Here is a quick video of me hitting hand mitts. Fight is five weeks out and starting to put everything together. I wanted to show how easy it is to upload videos to my Player Profile Page. Any type of video you wish to upload can be done. Whether you want to show a potential Coach one of your recent at bats or show one of your weight training workouts, it all can easily be done with your personal Player Profile Website.
Here is a quick video of me and Jordan at Arizona Combat Sports sparring. My fight is five weeks away and I’m getting excited to jump back into the ring.
Ryan Bader is a top Light Heavyweight fighter in the UFC and as you heard getting ready for his next big fight. I pulled him aside after a training session to talk with him about his site. He loves his site and how he keeps his visitors in tune with his daily regimen. Ryan does a fantastic job of this using videos about his training, eating habits, and daily life to interact on a personal level with all of his fans. What better way to do this than your own website? This is why I am such a huge believer in being proactive and having your own platform for whatever you are trying to accomplish. Obviously, I encourage the Player Profiles as a way for athletes to showcase their skills online. In its simplest form, its like having your own virtual sports card which can conveniently be sent to any College Coaches you desire to play for. Ryan is one of the few professional athletes that understand the value and power of having an online brand!
You can follow him @RyanBader on Twitter. Or check out all of his videos at RyanBader.com. You can follow me @protegebranding
If you are reading this article then you have obviously seen the Protege Player Web site. I wanted to break down some of the thought processes of this Virtual Sports Card for you.
Whether you are an amateur or professional athlete trying to gain a competitive advantage, an online platform is the way to go. A unique Protege Player Website allows you to reach your target audience in the most convenient and accessible means possible.
If you are an amateur athlete seeking a scholarship to a college or hoping to be picked up by a professional team, you NEED to have an online platform to showcase your skills and define yourself as an individual.
“According to a report released by the Pew Internet Project, 52 million Americans have hit the Internet in search of a job. That’s a 60-percent jump over the number of people who used the Internet in their online job searches in March 2000.” – RecruitersNetwork.com
Why would this be any different for athletics? It’s not. Millions of Americans have their resumes posted online to different platforms yet don’t use the same platform to reach out to recruiters and companies. Why? It will take time for people to understand the value of having their own online platform for job searching. The same should be applied to your process as an athlete. Why not have your own website to send to college coaches at a click of a button? Why not start the online branding process early and be proactive about your career?
A lot of these questions come up often for those directly dealing in the Internet world. With Protege’s Player Profile Website you have the ability to send out your own platform to potential coaches/teams of your choosing. A lot of the online recruiting sites hinder you to getting in front of the right coach. If you send an email to a recruiting coordinator for the Florida Marlins (public information) with a direct link to your personal site where all your pertinent information along with some raw videos of hitting/fielding/pitching will he most likely click on the link and check out your site? I think so.
Will the same coordinator open up a link that you sent him from a recruiting platform then login/sign up to view your account? The more steps he has to take that less likely he will check out your site. We solve this issue.
Protege’s Profile Website were designed by online branders and marketers. The same people that take a domain name, build a Website and produce revenue from it in a very short amount of time. They do this repeatedly. They understand the value of taking this concept into the athletic world. It’s time for you to take initiative and be proactive!
If you have any questions or comments please contact me on this site. Thanks and Happy Branding.Vir
During the summer of my junior year in high school, I had the luxury of interviewing several baseball agents for representation. Looking back, I think we met with a total of 15 professional baseball agents. From Scott Boras to IMG, we met with all of the top ones at the time. After the initial meetings, we sat back and picked a top 3 list. Then my parents made me place a call to the other baseball agents to tell them we were going in another direction and to thank them for their time.
Later that week, we had meetings with the three baseball agents on my list. My parents wanted to ask more serious questions regarding the business side of my future while I wanted to figure out how I connected with them on a personal level. It meant a lot to me to carry a conversation with them and to have them take a serious interest in me as a person rather than just their next big money maker. Let’s be honest, that is why they were there in the first place.
After the second round of meetings, I immediately knew who I was going with. Ryan didn’t try too hard to impress me like most of the other sports agents did. He was very personable, and he had been successful in the professional baseball world. I could tell Ryan, backed by the top firm Reich, Katz, and Landis, was passionate about what he was doing. Amazingly, we are still great friends to this day and stay in touch regularly.
In my opinion, here are the five things to look for in deciding an agent:
1. What kind of reputation does he have in the baseball industry?
2. What successes has he had in the past three years regarding the draft?
3. What does he promise you? (It should be very little and he should have your best interest in mind when answering this question)
4. What kind of person is he? Do you feel that you can get along with him?
5. Remember, they work for you, so ask hard questions. Does he answer them well or are they filled with rhetoric?
It’s a tough decision, especially when you have a lot of options. Don’t feel pressed to make a decision right away. You and your family are always in the driver’s seat. If you are a Freshman and want to get a jump start on your knowledge, check out Protege’s Freshman Game Plan Packet.
-CG