Mascot Training Course

Mascot 101

Mascot Training Course

This 8 week online sports Mascot Training Course is designed for sports and entertainment companies who need to hire, manage and train mascots in addition to those individuals who want to break into the sports world as a mascot performer. Having a great mascot helps you grow your team name in the market place and also enhances the quality of the fan's entertainment experience. A mascot is an ambassador for your organization; a great mascot program will understand the importance of a quality wardrobe, having the right props & accessories and how to develop routines that are specialized for a variety of occasions and events. Mascots build fan loyalty, help sell tickets and can enhance sponsorships. If your team has a mascot, they can improve, if you don't have a mascot, you need one!

At the end of the Mascot training course, you will be able to uniquely design a successful turnkey mascot program that, once implemented, immediately starts a "return on investment".

What should teams look for in hiring a mascot performer? How can the mascot program build revenue for your venue? If you are the mascot performer, what do you need to know to be the best in the business? How do you make a living at being a mascot performer?

"There is nothing more powerful than a message that entertains."
Dave Raymond, Mascot Guru

You should take this course if:

Your team or program doesn’t have a mascot and you want to implement one
You are a mascot coordinator or you have the responsibility of overseeing a mascot program at your team, club, league, or school
You are a marketing manager that wants your message and brand to rise above the marketplace
You are already a performer who wants to learn from the best and you are looking to re-energize your performance.
You are a young performer, just starting out and want to learn how to get started
You are an entrepreneur that is looking for a new business opportunity

Mascot Training is for:

Skilled character performers
New character performers
High School & University performers
Professional performers
Spirit Coaches
Game Day Operations Managers
Mascot Coordinators
Marketing Managers
PR Directors
Business Entrepreneurs
Small business owners
Volunteer performers who want to improve
Hiring Personnel who need to know how to evaluate a mascot and insure quality, safety and security

Mascots are iconic characters that hold enormous value with their fans, customers and organizations. Mascot 101 training includes an in-depth character branding program. A character should build a strong identification and recognition for your team and your brand. A successful and profitable mascot program needs educated marketing support. What is your team’s message? What is the logo? Who is the target audience? This is where the furry fun starts. How do you increase sponsorship opportunities with your team mascot? What is the business side to having a team mascot? How do you schedule events and appearances for the mascot? What mascot activities are crowd pleasers? In this course you will learn the mascot tool box of tricks and entertainment for an evening of fun at a losing game. Fan entertainment. Morale boosting fun, energy, excitement, audience interaction. Money making made fun!

Mascot Training Course includes:

How to build a full character branding plan
The business side of the mascot
How to realize unrecognized revenue
Character marketing best practices
Building a mascot sponsor package
Protecting against liability
Identifying, screening and hiring a great performer
Creating a memorable performance
Physical Fitness and Nutrition
Nonverbal communication skills
Costume care and repair
How to create skits and routines
Using props and wardrobe
Spontaneous crowd interaction
Using music and dance to enhance character performance
How to develop a live appearance program
How to harness the Power of Fun

You do not need to relocate, this course can be taken from anywhere in the world.

Mascot Training Course Instructor:

Dave Raymond
Emperor of Fun and Games & CEO of Raymond Entertainment
http://www.Raymondeg.com

Dave is fun, he's furry, and he looks good dressed as a girl. Oh, wait, that's the characters that Dave breathes life into. Dave has performed costumed characters for over twenty years including the Phillie Phanatic, the world-renowned mascot of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. Dave's spontaneity, creativity, and improvisation set the standard of performance for the current generation of mascot characters. He is the Mascot guru. Dave Raymond is the nation's leading market consultant for character branding on and off the field, court, or in the board room. Raymond generates MoneMakingFun™ for over 250 sports teams and companies across the nation.

In his sixteen years as the Phanatic, he performed for over 2.5 million fans annually. During that time, he appeared in three World Series (and he STILL can't hit a curveball), toured Japan with a Major League All-Star team, and was called "the best mascot in baseball" by broadcaster Tim McCarver.

In 1993, he left the Phillies to help form Acme Mascots, Inc. For six years he devoted all his energy to the development of Acme’s character “Sport”. Sport performed in stadiums and arenas in front of sports fans all over North America. While Dave was with Acme he also developed a training program, Dave Raymond’s Mascot Master Class, giving him an opportunity to share his experience and technique with young aspiring performers. His mascot school was highlighted on a May 10th, 2000 segment of NPR’s morning addition.

Dave’s vision of character entertainment spilling outside of the professional sports marketplace and into colleges and corporate America has motivated him to create his own company. Early in 2000 he, formed the Raymond Entertainment Group, which has offices in the heart of Newark, Delaware. The mission of Raymond Entertainment is the premier provider of character branding programs. Character Branding describes a strategy of building strong identification and recognition of fantasy characters through design, construction, training, marketing and merchandising. Raymond Entertainment Groups boast clients that include major leagues, minor leagues, universities, community colleges, and international teams.

Course Details

(Can you really learn how to be a mascot "online"? YES!)

Weekly Audio Chats:
A unique aspect of each 8 week course for students to participate weekly in interactive audio chats with fellow students, instructors and renowned guest speakers. (An hour every week with instructor Dave Raymond, “live and in person” will keep you smiling for the entire week!) This is a tremendous opportunity to network within the sports industry and get to know your instructors and fellow students personally via the internet. This is available via any online computer with a microphone (we provide the microphone). The connections and synergies via the live audio chats will be sports networks that you will utilize throughout your career. The online classroom will give you the ability to work with Dave Raymond and The Raymond Entertainment Group. In addition, you will have the opportunity to analyze and be analyzed thru digital video via the internet.

