Baller 21

Be a Baller // Life Lesson Booklet

2010-08-20T19:23:14Z

For a recent Baller Basketball Camp in Redlands, CA, I created a booklet as a part of our player packages.

The booklet was designed to encourage ballplayers to be the best they can be in athletics and life. The life lessons included a message from the basketball world as well as a comparable biblical concept.

The following is chapter concepts in the booklet:

Defining Success
How You Play Matters
What’s It Going To Take?
You Need Your Team
What If You Lose?
Beyond The Game
Calling A Timeout
Checking Back In

3 on 3 Basketball @ Staples // LA Live

2010-08-01T20:26:18Z

Ever since the first time I discovered a host of basketball courts spread across the parking lots of Newport Beach, I have wanted to play in a Hoop-it-up tournament. I never got that opportunity to play in Hoop-it-up, but next week I will get my opportunity to play in a Nike 3 on 3 outside Staples Center and LA Live.

It’s going to be fun reconnecting with some old buddies that I played with in high school and college. We aren’t in the same shape, but we all are looking forward to getting back into competitive ball again.

There was a deadline on July 30 for sign-ups, but you still might be able to sign up now and on the day of the event. I like that divisions were created for any type of ballplayer to participate. The divisions include: Elite, Adult, Youth, Special Olympics, and Wheelchair (The last two divisions are FREE by the way).

Another value of the event is the participant packages. Every player will receive the following:

1 ticket to a 2010 Clippers Game

$25 ESPN Zone Gift Card

Nike Tournament Shirt

Powerade Drawstring Backpack & Drink

Frito-Lay Snack Sample

Spidertech Athletic Tape

Every team is guaranteed a minimum of 3 games. Cost is $160 a team and with a maximum of four players.

Additional prizes will be awarded for each division in 1st and 2nd place and recognitions to those displaying good sportsmanship.

Should be a fun weekend, Aug 7-8, of games, live music, food, and hopefully raining down 3’s on our competition.

Anybody going?

New Branding Strategy for the Y.M.C.A.

2010-07-15T06:36:39Z

The family and I continue to get settled in since our move to Southern California. In addition to pursing the vision of Baller Athletics, I have taken a job with the YMCA in Highland, CA.

While beginning an orientation in my new work environment, I was introduced to a new branding strategy for the Y.M.C.A on a national level. The Y.M.C.A, one of the most iconic nonprofit organizations, founded in 1844 in England as the Young Men’s Christian Association, will now be branded as “the Y.”

The new brand strategy, the result of more than two years of analysis and research (that cost $16.4 million), is described as having a more forward-looking logo that reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the organization, and a framework that focuses resources on three core areas: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

The rationale for “the Y” is to align with how people most commonly refer to the organization. The national resource office, YMCA of the USA, has already begun the transition to the new brand. Y’s across the country will transition fully within five years.

The following is a press release from the Y national website on the logo change: The Y’s former logo had been in place since 1967 and was the organization’s sixth since its inception. The refreshed logo, with its multiple color options and new, contemporary look, better reflects the vibrancy of the Y and the diversity of the communities it serves. The new logo’s bold, active and welcoming shape symbolizes the Y’s commitment to personal and social progress.

An additional element in the new branding strategy is a free Y Finder iPhone App. The app is a simple tool to locate and find contact information for your local Y.

What is your reaction to the logo change? Is the change a familiar trend in the organizations move away from its distinct Christian roots? Or is the change a better fit for the organization to be more inclusive to the community it serves beyond the roots of young Christian men?

I personally think its a little of both.

Do Not Look Back // A John Wooden Story

2010-06-16T07:05:47Z

I received an email recently from a Coach Todd James, Dublin, Ireland, outlining a personal encounter with John Wooden a few years ago.

Coach James produced a tract entitled, “Meet My Head Coach,” after finishing his high school basketball coaching career, and after feeling called to go to the mission field to tell people about what Christ had done in his life. Today this small tract is in 10 languages and used by ministries around the world.

One of the ministries is Athletes in Action. They took Meet My Head Coach and made some adaptations and used James Naismith as a model of a coach who had a plan.

