The new personal coaching platform Famer has partnered with Super Soccer Stars to bring video instruction to youth players as a way to supplement practices or serve as a substitute when children are unable to attend. The new Skills & Drills app launches on Sept. 7 and is intended as a “Peloton for youth soccer.”
The video technology powering Famer’s app was developed in Tel Aviv last year, but its business operations launched in New York City earlier this year. Super Soccer Stars coaches more than 100,000 youth across 13 states. Its classes target boys and girls from 2 to 12 years old with additional travel clubs supporting teenagers.
FIGHT CLUB: Science Is Drawing a Fine Line Between Winners and Losers in UFC
“Being able to involve and communicate with the whole family on how to help their children get better, stay with the curriculum, and spend more time together—we think that’s going to be good for everybody,” says Famer CEO Rich Abend, whose children participated in Super Soccer Stars.
Super Soccer Stars CEO Adam Geisler, who took over following a large private equity investment, cited recent research from the Aspen Institute indicating that the percentage of children between the ages of 6 and 12 who participate in team sports regularly has declined from 45% in 2008 to 38% in 2018. “They’re aging out, and they’re opting into other things,” Geisler says. “How do we continue to get to these kids and connect with these kids? We’ve used this tagline in our marketing materials with Famer: ‘If you can’t beat them, train them.’ If we can’t get them off their devices, how do get to them on their devices?”
“How do we continue to get to these kids and connect with these kids?” Geisler says. “If we can’t get them off their devices, how do get to them on their devices?”
Geisler emphasizes that direct, in-person interaction on the field is still the primary goal. “Having a coach and having 10 kids around that coach, learning the fundamentals and getting them moving—that can’t be replaced,” he says. “But can we supplement it and make it more impactful where they can engage with that content at home and let their parents be the coach?”
There are three Famer products: Play, Team, and One. The first phase of the partnership will use Famer Play and target the younger children, up to age 7, tapping veteran Super Soccer Stars coaches to record instruction of the fundamentals. This is more of a one-way medium for teaching lessons, providing progress reports and assigning additional drills. Parents can record and share the videos with friends and family, but it’s not intended for a coaching dialogue.
TENNIS, ANYONE? Behind the Scenes With ESPN at the U.S. Open
The second phase, however, will use Famer Team to reach older players and use their actual coach as the messenger. This is designed for back-and-forth feedback. Abend says some of the included features are telestration, voiceover and video analysis. Future updates could include the use of machine learning for predictive analytics. The third variation, Famer One, will specialize in one-on-one training.
The idea behind Famer was to create a marketplace by linking aspiring athletes with coaches and trainers, but the success of education technology in general inspired a shift toward applying the concept to sports. Soccer is first, but the platform can be tailored to other sports. Abend says the company’s focus has been on hiring best-in-class video and communication experts. “A lot of this is bringing video to life in a curated way that hasn’t been done before,” he says.
Question? Comment? Story idea? Let us know at talkback@sporttechie.com