Team Insight - May, 2008
America's Athletic Directors Speak Out
Every team dealer or roadman at one time or another has wondered what the heck the athletic director is thinking as he sits behind his cluttered desk during a sales presentation. Was he paying attention at all? Thinking about the games that afternoon...
Football's New Playbook
Some incredibly successful grassroots marketing – led by the National Football League – and cutting-edge technology, along with the simple fact that it is FOOTBALL, keeps the sport Number One for team dealers. But there are challenges ahead, includi...
What ADs Want
Honesty, respect, attention, service, delivery and, of course, good prices top the list
It turns out that one of the most difficult jobs in team sports is getting the attention of athletic directors. But that certainly isn’t news to team dealers and their roadmen, who face this challenge every day. Between scheduling spring sports – a...
Tacky Is Good
Are batting gloves part of the baseball uniform? Are receiver gloves part of the football uniform? Glove manufacturers definitely think so, and they’re urging team dealers to give them a hand in spreading the word.
No game lends itself better to statistics than baseball, so here’s a great one for batting glove manufacturers. Of the approximately 400 everyday players on big league rosters to open the 2008 season, only six – can you name them – choose to step to ...
Retro Rules in Jackets
As surely as the sports seasons turn, athletic teams need to be outfitted to perform and, of course, to look good doing it.
As surely as the sports seasons turn, athletic teams need to be outfitted to perform and, of course, to look good doing it. To be in the game, team dealers have to stay steps ahead, ready to offer quality jackets and warm-ups and first-rate service t...
Net Profit
Big-ticket items such as goals and nets for school and recreation programs may not be mainstream products for team dealers, but their healthy margins and large price tags should make selling them a goal of every dealer looking to be a one-stop suppli
The nets and goals used in team sports across America – from soccer and lacrosse goals to batting cages to field separators – are certainly not the bread and butter of a team dealer’s business. Yet every day the savvy roadman is letting his school ...
The Joy of Socks
Performance fabrics and customization have made this team staple a profit center for the dealer who does it right.
My, how the sport sock has changed over the years. This once hum-drum shelf item – often the last product out of a roadman’s bag during a sales call – has certainly caught up with the times and has been augmented by high-tech, high-performance feat...
Brace Yourself
The brace and support business continues to migrate from a curative product to an injury prevention product.
The brace and support business continues to migrate from a curative product to an injury prevention product. Here are 10 Questions for sport brace and support vendors on how to make more money selling these sports medicine products. --------------...
Taking on Training Aids
Training aids have been an integral part of the business for many years, and as specialization takes hold these products are opening up many new doors for team dealers.
With the plethora of new training aid products and companies entering the business in recent years, team dealers are faced with the challenge of deciding what works and, most importantly, what sells. Deciding what to carry, whether to inventory or ...
Soccer On Guard!
It is déjà vu for the soccer business as the NFHS regulations on NOCSAE-approved shinguards take effect this season — really!
It is déjà vu for the soccer business as the NFHS regulations on NOCSAE-approved shinguards take effect this season — really! In addition, a number of issues and developments – the growth of performance materials in both apparel and equipment, aggres...
Your Friend, The Athletic Director
There sits a man – or even sometimes a woman, but for now let’s just say it is a man – behind a desk upon whose decisions rest the success or failure of your business. He is a busy guy. Lots of people want something from him, and lots of people like ...
Herschel Walker Tackles Capitol Hill
Former Georgia Bulldog and NFL legend led a contingent of athletes and sporting goods executives on a day of lobbying for PE grants in Washington, D.C. during National Health-through-Fitness Day.
Herschel Walker, the winner of the 1982 Heisman Trophy and a 1992 U.S. Winter Olympian, looks the same as when he stepped onto the University of Georgia campus more than a quarter of a century ago. His hair is as jet black as it was when he was a tee...
The First Word: Matt Carlson Succeeds JIM Faltinek At NSGA
Following an extensive search of candidates earlier this year, the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) went outside of the industry to name Matt Carlson as successor to retiring president and CEO Jim Faltinek. Carlson is scheduled to officiall...
Adidas and Henson Are Playing The Field
Having successfully attacked the lacrosse market with the introduction last year of a complete lineup of sticks, gloves and pads, Adidas is moving on to a growing niche team sport by entering the field hockey business for Fall 2008. The line this...
The End Zone
McDavid Enters Lacrosse Market Capitalizing upon its experience in outfitting lacrosse teams such as Virginia, Duke, Navy, and Syracuse, McDavid is expanding its presence in lacrosse with new protective apparel offerings. Now lacrosse players can ...
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