How Future Star Athletes Are Being Discovered

#sxsw #SportStars SXsports

Nate Silver said that "drafting and developing talent properly still represents the greatest value-add to a sports organization." Mark Cuban agreed, saying "The top 10 guys (in the NBA) are easier to spot. How do we improve in identifying the others?"
For college and professional teams to identify star athletes, the process has shifted from regional to national and even international. This presentation will discuss how the scouting process has evolved and highlight the various technologies that are carrying the industry forward. It will pay special attention to the country’s three mainstream sports, baseball, football and basketball, depicting the range of resources used to discover the superstars of tomorrow. This session is part of the brand new SXsports programming at SXSW 2014.

Presenters

Avi Stopper

CEO

CaptainU

Avi Stopper is the Founder and CEO of CaptainU and an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship and venture management at the University of Denver. CaptainU is a network that connects nearly a million high school athletes, youth coaches, events, and college coaches. Before founding CaptainU, Avi was a strategy consultant, specializing in product and business development. Avi has an MBA from the University of Chicago where he also coached the undergraduate varsity soccer team. Avi mentors founders of young companies and is on the community development board of Built in Colorado.

Kai Sato

Co-Founder

FieldLevel Inc

Kai is responsible for the business execution of FieldLevel. He oversees all outward-facing facets of the company, primarily business development, sales, and marketing. Named to the Los Angeles Business Journal’s “Twenty in Their 20’s,” Kai is also a regular columnist for the Huffington Post and Entrepeneur Media, where he writes about entrepreneurship, sports, technology, and mentorship.

In addition to FieldLevel, he serves as an advisor to Jim Brown’s Amer-I-Can Foundation, on the Cate School Technology Advisory Board, and coaches youth lacrosse. He enjoys golfing, watching sports, traveling, and eating great food with great people. He completed his undergraduate studies as a Presidential scholar at the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business and School of Cinematic Arts.