Coach James was reading Jay Carty’s devotional, “Coach Wooden One-on-One”, and noticed a comment that he made about his own reason for writing the devotional was so that others would know more about John Wooden’s spiritual side. Influenced by the life and impact of John Wooden, Coach James sought to have Coach Wooden endorse his tract.

Contact with Coach Wooden was made. First, a phone call. No answer and a message was left. Second option, a letter was written (Still amazed he got his phone number and address) and a AIA version tract and Coach James’ original was sent with the details of asking if he would consider having his own version of the tract.

A month later a return letter was received.

Coach Wooden appreciated him writing and asking, but felt that it would be inappropriate to replace James Naismith on the tract. Coach James was disappointed and actually thought that maybe he didn’t understand what he was asking him to do. Coach James felt that most people didn’t know who James Naismith was and that Coach Wooden was a much better example of a coach with a plan for this particular tract.

Plan B was to contact AIA because they often worked with Coach Wooden, especially during basketball season and at the Final Four with the Wooden Award. AIA thought the new version was a good idea and made an attempt to make a pitch to Coach Wooden. This time, however, Coach Wooden signed off on the project.

Coach James was so excited to hear the news, but it wasn’t necessarily because he said yes. It was because he has had so much of an impact on so many lives over the years and now his story will continue to impact others with Christ long after he is with his Head Coach.

Coach James was amazed how God could use a missionary in Ireland, who used to be a basketball coach, to write something that has come back to the person who had an impact on him as a young coach, and now impact others.

The new version is personalized for Coach Wooden and gives a very clear statement of his own faith in Christ.

As Coach James was reading though the new version, he kept thinking about all the things that Coach Wooden taught his players and what he would feel was the most important. He thinks the tract makes it clear.

You can have all the victories in the world of basketball and lose in the game of life. You can have all the money in the world and not be happy or find meaning in life. Only God has a plan for helping us to know Him and enjoy Him forever. Coach Wooden knew that and lived his life with that in mind. He has expressed it clearly in his own version of Meet My Head Coach. He wants those who he has loved to know that to. He wants them to meet his Head Coach and enjoy eternity with Him.

The following is a poem that Coach Wooden wrote that expresses his story well.

Do Not Look Back

The years have left their imprint on my hands and on my face

Erect no long is my walk and slower is my pace;

But there is no fear within my heart because I’m growing old,

I only wish I had more time to further serve my Lord.

When I’ve gone to Him in prayer, He has brought me inner peace,

And soon my cares and worries and all others troubles cease,

He has blessed me in so many ways; He has never let me down,

Why should I fear the future when I soon may touch His crown?

Though I know down here my time is short, there is endless time up there,

And He will forgive and keep me forever in His loving care,

May I not waste an hour that’s left to glorify the name,

Of the one who died, that we might live, and for our sins took all the blame.

Coach James ended the email with the statement that John Wooden’s greatest victory was not on a basketball court. His greatest victory came the day that he chose to accept Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and to live for Him. Christ died to give him victory over life’s greatest enemy, death, and gave him a better life in the present.

Thank you to Coach Todd James for sharing your story of the late Coach John Wooden.

He will be missed!

I’m All In // Moving Update

2010-05-24T04:42:16Z

In 2004, as a single guy and in pursuit of my calling in life, I moved from Southern California to continue my education at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY.

I didn’t know a soul here in KY. Three years later, I added a degree, young adult and sports ministry experience, and a wife to the resume. I was excited, thankful for my opportunity to study, and ready for the next phase in my life.

And then I hit a wall. A wall of closed door job opportunities. A wall of frustration. A wall of confusion. A wall of humility. A wall that I got acquainted with for another three years.

I didn’t know what I was doing anymore. My whole being was becoming numb. It wasn’t a fun place to be. Part of me stopped caring. And part of me was trying to remind myself to hang in there, stay positive, and persevere no matter the season of life. Despite my intentions, I don’t think I responded as well as I should have.

I then began to reevaluate who I was, what I really wanted to do with my life, and what God wanted me to do. What surfaced was a desire to combine my passion for athletics and ministry.

