Jon StojanSports is a social activity, and one of the most important reasons why children are recommended to be exposed to sports while growing up is that it helps develop social skills and positive characteristics such as discipline, accountability, and a good work ethic. This is why it’s important for parents and athletes to find an excellent sports environment for their children and career, which will pay dividends even many years down the line. However, finding a sports club, training program, or coach that fits the players needs can be complicated. Major social media platforms are cluttered with so much content, making it hard to search for clubs and coaches, especially at a local level.
Solving this problem is The Sports Portal, a sports-only social platform designed to connect athletes, youth sports players, parents, coaches, and other sports enthusiasts. As the first social platform of its kind, The Sports Portal provides unique insight into local sports teams and organizations. By providing reviews from previous and current players, parents, and community members, The Sports Portal helps athletes and their parents make informed decisions about the right coach and team to join.
The Sports Portal, Logo
Maurice Barnett, Founder of The Sports Portal, says he was inspired to create the portal from his experiences both as a parent and as a coach who is driven to help children and young adults achieve personal development. He realized that there are many good coaches and good organizations in the sports landscape, but there are also many bad coaches and organizations, and it’s often hard to distinguish them at first glance. Many parents are looking for viable options for their children to play sports, where it can be hit or miss, especially when considering personal and player development goals.
“I’ve coached players with different personalities, capabilities, and mental maturity levels,” Barnett says. “There have been players who were performing great with me, but when they started playing under another coach they would shrivel and the parents would come back and ask me when I would be coaching again because they said that my coaching style was the one that allowed for better growth and development for their particular child.”
According to Barnett, whether or not a young athlete thrives comes down to what he calls “root inspiration,” which is what leads them to start playing a sport. Many times, it goes well, but sometimes it gets soured by differing coaching aspirations or the organization being too fixated on status. As a result, they end up missing the goal of player growth and personal development.
The Sports Portal helps athletes and their parents navigate different organizations and coaching styles and find the right one for the athlete’s current stage of development. They can connect with other parents and athletes and provide feedback to coaches and organizations. This is also helpful for parents in vetting coaches and organizations to ensure that they have no history of abuse or bullying and that they can entrust their children to them.
Players of any age, whether seasoned ones or beginners, can create their profiles on The Sports Portal, make sports-related posts, and track their game stats all in one place, making it more visible to scouts and other interested parties. It also helps athletes discover local sports organizations and connect with coaches who understand their needs.
Coaches can use The Sports Portal to elevate their coaching career by connecting with various athletes and organizations. They can use their coach profile to highlight their coaching style, experience, and philosophy, allowing them to connect with compatible athletes. Meanwhile, organizations can showcase their programs and activities to a wider audience. This can also aid them in recruiting players, managing team rosters, and providing updates to parents and other members of the community.
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Barnett envisions The Sports Portal becoming the go-to social platform specializing in sports, similar to how LinkedIn is for business and employment. It does not aim to replace any social media platform, but rather be one where sports is front and center. It operates on a freemium model, where any user can create a profile for free, but paid subscriptions are available for organizations that want access to more in-depth features and data analytics functions.
“We want The Sports Portal to become the default way for a person or organization to say that they are in the sports world,” Barnett says. “If you are an athlete, coach, or sports team and you want people to know more about you, you can direct them to your profile on The Sports Portal, either by sharing the link or your QR code. My message to sports organizations is that there are hundreds or even thousands of good players in your locality, and you want to find them, just as they want to find you. The Sports Portal gives you the best chance to do that because this is the best way to rise above the noise within other social media platforms.”