Case Study: New vehicle launched to reach younger worldwide audiences - July 2004  

How many people in the US, Europe and Asia would want instant access to rebounding tips from Yao Ming over the internet in English or German or Chinese? Indeed, how many people would love to learn the secrets of hitting from Ichiro Suzuki, putting from Tiger Woods or bending a corner kick from David Beckham? And how many parents of young athletes in different parts of the world would love to immediately purchase the equipment and gear that would help turn their sports learning tips into realities? Peter Banhazl, managing partner of US-based technology company Sports LearningEdge explains how On-Demand Sports Learning aims to answer these questions through addressing the sports education needs of the 'MTV generation'.

Parents around the world all struggle with the challenge of getting their kids away from computer and TV screens and out playing sports. One of the main reasons this problem persists is that the tools kids are familiar with - the internet and video games - have not been used to offer them the knowledge they need in ways they are interested in getting it.
There is an incredible demand for sports instruction that can help give young people the skills to immediately improve the next time they play that sport. The answer to getting kids this information lies in allowing them to access they information they need, when they want it and how they want it. If there's even a hint of 'school', they will immediately lose interest.
The lack of viable sports instruction for young people throughout the world has had a considerable impact - from an increase in youth obesity through to poor sports skills development. It also inhibits sports leagues and associations from growing the number of participants in their sports, as well as making the youth sports market difficult and expensive to penetrate, especially in overseas markets.

Familiarity breeding sports stars

Sports LearningEdge LLC, a small company from Boston, Massachusetts, has created On-demand Sports Learning to help rights holders give free, instant access to the knowledge needed to improve in a given sport to young athletes and their parents. Applying the power and reach of the internet, e-Learning theory, and video game interactivity to sports instruction, On-Demand Sports Learning provides users worldwide with critical information in interesting ways that are familiar to them. 
By giving immediate access to the information in several ways - reading it, seeing it, hearing it, interacting with it - young people can get the information they need in the language and learning style best suited to them. Sports instruction currently available, including instructional text and videos, does not address the 'MTV generation' learning needs of sports participants, their parents, and their coaches. By applying video game animations to web-based technologies and multi-modal learning practices, On-Demand Sports Learning does.

On-Demand Sports Learning

On-Demand Sports Learning was created to address the lack of quality sports instruction available to young people in the 7-17 year old age group as well as their parents. The highest quality instruction already available on the internet and in books and videos is aggregated, disseminated by experts in that sport and converted into learning modules (Quads). The Quads are the heart-and-soul of On-Demand Sports Learning, with 500-600 per sport. Techniques and tips are delivered in several manners and languages, addressing different learning styles. By the using familiar vehicles like video game animated characters, short video clips, concise 'action' tips and a sports announcer-like voice over, each task and motion of a position or sport can be learned through any combination of the methods below:

• Watching what is to be learned and seeing it done correctly.
• Reading concise text in the user's language on the basic techniques, plus quick tips and advice from experts on how to do it better. 
• Hearing the techniques and tips and advice read in user's language.   
• Interacting with animated video game-like characters to simulate what's being taught.

To enrich the experience, the Quads are supplemented by a supporting layer of learning areas, with inside information, articles and tips from experts on subjects such as training, nutrition, gear, rules, terms, coaching, diversity and sports ethics. Online certification courses are available for youth coaches and officials so that the knowledge, community support and tools required for coaching the young are readily available. Another layer is added to the core and supplemental learning to make a sports site that is an interesting place for sports participants to visit and return to. Animated games, contests, trivia and surveys are intermingled with user-submitted action photos and questions, in addition to interesting sections on how things really work.

Positive outlook for rights holders and advertiser

The primary goal of the Sports LearningEdge LLC is to help rights holders, specifically major sports leagues, federations and associations, to further the reach of their sports by building Sports Learning Centres, and through them, to give younger people the skills required to better participate and excel. In addition to promoting sports participation, On-Demand Sports Learning will increase exposure of the merchandise and brands of sponsors and advertisers directly to consumers in the US, Europe and Asia at an impressionable early age.
Over 1bn people now use the internet worldwide. Of the 30-plus sports tracked by the Sporting Goods Manufactures Association (SGMA International), at least 13 have more than 1m participants worldwide. In the US alone, an estimated $4.1bn was spent in 2003 on individual sports instruction and private coaching. With 20% of the world's population participating in a sport and internet usage growing by 20% annually, the market for free, On-Demand Sports Learning is boundless.

Future directions

The future for On-demand Sports Learning is bright for both Sports LearningEdge LLC and the rights holders implementing it. Advancements in wireless and compression technologies will eventually enable coaches and athletes to use a cell phone or PDA to get instant access to all the techniques and tips right on the field of play as they need it. Artificial intelligence will also begin to emerge in greater interactivity between a learner and simulated game situations. Physical motion interactivity through television sets will eventually enable athletes to physically try out what they've learned in a simulated game situation on the TV, getting them one step closer to the field.
Allowing young people to learn the basics of playing a sport in the styles and languages they understand will not only begin to open up a whole new world for emerging athletes, but for the leagues, associations and sponsors of those sports as well.

For further information about Sports LearningEdge LLC, tel (00) 1 508 358 2950; Fax  (00) 1 586 283 5947; or e-mail pbanhazl@sportlearn.com

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