I sought out these type of job opportunities, as limited as they are, but made no progress. And so I came to a point where I became tired of waiting and depending on others to move forward. It was time to make my own opportunity, and to fully pursue the vision of the non-profit sports organization, Baller Athletics, that I founded.

With that said, we have decided that “I’m all in,” and that the best home base for the organization will be out west, in Southern California. We will be packing up and moving on June 4. Pray for us in our pursuits and for the transition that my wife, son, and I will be making with the move.

Michael Jordan in Adidas?

2010-05-01T17:54:34Z

In 1984, after Jordan went third in the NBA Draft following Olajuwon and Sam Bowie, David Falk, Jordan’s agent, negotiated a $3 million, five-year package with the Chicago Bulls. Falk’s next goal was to sign Jordan to various endorsement deals.

According to Swoosh, in chapter thirty-eight, Air Becomes A Man, athletic shoe companies wanted to sign athletes before they played their first professional game, before they had a chance to be signed with another brand. Falk set up negotiation meetings with Adidas, Converse, and Nike.

Jordan had never wore Nike’s and the only reason he wore Converse was because of the shoe deal North Carolina had. Adidas were his kicks of choice.

Converse offered a basic package and told Jordan that would be just another athlete on their distinguished list of players, like Dr. J and Larry Bird, and would not make any more money than them.

Nike, however, offered to make him their star, with a complete package of a $2.5 million over five years contract, his own logo, print ads, poster comps, his own shoes and clothes, and most importantly, royalties. Jordan was to receive money for each pair of Air Jordan basketball shoes sold, and another royalty on all Nike Air basketball shoes sold, not just Air Jordan, exceeding the 400,000 pairs that had been sold by Nike the prior year. He was to get a percentage of the net sales of all Jordan apparel and accessories, and some shares of Nike B stock.

Adidas never met with Jordan, but his agent did, and they were not going to offer more money and time to get another American basketball player in addition to Kareem Abdul Jabbar and other players. Jordan still made a final pitch to an Adidas rep by saying, “You match the Nike deal and I’ll go Adidas. If you even come close, I’ll go Adidas.” They didn’t come close, offering him about $100,000, what Kareem was getting, and they wouldn’t do a special Jordan shoe.

With encouragement from his agent and parents, Jordan finally agreed to a deal with Nike. Below is an interview video of Jordan discussing this story.

I can’t imagine Michael Jordan in Adidas, and it even looks odd to see old college photos of him in Converse. But I’ll tell you this. Jordan said that we don’t know for sure if the outcome of success would be different if he went with Adidas, and that the marketing of Adidas could have been there as well.

I agree when he said that his play on the court helped with the success of his endorsements, but I strongly disagree with the statement that Adidas could have marketed the Jordan Brand better than Nike.

Love or hate, Nike is the leader in marketing athletes and products. No contest.

Sneaker Wars // Adidas, Puma, and the Dassler Brothers

2010-05-01T17:55:40Z

Chapter 4 in Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike, entitled Shoe Wars, introduces an intriguing account of the origins of Adidas and Puma.

Rudolf, the oldest brother, and Adi were born into the Dassler family that would become one of the world’s most preeminent athletic shoemaking companies. During the economic struggle of World War I, the Dassler family set up a shoemaking operation in the back of the laundry room of their home and began making shoes from the leftover debris of war.

Adi Dassler, who would become known as the father of the modern sports shoe, excelled in the product development side of the business and his brother and wife handled sales and finance.

When Hitler went to war, the Dassler factory was given over to produce boots for the military. Rudi was called to serve in the military, but Adi stayed home to run the factory. After being away from the factory village of Herzogenaurach for years, serving in the war and then being detained in an American POW camp for a year after the war ended, Rudi walked away from the family business.

For reasons that remain a family secret, Rudi and Adi had become bitter enemies. One account states that the rivalry started because of a misunderstanding about the war itself, and that Rudi blamed Adi for turning him in to the Americans or for failing to use his connections to have him released. It was also said that Rudi attempted to cause a division between Adi and his wife, and Adi never forgave him.

