There are a total of nine Colleges and Universities that I interact with on a weekly basis. Each one has one common denominator – marketing / branding.
Head Coaches Forrest Johnson and Adrienne Harris both lead Soccer ⚽️ programs at Carroll County High School. Both of these youngsters have impressed me with their knowledge and passion for a sport that they treasure.
They both face the same challenge, getting people to take an interest in their programs and here are a few reasons why. First, in the Spring, Carroll County High School has 12 teams competing between Junior Varsity and Varsity. The population of the County doesn’t increase in the spring so the “Pie ” that is support has to be divided by 12.
Second, Soccer ⚽️ is still relatively new to most people in our Country and our County. Most folks that have lived here most of their lives simply didn’t grow up on the game.
Third, more often than not, scoring is very limited which means less entertainment to the casual audience.
The hope is this – Sponsorship for each home game. The sponsor would get acknowledged throughout the night, present the game ball, take home the game ball and get their photo taken with the teams.
We did this every game when we owned a baseball team for a year and called it Be the owner for a Night. We set up special chairs 💺 and called it the Owners Box.
Tomorrow night is the test balloon 🎈and Paul Nester and I are sponsoring the two nights. I have been working on things like this for decades and believe in this idea 💡, but then again, I am partial to all of my ideas.
If we draw a large enough crowd to the two games Wednesday night, it will create a buzz. A big enough buzz turns this into our Athletic Director having the option of using it all season long. This would give all four teams an opportunity to play in front of fans each time they take the Pitch at Tommy Thompson Field.
Using a number, say $250.00 per night, a business would get Red Carpet treatment from start to finish and at the end of the night, they go home with a keepsake, a memory and the joy of having made a difference.
This is all hyperthetical but I feel better for having put the thought on paper so people can understand why we are trying this.
I will be out there both nights because I believe in these two youngsters, four, when you include Jeremy Puckett and BrittanyKinney, our JV Coaches.
If you are looking for something to do Wednesday night, stop ✋ by and check out some Carroll County Soccer ⚽️
A.S.P.N on The Hill 