Ohio Ballstars
HISTORY
More than 20 years ago, the father of Ohio Ballstars founders Trey & Josh started a basketball program (Ken-Sil) so that neighborhood children would have a place to play. Nothing was organized and finding a team to play for, was much different than today. Before long, he had teams for boys and girls in all age divisions. By this time Trey had acquired a passion for coaching. With his father's assistance at the age of 15, Trey organized a traveling AAU team for boys which included his brother Josh. Trey coached them through their high-school years which culminated with five players receiving a Division I/II scholarship. Some of these kids would not have had the opportunity to pursue their education without these scholarships, which made it even more gratifying. This program flourished for over ten years. Upon Josh's return from playing college basketball the Hardin brothers began coaching at a local elementary school. After teaming up together for three years there vision was clear: Trey and Josh wanted to build a program where they could maximize the potential of each player while providing a positive experience to all. They planned to accomplish this by bringing together an exceptional staff of coaches, trainers, and mentors, with vast knowledge and experience in the area of youth athletics. Josh currently holds the position of Assistant Athletic Director at Walnut Hills High School and students in the Ohio Ballstars program are prepped and ushered from Kindergarten through college learning basketball as well as fundamental life skills with anticipation of attending one of the most reputed high school campuses in the US. Sports, education and community go hand in hand together, enriching the lives of students and their families under the organization of the Ohio Ballstars! Not only does the program provide top-notch basketball training and academic preparation, but they also provide day camps for pre-school children. Ohio Ballstars is an all-around addition to gem for active families in Cincinnati. CURRENT SOCIAL MEDIA ANALYSIS Ohio Ballstars is a pretty new company, and with that newness came a freshness which allowed them to construct and maintain a valiant social media presence for their organization. Facebook and Twitter are the primary outlets for Ohio Ballstars. From what I can see, both are used in different ways, although there are duplicate posts that appear on both platforms. This I see as an easy problem to fix, especially since Facebook and Twitter differ in the amounts of data that can be uploaded. Facebook allows for way more data than Twitter, and so the experience of Facebook is all that much more intimate. You have the room to draw the audience in for long periods of time on Facebook. You can create photo albums for example which would allow for the parents – the main targets for marketing since they have the cash – to stay involved even if they are not at all the games or practices. The parents need to feel comfortable, and Facebook is a primed to give off that feeling that the kids are over their uncle’s house with a plethora of pictures showing off the fun their kids are having being a part of the program. Facebook provides notifications of schedule changes, announcements for special events and fundraisers, player and team awards, etc. It also provides an environment that promotes bonding among parents to create a larger family picture, which I believe is one of the main unstated goals of the program. One addition I suggest for their Facebook account would possibly be a photo album of all the parents with their children that are in the program so that everyone knew everyone. Like “Cheers”, where everybody knows your name! Maybe even promote a “Parent Social”??? A community is under construction at Ohio Ballstars and with their Facebook page they have a good head start building in that direction. Now we all know that Twitter and Facebook are similar, yet entirely different beasts when it comes to the angle of marketing you wish to accomplish. Unlike Facebook, Twitter is great for fast, quick glance material that packs a punch. You won’t catch anyone sitting around just reading for hours on Twitter, so make the post count. For the most part this is the case with their Twitter account, which pretty much duplicates the Facebook posts in abbreviated style. But what’s the point in that? Why not pinpoint the audience with Twitter? My suggestion would be to focus primarily on the players with the Twitter account. Make Twitter the “holy grail” of basketball for the players of the program! I suggest information that promotes basketball development such as daily quotes that encourage great qualities in athletes and advice for different aspects of the game, such as: • Shooting tips • Dribbling exercises • Defensive awareness • Zone positioning • Player and team acknowledgements • Game and practice scheduling • Lineups, etc… There is currently a duplicated “quote of the day” that appears on Facebook and Twitter. Womp womp womp. Diversify. Keep Facebook and Twitter primarily separated as far as content goes by focusing on parents on Facebook and players on Twitter. However, either platform should still be interesting enough for either group (parent, player or prospect) and to some degree universal in its presentation. GET IT CRACKING WITH YOUTUBE As of now, YouTube is being utilized to show off some “motion” within the program. They have videos of the day camps, basketball camps and pee-wee programs. Primarily, I feel the YouTube account is targeted toward parents along with Facebook. What I haven’t noticed is a platform to draw in prospective players to the program, and this is my suggestion for YouTube. My proposal would craft YouTube into a primarily promotional and interactive platform for players, parents and prospects. Players can catch up on drills and game tapes to sharpen skills; parents can watch anything they miss and keep up with the growth of their children; and prospects can get information about the program and learn from afar under the guidance of Ohio Ballstar coaches and staff. Celebrity status is my angle here. Why not be the expert? By no means is this company going to stay small, growth is inevitable as basketball is expanding in influence alongside the rapid growth of the access to information worldwide. So why not get in front of the tide and become every child’s advice column for the coveted sport of basketball? Sure, it will take time to reach every laptop in America, heck, even Ohio, but the access of the internet allows a much farther reach for the program, and through YouTube, Ohio Ballstars could become a household name for athletics. Here are a few suggestions for video uploads: • Buzzer beaters • Game highlights • Shooting drills • Dribbling drills • 30/60 seconds with Josh • Parents at play • Bloopers The point is, HAVE FUN, and make it relevant to the people interested. Ohio Ballstars is well on its way to becoming the prime-time destination for basketball training in the state, of course, but also across the country. "It would be our dream to someday have our own children involved with a program based upon these standards." -Trey & Josh Hardin
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