Whatever the reason, Rudi walked across the river and started his own shoe factory. Adi and Rudi agreed that they would never use the Dassler name on their shoes. Adi named his company Addas, and Rudi named his Ruda. According to the authors of Swoosh, an advertising company suggested Rudi substitute a P and an M to make Puma, imaging a sleek running cat and a paw in motion. Addas eventually became Adidas, pronounced with an emphasis on the final syllable and not on the second, as is the common pronunciation in America.

As the two companies grew over the years, they also influenced a divided Herzogenaurach. For years, a sign in the middle of town had an arrow pointing to Adidas and one pointing to Puma. You would play on one of two soccer teams, drink at a specific pub, have children attend a certain elementary school, depending on the shoe factory you worked at.

Adi invented the first shoes designed for ice, the first shoes with four spikes, and the first track shoes with replaceable spikes. Adidas was also the first company to develop sports bags and set the style for athletic clothing. But Adi’s biggest breath through was the replaceable cleat. The cleats made their debut on soccer boots at the World Soccer Championships in Bern, Switzerland in 1954. The shoes were a vital part of the West German victory over the favored Hungarians, with longer spikes screwed into the shoes at halftime to better tread the rain and muddy fields, but also a symbol of hope for West German pride that had been destroyed by the war.

Although Rudi was considered to be stronger in promotions and sales, it was Adi who established the tradition of using the world championships and the Olympic Games as platforms to sell athletic shoes. In 1956, Adidas started another long tradition of naming a shoe model after the Olympics itself.

Adi sent his only son, Horst, only 20 years old, to the Melbourne Olympics in an innovative marketing campaign that would change the game in sports promotions for decades to come. The goal was to make sure that the world’s best athletes wore the new spike. Horst succeeded simply by giving the shoes away. Another major reason for success was Adidas’ solid relationships that were built with government sports officials all over the world, and signing contracts with national sports federations on both sides of the Iron Curtain.

Contracts with Communist countries would ensure that the whole Olympic team would wear Adidas. Adidas began to advertise itself as “the sports shoe of the world’s best,” and to spite Puma, it added that Adidas was “the only genuine German shoe of the world champions.”

Puma struck back in Rome in 1960, when Rudi paid one of Adi’s best athletes to wear Puma. Athletes began to not be satisfied with wearing a companies shoe for free.

It has also been said that track and field athletes had been paid under the table since the early 1900’s. The Dassler brothers used such methods as a way of winning the Sneaker War between each other and yet changed the way the business of sports was done.

For an additional reference on this story, a new book has been written, entitled Sneaker Wars.

B21, Basketball Clip Board Apps, and the iPad

2010-04-22T04:40:37Z

I stopped by an Apple Retail Store and finally got my hands on the iPad. I was also curious to see what this blog, www.baller21.com, looked like and its level of functionality.

In short, the device lived up to the commercial hype and made for impressive browsing and a more comparable laptop/desktop experience than the iPhone because of the larger screen size.

The image above is from a screen shot I took on the iPad (hold the power and home button down at the same time and release).

I didn’t have a lot of play time but found two interesting apps.

1. Star Walk // Interactive Astronomy App.

The Star Walk app functions as a digital compass as you tilt the iPad towards the sky and the “Star Spotter” and “Sky Live” features, among others, will give you a live representation of what’s in space. Fascinating app! $4.99.

2. Sports Clip Boards // Apps for Basketball, Soccer, and Hockey.

I found two basketball clip board apps and one multi-sport app for basketball, soccer, and hockey called SportsBoard. Some apps are for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch, and others are just for the iPad. These apps allow you to move players around, draw lines with your finger, and save or erase work. $.99 – $1.99.

Imagine a coaching staff with a digital system for note taking, statistics, play calling, and visual instruction. No need for markers or erasers. The only issues would be all the sweat dripping on the $499 plus device or an iPad-throwing coach during a frustrating game.

What do you think?

Are these practical apps and the future of coaching or not?

I have no plans on getting an iPad anytime soon but it is a fun device. Still thinking through the practicality and need!

