Team Insight - March, 2007
Finding Common Ground
Picture, if you will, a young girl who loved to play sports just for the pure darn fun of it. Softball, soccer, basketball, lacrosse … whatever season, she played it. And not at the elite level, where the pressure to win too often sucks out the enjoy...
The Feminine Mystique
In 1990-1991, there were only 1892 girls’ high school varsity athletic teams in America; in 2000-2001, there were 2746 and in 2005-2006 that number grew to 2953. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s a 56.1 percent increase in 10 years.
Need any MORE convincing of the importance OF GIRLS’ sports to the health of the team business? Try this on for size: Since the early 1990s the number of boys’ high school varsity teams increased by only 23.5 percent, compared to the girls’ more tha...
Beckham Coming To America Is About More Than The Game
Global soccer icon David Beckham is coming to the United States this summer ostensibly to play competitively in Major League Soccer. That’s the party line being sounded by everyone from MLS Commissioner Don Garber to Los Angeles Galaxy executives to ...
On The Front Line Of The Bat Battles
It’s a scene being played out in towns large and small across America. Someone decides to ban metal bats for the Little League program and all of a sudden the local sporting goods store is scrambling to handle the dramatic increased demand for wood b...
Reader Responds to Wood vs. Metal Bat Debate
Your recent article in regarding the issue of Wood vs. Aluminum bats (“Bat Battles,” January 2007) was both interesting and thought-provoking. But I felt like it was slanted in favor of the SGMA and big aluminum bat companies. There are over 25 small...
Denver's Softer Side
In the macho world of the Wild West, right in the foothills of the Rockies, Denver Athletic is doing very well by paying attention to how it approaches and services girls’ and women’s sports.
With $6.2 million in team sales last year through its 10 person salesforce, Denver Athletic – located in Englewood just outside of the city and about five minutes from The Sports Authority headquarters – is dominant in its Colorado market and even su...
Fast Pitch
There was a time when softball sat on the end of the bench while dealers and vendors focused on other (baseball) areas for product development.
After coaching the Temple University Owls’ women’s fast-pitch softball team for 17 years, Ronnie Maurek knew the sport inside and out. That’s why Barbara Longstreth, founder and president of team dealer and sporting goods retailer Longstreth Sporti...
Go, Team!
Although many team dealers freely admit they are scared off of the cheerleading business because they don’t understand it, those that do sell cheer and dance teams report the rewards are great for those willing to make the effort.
Try this number on for size: According to a September 2006 report by the National Federation of State High School Associations, competitive spirit squads gained more female participants in 2005-06 than any other girls’ high school sport. Yes, te...
A Look Of Their Own
Influences for girls’ uniforms range from street wear to professionals and, gasp, the boys’ game.
Fit, comfort and style in uniforms are taken seriously by female athletes who play basketball, volleyball and fast-pitch softball, the top three team sports for girls. And judging by the advances in fabrications and styles in uniforms for every fem...
Going In Style
You will get no argument among team dealers about one simple fact about selling the girls’ team market — female athletes are more concerned about how they look on the field than are their male counterparts.
The Participants Mike Carter, Vice President, Dalco, Dallas, TX Elaine Sables, Marketing Director, Stahls', St. Clair Shores, MI Larry Simon, Sales and Marketing Manager., Twill USA, Aurora, IN Sue Wilcosky, Business Development Manager, Tra...
The 'Little' Three
Are all girls’ sports created equal in the eyes of team dealers?
FIELD HOCKEY: It’s All About The Stick What makes business go in field hockey? “It’s all about the stick,” says Trish Morrison, a former player and now co-owner of family-run Shively Sporting Goods in Louisville, KY. Ironically, however, the stic...
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