This December the National Federation Of State High School Associations is heading to San Antonio for the 49th National Athletic Directors Show. The event is expected to host more than 1,800 attendees from across the country. The purpose of the conference is to provide educational tools for interscholastic athletic administrators.
NFHS has led the development of education-based interscholastic sports and activities that help students succeed in their lives. It also provides a variety of program initiatives that reach the 18,500 high schools and over 11 million students involved in athletic and activity programs.
As part of their marketing initiative, they started the #MyReasonWhy campaign which gives student athletes a platform to tell their story on why they love participating in high school sports & activities.
As someone who is involved with high school athletics, I want to do my part in spreading the #MyReasonWhy message.
My top 5 reasons I appreciate working with the high school community:
1) Helping Athletes Be Their Best & Achieve Their Goals
For some athletes, athletic goals may mean making the JV volleyball team. For others it may be for their hard work to get noticed by their coach and in turn get more playing time. Have you seen the joy in a parents eyes when their son or daughter finally gets their chance off the bench? Hard work pays off!
On a more competitive note, many high school athletes strive to continue their athletic career into college. NCAA Divisions I and II schools provide more than $2.9 billion in athletic scholarships annually to more than 150,000 student-athletes. The opportunity is there.
We have many athletes that take advantage of our VertiMax & Raptor equipment at home. Whether they're using it in their driveway and bonding over a training session with their parents (training video) or are putting in the work when no one is watching, there are athletes out there putting in the work. Do you outwork the competition?
2) Helping Coaches Get The Most Out Of Their Athletes
Coaches want to maximize every minute they have with their athletes. Like in business, you want to operate as efficiently as possible. At VertiMax we don’t give coaches a tool and tell them to use it a certain way. We would never box a coach in to thinking or training a particular way. Coaches don’t have to do “VertiMax” specific drills in order to get the most out of the equipment. Instead, we developed a technology that not only gives coaches the ability to incorporate the equipment seamlessly into their training regimen, but it allows them to maximize every single rep taken in practice.
As part of the business development team at VertiMax, one of the greatest compliments I receive is when I speak with a coach or athletic director a season or two after they implement a VertiMax into their program; Hearing them express that our equipment played an important role in taking their PROGRAM to the next level makes all the difference in what we do as a company.
3) Teamwork Atmosphere
As a previous high school athlete myself, I understand what it means to have an influential coach and incredible teammates. Whether you had a rough day at school or an argument with your parents, when you walk into the lock room, it feels like walking into another dimension. The chatter is echoing off the walls of the lockers, the tape is being wrapped around the legs, balls are bouncing, chalk is streaking across the chalkboard (do those still exist?)...That is the sound of a team environment.
Whether it’s 8, 12 or 35 teammates, there is a common goal to be the best and achieve a goal together. Although it may not be a monumental role in the road to success, I’m proud of our contribution to helping teams and programs grow together and achieve a common goal.
4) Working With Positive Mentors
Most high school coaches perform double duty between the classroom and athletics. In addition to the time spent at practice, in the weight room and traveling for games, they are also spending a great deal of time on their academic curriculum. Tip of the cap to all you teachers and coaches out there. Thank you for what you do in your community and the influence you have on building this country's youth.
Coaches have the wonderful opportunity and responsibility to play an important role preparing their student athletes for life. Something many coaches rightly so, take very seriously. To quote University of Clemson coach Dabo Sweeny:
"That's kind of what I see in myself today with the opportunity I have, I see myself as a teacher. Yes, I'm teaching a game, but I'm also teaching young people how to do what's right, how to become a man, how to handle adversity, sacrifice, be a good teammate, help them think through some things, see the bigger picture of life."
5) Bridging The Gap Between the Weight Room and the Game
Some athletes don’t enjoy spending time in the weight room participating in a strength and conditioning program. They want to focus on position and sport specific practice and get to game time. If we’re being honest and you want to take athletics serious, you should understand the importance of off the field sports performance training...
At VertiMax, we provide athletes and coaches the opportunity to change up the training environment. If you’re a basketball player looking to build explosiveness in your legs and want to take a day off from the weight room, we provide you the opportunity to pick your setting. Many of our partners take advantage of the portability of our equipment and bring it right onto the playing surface.
We’re excited for our opportunity to participate at the show this December (14th - 18th). We will have a hands on training area setup with our latest VertiMax & Raptor equipment. It would be our pleasure to introduce ourselves and meet as many of you that we can. Please stop by as we would love to hear your reason why. See you in San Antonio!
