OpEd: Learning at Home Not Just a Game Changer During Pandemic

OpEd by Robert Mazzucchelli, Chairman and Chief Marketing Officer of SportsEdTV

Imagine right now there is a young athletic talent somewhere in the world who will never realize his or her potential, not for lack of effort but because they never had access to the coaching required to bring out their best. Imagine they show up for competition, only to lose again and again to athletes with more funding and multiple coaches teaching all the nuances required to excel. Imagine the only difference between them and the athletes with which they compete is access to better coaching.

Now imagine a world where young athletes all over the world, no matter what country they are from or their financial limitations, wake up every day and have the world’s best coaches in their pocket. Literally. Imagine that an athlete from a relatively poor country has the same coaching information as those from the richest countries. Imagine that the coaches from developing countries with small or non-existent budgets suddenly have the same coaching information to help their athletes as coaches from the countries who usually lead the pack at most international competitions, including the Olympic Games. This new picture is emerging and gaining strength.

In a world where the internet is delivering on its promise to bring the world’s information to every corner of the earth, the scenario outlined above is no longer just a dream for many athletes. With the popularity of YouTube across the globe, athletes are accessing more and more content than ever before. The company allowed the floodgates of universally accessible coaching tips and information to reach the world and gave a glimpse of the possibilities that might unfold as a result. We have all heard the story of Joel Embiid from Cameroon, now playing center for the Philadelphia 76ers. When asked how he learned to play basketball in Cameroon, he said he learned to play basketball by watching YouTube videos. His story is one of many. Not all will have Embiid level of success, but more will now have a fighting chance at achieving their dreams and fulfilling their potential.

So, what’s next? What is the next level of evolution to this coaching information ecosystem? While YouTube has offered millions of videos made and posted by any and every coach in the world, now it’s time to help aspiring athletes by providing an effective filtering mechanism that directs them to the best coaching content on the internet. The user generated content posted on YouTube by thousands of well-meaning, but maybe quasi-capable, coaches was step one. But that is now being replaced by world-class coaches teaching via professionally produced videos on new and improved platforms.

SportsEdTV’s goal is to become the leader in this new world of free quality video instruction. Unlike many of the one-on-one coaching products that have flooded the market recently, SportsEdTV’ s premise is simple - what if we gather some of the best coaches in the world, not just in one sports, but in ALL sports, and film their coaching tips in cinematic form (storytelling that allows the content to sink in through a combination of information, emotion and special video effects), and we make all of this content available to anyone in the world with an internet connection? How many more talented athletes would emerge that might never have been discovered? How many athletes will stand on the podium who might only have just finished the race? Might this approach level the playing field and give everyone an equal chance at success? We think so.

Two years ago, SportsEdTV launched its first sport libraries of videos and blogs - Tennis, Olympic Weightlifting, Basketball, Golf and Esports. The company recently launched Soccer videos and will release Volleyball and Taekwondo libraries later this year, assuming the world returns to some semblance of normalcy.

To strengthen its management bench and include people who have deep experience in the sports video analysis and global sports universe, SportsEdTV recently appointed Dartfish co-founder and former CEO, Victor Bergonzoli. Alan Vickers, who spent decades in senior roles at Nike, Reebok, Quicksilver and Starbucks is the company’s Vice Chairman.

If SportsEdTV early data are an indicator of demand, this type of premium coaching content will be helping athletes all over the world. To date, every country in the world has watched videos on the website, and countries like India and Brazil lead the pack in terms of volume of visits to the site.

It may be a few years before we start seeing champion athletes say they learned to play on SportsEdTV, but we are certain that day will come.

Homepage photo: SportsEdTV

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