Lastly, I have not invested or made a transition to e-books yet, and still not sure if I will, but the books on the iPad seem much more advanced than the experience on the Kindle or other devices, despite the temporary lack of book options with the iPad.

Anyone have an iPad yet or plan on getting one?

The Unauthorized Story of Nike

2010-05-01T17:56:55Z

In college, a book on the shelf of one of my Kinesiology professors caught my attention. That book was entitled, Swoosh: The Unauthorized Story of Nike and the Men Who Played There.

What is intriguing about this book is that it was the first book about the inside story of Nike, Inc., told by it’s own, and yet without formal consent from the head executives, including co-founder and chairman Phil Knight.

A note from the authors:

“When coauthor J.B. Strasser started working on this book in Portland, Oregan, in 1983, she wanted to write a story about the drama that went on around the clock at what would become the world’s most powerful sports company. The result, eight years later, is a story about the people of Nike, from president to the savvy secretary; from the factory worker to the promo man on the road. In our view, the most interesting parts of Nike history are glimpses into how this company was established. For that reason, we chose to end our story where the pioneering slowed. In the corporate world, some people lay track and some people drive the train. This story is about the people who laid the track.”

The historical account of how the multibillion dollar company, formerly an importer of Japanese shoes as Blue Ribbon Sports, got its start, the origins behind the Nike name and famous swoosh, the dedication from it’s soldiers, the deals made with top athletes, and the details of how it stormed into battle of the worldwide Sneaker War is fascinating.

Carolyn Davidson is the creator of the Nike swoosh. Davidson designed the swoosh in 1971 while a graphic design student. Phil Knight, who was teaching an accounting class at Portland State University, noticed Davidson working on an assignment, and asked her to do some work for what was then Blue Ribbon Sports, Inc. Needing to choose a logo in order to meet looming production deadlines, Knight settled on the swoosh, after rejecting various other designs. At the time, he stated of the logo, “I don’t love it, but I think it’ll grow on me.” She billed the company $35 for her design. Knight, years later and after significant financial growth, presented her with a diamond ring engraved with the swoosh, and Nike stock.

Jeff Johnson, the first employee of the company, had the daunting task with others in a creative meeting, during a secretive transition period as a undercover brand, to come up with a name for the new company and its shoe box deadline only a day away. Some of the name ideas included, Bengal, Falcon, and even Dimension Six from Phil Knight. Johnson came up with Nike, in connection with the winged goddess of victory from Greek mythology. Knight finally decided, “I guess we’ll go with the Nike thing for now. I really don’t like any of them, but I guess that’s the best of the bunch.”

A co-worker of mine recently was astonished, after discussing the origins of Nike laid out in this book, in regards to how they started with nothing and yet reached the level of success they are currently at. There are a number of factors that contributed to the success of the company, but one distinctive factor is the drive of its leaders and early team members.

“It was a holy mission, you know, to Swoosh the world.
To get Swooshes on everybody’s feet. We were Knight’s crusaders.
We would have died on the cross.”

–Jeff Johnson
Nike’s first employee
1990

There are many more stories and interesting facts in this book, including the deals made with Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson, and the chapter on Shoe Wars, but I’ll save those for later posts.

I enjoyed the read and was captivated by the leadership moves made (many successful, many failures, and some just crazy) as a recent start-up leader of an organization myself.

Verité Sport

2010-03-20T17:31:15Z

Verité Sport, an international sports ministry, exists to promote a Christian presence in sport, to take the teachings of the Bible and to apply them to sport. While Verité Sport is a new missionary organization based in Oxford, England, its Executive Director, Stuart Weir, has been involved in Sports ministry for over 25 years.

The website of Verité Sport has a host of valuable resources that include: articles, free books to download (Born to play, What the book says about sport, and The Sports Stadium), devotions, book reviews, interviews, and international partnerships.

There is also a section entitled, Theology of Sport, that lists additional articles and a extensive sports bibliography.

Lastly, there is a section of links: sports ministry in Europe, UK, US, World, sport specific ministry, radio, and blogs.

Verité Sport offers many valuable resources for those interested in promoting a Christian presence in sports culture.