We started with a dream of an amazing mentor, 20 teams and a handful of college recruiters.
Fast forward 10 years, we eclipsed 625 elite teams whom had to submit resumes, as we declined more teams than we accepted. We drew in 950+ college coaches recruiting and looking for the next superstars. So the mixture of the best teams playing on the best fields in front of ALL the nation’s college coaches = a recipe for greatness.
Talk about leaving a legacy and laying the groundwork for so many athletes and their future careers. It was special and we knew it. Our core team complemented each other so well and we pushed the limits. We challenged ourselves yearly to outdo ourselves and ultimately an over the top guest experience was our driving motivation. One of the few dream teams I’ve been a part of in my 25 year work career.
We sacrificed our holiday breaks to run world class events, as teams and families from around the globe chose to spend their time and hard earned money at Disney Sports. Even though the week leading up to Christmas was relatively quiet at the complex, we were on a hard core mission to prep as much as we could so that we could enjoy actual Christmas Day with our families.
At sunrise on the 26th, we were in full on event mode in preparation for our droves of incoming guests registrations. We had awesome goody bags prepared and went over the top with magical touches that only Disney can do. (To put it in perspective, one year we partnered with Adidas to give EACH player a mini ball = we had a crew with 2 ball pumps running 12 hours for 4 days straight to get ready. Do the quick math > 11K balls!! Because of course it wasn’t good enough just to stuff deflated balls in a bag. Only the best in all endeavors = quality!) Massive interactive areas featuring our sponsors also adorned our main hub area and created an electric vibe for all involved.
We expanded to 3 offsite facilities and the staffing plan was ridiculously complex. However, our expert team was always on point and we, in the overall big picture, had very few major fire drills to attend to. Besides an occasional referee not showing, teams showing up at the wrong fields, unexpected rain showers/delays, running out of catering portions, lost tickets, belligerent coaches and field conditions deteriorating, we attacked all issues head on.
We reset the standard for all awards ceremonies plus recreated Soccer Showcase specific medals and trophies that were very unique and coveted.
After 10 long days of whatever it took, we could all breathe a sigh of relief on the Sunday afternoon following New Years as the complex once again turned silent and the fields got their chance to recover….. and our staff finally got to sleep.
FearlessAdventures 