and encourage the use of professional trainers, but we think just using their services should not suffice.

Lastly, social media has become very prevalent in college recruitment. Student-athletes nowadays are putting their highlights on Youtube, twittering their stats, filming their workouts, boasting about their 40 yard dash times, etc. There have been stories that exist about coaches who offer scholarships or offers to athletes who they have not even evaluated in person because they appear elite. We believe our events will be more accurate because there will be athletic experts conducting the events and coaches will get to see all of the athletes in person. Highlights and stats can be inaccurate because the competition may be weak and measurable like 40 year dash times and vertical leaps may be inaccurate because high school coaches may measure them wrong to help their students out. We believe athletic skills should best be evaluated on the field and in front of scouts and coaches so that there is some pressure on the athletes. Coaches will want to see kids perform out of their comfort level and in a new environment they are unfamiliar with because college athletics is a step up from high school competition. D3 and D2 sports may not be as popular as D1 sports but they still mean a lot to each student body and wins and losses still may define the careers of coaches. We believe we could create a great niche in this large but untapped market. Thousands of kids dream about playing collegiate sports and we believe we are creating opportunities for the best to do so.