Select Sports Information/Analytics/Scouting Firm Formed
Select or travel sports has really taken off over the past 5-10 years. In The Valley, baseball and softball have seen the most growth, but soccer and volleyball have seen significant growth recently as well. Jimmy Sexxton had 2 sons that played select baseball, so he’s seen how the sausage is made. He felt his sons’ teams and other select teams had trouble finding talent, and many times coaches had difficulties finding players that were the right fit for their teams. So, Sexxton has started Ascend Sports, a select sports analytics, information, and scouting firm, to serve Valley youth select/travel sports markets.
Sexxton said, “We’ll start with baseball and softball because that’s where I have the most knowledge and connections, but we plan to broaden out to soccer, volleyball, and more in the future. Ascend has been collecting data from players across the Valley and MS to build a huge database. The database will be able to be sorted by sport, and it will be able to be narrowed down from there. Data is king, and that’s going to be our calling card. We’re going to have the best data for coaches and parents so they can make the best decisions for their teams and kids. We’ll allow parents to upload data, but that data will be verified.”
Select/travel sports is big business now, and Sexxton felt analytics, information, and scouting was the next frontier in the business. Ascend plans to have a trove of data on players including position/s, left or right handed, batting average, slugging percentage, speed rating, etc. Additionally, Ascend plans to rate kids’ parents as well to give prospective coaches some info about the parents. Sexxton said, “If you’re looking to add a kid, you want to know about their parents. A crazy mom or dad can ruin the chemistry of a team. So, I think this is something that will really set us apart.”
Sexxton has a plan for revenue for Ascend. He said, “Right now, we’ll have multiple streams of revenue. Parents will pay a monthly subscription fee to have their kid’s profile on our website. If a parent wants to upload videos, the fee will be higher. Also, we’ll be like a stats dashboard for players. Kids that brag about their batting average will be able to show their buddies their average on our site/app. Also, we’ll collect search fees from teams when they’re looking for a player or coach. Additionally, we’ll run ads on our site. I’m confident the subscription fees from parents will be the big driver of revenue at the beginning, but that could change over time.”
Coaches will not just have access to the player data, Ascend will also conduct parent interviews for an additional fee. So, a parent interview can provide important information for a coach when he’s looking for a certain player. Ascend’s data will allow coaches to really drill down and get a player with a specific skillset.
Sexxton said, “If a 9U baseball coach is looking for a power hitting right fielder with good speed, we’ll be able to find him. If a 12U softball coach is looking for a left-handed pitcher with a good rise ball, we’ll be able to find her. If a 12U baseball coach is looking for a right-handed middle reliever with a good slider, we’ll be able to find him.”
Ascend will also provide recreation (rec) baseball/softball scouting. Sexxton said, “It seems like all kids are playing select, but there are still some good players that play rec ball only. We’ll have scouts that will hopefully find diamonds in the rough in rec leagues. Coaches will be able to have access to a rec player database for a small fee as well.”
Finally, Ascend will also have a “Pickup” wire on their site/app. So, if a coach knows he’s going to need a player in 4 weeks, the wire will show him available players for that time. This will give coaches the ability to plan ahead (for a small fee) and pickup good quality players when they need them.
Sexxton said, “I feel Ascend will do well, and I feel it will be a huge asset to parents and coaches in the select sports world. We’ll start by serving the parents and coaches of The Valley, but we hope to quickly expand to the whole state. We’re only getting started, and the future looks bright.”
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