The IMG experience was awesome. Simply put to see an event with so many moving parts being organized and run so efficiently was really impressive. Now that I'm home, I only have one more scheduled time to go to AWP, but I have a lot of things to do on my end! I got in late Sunday night and went to bed because I had to teach summer school the next morning at 7:30. I spent all of the 24th after summer school getting film in order and contacting coaches about some players and how they performed in the 7v7 tournament. Over the next few days I will be making phone calls and sending lots of e-mails and waiting for film to get completed by the staff at AWP to send those out. I have found that Facebook has been a great tool to contact coaches that I don't have relationships with because their e-mail inbox is usually quite flooded and their Facebook messaging is not. AWP has a free combine coming up on July 27th which acts as a chance for kids to come get a taste of the experience of being trained at AWP. Throughout the day I plan on talking with my mentor and just understanding the business more and getting to know what is going on with the business at this point.
Other than the combine, there is so much going on behind the scenes to help build the entire organization it is very exciting to think about and sit back and discuss with Mike and the staff about potential partnerships that will be announced very soon. I have also found this mentorship quite difficult to manage as there are times where I feel a real information overload (which is a good thing), but it requires me to write tons of notes at the end of the day, take voice notes with my phone, and really write it out multiple times before formulating a blog that is somewhat cohesive and makes sense.
One thing I have really learned throughout this process of working virtually with other coaches about players and just cultivating the relationships is that a lot of it is not salesmanship like most people think, but rather finding out who truly fits in a situation and really examining the needs of a program. Much like in a business you can judge the health of it through a balance sheet, ledger, or other documents that are available, often times the roster, scouting services information, and talking with coaches can really help one understand what they are looking for in a player and if the player you have is a fit. Being a part of AWP has helped me gain credibility with coaches that I have no prior relationship with and has really helped me understand myself more too - my limitations and strengths.
Other than the combine, there is so much going on behind the scenes to help build the entire organization it is very exciting to think about and sit back and discuss with Mike and the staff about potential partnerships that will be announced very soon. I have also found this mentorship quite difficult to manage as there are times where I feel a real information overload (which is a good thing), but it requires me to write tons of notes at the end of the day, take voice notes with my phone, and really write it out multiple times before formulating a blog that is somewhat cohesive and makes sense.
I wish I could speak on some of the offers that some of our kids are getting soon, but I'm not allowed to say. It is really cool to see a level of satisfaction the kids have when they get the offer and also see which kids remain unsatisfied and work even harder after getting the offer. Looking at this age of athlete and seeing what motivates them helps a lot when
