Social Media Business Connects Athletes with College Coaches

Hurling a football across a field or hammering away with a Habitat for Humanity chapter look great on a student-athlete's college resume. But to shine in the increasingly competitive world of college athletics, social media strategist Christopher Dessi suggests that aspiring players drop their dumbbells and sledges, pick up a computer mouse and click their way through the burgeoning social media scene to score admission to the college of their choice. 

Dessi, 36, a Chappaqua resident who regularly contributes to Fox Television and serves as co-managing partner at Tarrytown-based digital marketing firm Drive Action Digital, launched The Athletes Network along with co-founder Anthony Zarro in October. The Athletes Network, which Dessi described as "LinkedIn for Athletes," is a social network designed to help high school athletes across the country connect with college coaches. 

"There are 7.6 million high school athletes in the U.S.," Dessi said. "Of those 7.6 million, less than two percent get scholarships. It's a tad discouraging if you think that your child's going to play at the next level."

Dessi and Zarro, both former athletes with extensive experience in digital marketing and social media, conceived the idea of connecting high school athletes with college coaches via a social networking site. 

"We're not the first company to do it," Dessi said. "There are other companies like beRecruited and NCSA, which are fantastic. But feel that the fatal flaw of what they're doing is that they're targeting elite athletes. What our company is grounded in is character, integrity and philanthropy. So what we're doing is essentially giving a platform to the every-athlete — for the 5'9 Italian guy that might not be getting recruited by University of Texas to go play with them, but might be a straight-A student who's very active in their community and school. He might get the opportunity to go play for Columbia." 

Dessi, who tweets and blogs frequently, is a self-proclaimed "pint-sized pundit." His vision toward social media's future in college athletic recruiting, however, is large. 

"It's all about making yourself discoverable," said Dessi about The Athletes Network, which provides athletes the chance to create a profile featuring photos, video reels and a resume, along with enviable accessibility to a database of over 25,000 college coaches across the U.S. "We understand the network effect and how social media works on behalf of clients like Geico and Mismatch, which we provide consulting for at Drive Action Digital." 

Not surprisingly, Dessi discovered after starting The Athletes Network that the network effect among college athlete recruits and coaches mirrors the successes of Drive Action Digital's corporate counterparts. 

"College coaches are telling us that they're getting emails from these other companies wih athletes, but they're not athletes that actually fit their program," Dessi said. "They're athletes that would never even look at their program, athletes that dont need to be noticed. What the coaches are really looking for is three athletes who are a perfect fit for their program, and to call each of them and maybe recruit one. That's where we aim to be with our technology." 

Dessi compared the high school athlete's recruitment search to hunting for a job—two equally daunting tasks in light of the current economic climate and the elite nature of college sports. 

"You're not just going to send in a resume," Dessi said. "You're going to have a great LinkedIn profile, you're going to try to connect with the company via LinkedIn, you're going to try to learn all you can about the company, and if you know the CEO and there's some angle that can spark a conversation and allow you to gain context with that person, then that's great. The Athletes Network can help with that." 

Although The Athlete's Network has not yet celebrated its two-month anniversary, the fledgling business has already attracted clientele across Westchester County, including athletes from Rye, Chappaqua and the Scarsdale Raiders' very own football captain, Tim Leone. They're sportsmen on the court and field who also exhibit academic achievement and passion for community and civic service while sidelined during the off-season. 

"The Athletes Network offers a 360-degree view of these kids' personalities. These are young adults, and not all of them are goof-offs," Dessi said, alluding to the rash of sports scandals that have recently plagued college campuses across the country.

"There are so many opportunities for them to leverage their on and off-field talents to gain admission to a great university and play the sport they love at the next level."

___

Thanks for reading—you can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.