The Quest For Authenticity
Quantity of impressions currently rule the internet, but does it come at the expense of the quality?
10 years ago, I used to go to schools on behalf of my club to hand out flyers for administrators to pass to their students. While schools typically did not welcome solicitors for LLC’s like ours, the director had an ace in the hole: They were also registered as a not-for-profit business. They sent me with that certification, and at that point most schools would welcome whatever flyer I had to provide.
Looking back on it, it still bothers me. And I take accountability for letting it freeze me, but I think part of my PTSD with aggressive marketing of my organization stems from the shady practices I used to be a part of from previous gigs.
I also remember come tryout time, how the club made the decision to take anyone that would put a deposit in - and if we didn’t have enough coaches, we’d figure that out after collecting checks. I used to run the evaluations of players, and at the end, I’d watch as our director would group kids up and give them a speech:
”I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate you - if you’re in this group, YOU MADE IT! We’re excited to offer you a spot on the <regional/national> program. You have 24 hours to put your deposit down to reserve your spot, otherwise we’ll be looking for other players to fill that spot.” A line would form and the money would start flowing.
National program kids were the ones they saw potential in. The others were… well, the others. But the way she conducted it, I have a feeling the parents would have felt duped had they known the reality that everyone ‘made’ a team. I also think they would have been upset had they known that many of those kids had money taken with no coach in mind yet. Many of those kids would have been better off going somewhere that actually wanted to provide them a good coaching experience, vs. looking at them as additional revenue for the year.
It doesn’t end there. Governing bodies peddle propaganda about the need for travel tournaments to play in college - without mentioning that 94% of high school athletes won’t play in college, or that most coaches are there to reinforce relationships that already existed, or that if you aren’t beating the top competition in your area, you probably aren’t getting the value out of that travel you think you are.
I watch organizations brag about their kids going to college as if we’re the reason these hard-working kids are making it to the next level. I think coaches have a role to help kids unlock their potential, but I don’t think we can turn a kid into a college prospect if they don’t have that motor (we can certainly destroy a kid’s confidence/love for the game though). I also witness resilient athletes that find a way to make it no matter what bad mentors put them through. We rehabilitate many of them in our program.
Profits in both youth sports and online usually have to do with quantity of impressions vs. quality of content, and I feel like at some point we have to take a step back and ask ourselves what the consequences are.
I’ve spoken with titans in our industry about this. Their answer is very… politically correct. “The parents keep signing up, so there must be value to what we’re providing”.
Is it that there’s value, or are they sidestepping the perception of value that they as experts have created?
There’s two possibilities: 1) They genuinely just focus on the numbers and don’t pay attention to anything beyond that 2) They know what they’re doing but don’t want any liability of what happens when families don’t get what they want.
I sit on parent forums, and see families scraping money together all the time to send their kids to travel tournaments. I’ve seen fundraisers, parents taking second jobs, even straight-up gofundme’s to find a way to help kids travel to tournaments that have been advertised as ‘necessary’, but won’t actually get the kids closer to their end goals.
I feel like we’re going ass-backwards in 2023. The power of the internet should make youth sports cheaper/more accessible for families. We had a player start her entire freshman year for her program, and their recruiting process didn’t require any travel tournaments. They made a personalized email, took film from high-level scrimmages/games on our courts, then visited the school after building a relationship with the coach.
As a former college coach, that’s where the money should be spent. Visiting schools after sending film to a coach and establishing from the comfort of our homes that we may genuinely be a good fit.
Even then, kids have to be careful: Many college coaches send a response that implies interest, but the call-to-action is to have an athlete attend a pay-to-play camp, often in the hundreds of dollars, on top of flights, hotel, etc.
For families that have the time and means, so be it. But I know so many families would do it differently if they knew the truth. They would invest their time and money so much more efficiently if they were being led by people that genuinely had their best interests in mind. And so many of our experts would lose their minds if someone tried to sell to their kids the same things they sell to others.
I’ve spent the last decade trying to tilt the scales. I feel like I’m getting closer, but it hasn’t been easy. I’m comfortable building my own platform to discuss it, but it’s hard to change minds when most of the powers-that-be unify in their message that prioritizes income over outcome.
I’m hopeful these writings will help. I also am excited to bring others in to help.
Yesterday I recorded my second podcast episode with a former D-1 coach, and I have more lined up. I cannot wait to get these edited and posted - the conversations are authentic, honest feedback on what is important and what isn’t. No fluff on ‘how to get a scholarship/how to play in college’. There is no magic equation that changes the reality that the demand far exceeds the supply. What we’re providing is the work it takes for athletes to be the best versions of themselves, as well as busting myths on the things that aren’t important but constantly get pushed onto families.
It is scary to leave the norm - it’s not easy to deal with people questioning your decisions. Sometimes their intent is pure and they just fear the path less traveled will lead to a worse experience, others believe it’s their way or the wrong way, and the worst know that keeping you on the normal path will benefit them. But I hope people find the courage to recognize when that while we fear changes and what could go wrong, sometimes embracing change is the only way to truly reach our peak potential.
For those that share that thirst for genuine content, I believe you’ve found the right place. Thanks for being a part of this journey, we’re just getting started. That’s it for today - as always, be good to yourselves, be good to each other, we’ll see you tomorrow!