Course Format:

Online Education - This innovative academic course is facilitated through a Web-based educational delivery system. You will enjoy the online discussion boards, weekly readings, weekly quizzes, course projects, and interaction amongst fellow sports business-minded students and faculty. All training materials you will need are included in the course fee and will be shipped to your door. Note: Mascot Costumes are not needed, nor are they provided. You do not need a mascot costume to participate.

Internship, Practicum, Apprenticeship, and “Hands On” Mascot Experience:

For those Mascot Training graduates who are interested, we offer a short term job experience. This will vary for each student based on their career goals and location. This opportunity is designed to prepare you for work in a variety of mascot settings. Job experiences could include shadowing mascots or working with a high school or university athletic department in mascot management, or assisting a non profit organization with a grant writing proposal for a mascot. For those of you currently starting a mascot program with your team, this will be the project! The opportunities are endless. The instructor for the course will work with you one on one to determine which “mascot experience” would be most beneficial for your individual situation. This unique opportunity gives each student the necessary hands on experience and will enhance their career skills portfolio with the guidance of the SMWW instructors. This “experience” is the highlight for many students trying to get their foot in the door and build a digital video mascot resume with online access. (This way, you beginner mascots won’t hear, “sorry you don’t have experience!”)

As with all SMWW courses, our goal is to give you the “what you know” and the “who you know”...and “experience” to boot!

Who knows? You or your team might someday be featured in Mascot Hall of Fame: http://www.mascothalloffame.com/ (For those of you looking for a mascot job, check out the job postings!)

Course Certificate & Resume Reference:

Successful graduates of Mascot 101 will possess a portfolio including a mascot digital video that can be used to market themselves to a team or program, a mascot handbook that can be used for a team or program implementing a mascot program. Successful graduates will have the skills and strategies to uniquely design a successful turnkey mascot program that, once implemented, immediately starts a return on investment.

Successful graduates of the Sports Management Worldwide courses will be sent a SMWW Certificate of Accomplishment. This certificate represents not only your achievements in the course but also demonstrates your personal commitment to self-improvement and ability to "self train" yourself for higher positions within the sports business industry.

In addition to your certificate, you will be given the stamp of approval by SMWW. This approval includes a personal reference you may add to your resume with contact information for Dave Raymond and SMWW President Dr. Lynn Lashbrook.

Apply Now - Free

Cost: $995 (includes all course textbooks, headset, microphone and access to web based classroom. Shipping additional.)

Payment plans available (as little as $350 a month).
See if you are eligible for an economic discount based on your country of residence.

Length: 8 Weeks; "Live" audio online chats weekly with renowned instructors!
Prerequisites: Must be 18 or older to participate and have a passion for sports
Payment: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover.

CALL TODAY: 1-877-SMWW-NOW
(In the UK: 087 12884799)

Register Now

Academic Credit - Graduate & Undergraduate

Western Oregon University (WOU), a member of the Oregon University System, offers a separate Credit Overlay Program for Sports Management Worldwide's courses. Students interested in obtaining college credit (graduate or undergraduate) for Sports Management Worldwide courses must apply for the credit with Western Oregon University directly.

For more information, please visit the following webpage.

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Oklahoma City Thunder: What does a mascot mean to a team?

Fans think of them as brand names
by Mike Baldwin, reprinted from NewsOK.com

To avid fans, a mascot is merely an entertaining diversion during timeouts.

To pro sports franchises, a mascot is a high-profile icon that's one of the most important members of the organization.

Tonight at halftime, the Thunder will unveil its mascot, a bison. When the character's name is announced, it won't be long before it's synonymous with Oklahoma City's NBA team.

"It's an entity, a living, breathing extension of your brand," Dave Raymond said. "Your fans grow to know them like a best friend or a family member. Because of that relationship, they associate that brand with your product."

Fans best knew Raymond as the person inside the Phillie Phanatic costume for 16 years at baseball games in Philadelphia. He now runs his own mascot company and developed the Mascot Hall of Fame.

That's how far mascots have come.

Mascots have been around for decades on college campuses, but it was Raymond and Ted Giannoulas, the Famous Chicken, who turned mascots into a staple at pro sporting events.

If you include the Celtics and Warriors, who had mascots earlier this season, 81 of the 92 Major League Baseball, NFL and NBA teams have a mascot - usually funny, athletic entertainers that perform jaw-dropping stunts.

Choosing a mascot goes beyond developing a huggable character for photo ops with kids. The Phillie Phanatic generates approximately $500,000 a year in merchandising, which is about 8 percent of the Phillies in-park sales.

The Phoenix Suns' Gorilla changed the role of mascots forever, bringing an acrobatic approach to game entertainment.

Bob Woolf, a gymnastics coach living in Arizona, wore the gorilla suit in 1988. He used a trampoline to dunk, jumped through a ring of fire, rode motorcycles and once catapulted himself 25 feet for a dunk at the 1995 All-Star Game.

"Everybody is like lemmings," Raymond said. "That evolution has been a great success. The NBA is the best at valuing its characters. That's why I train people to be acrobatic performers."

Mascots also are part of the community. They attend 300 to 400 functions a year, including parties, school functions, community events and visits to children in hospitals.

"The number of children I've seen die from a terminal illness is tough," mascot Rob Wicall told the Baltimore Sun. Wicall currently wears the Spurs' Coyote costume and spent two seasons as the Wizards' G-Wiz.

"But that kind of stuff is amazing. When you make someone in that situation smile or laugh, you realize what's so cool about the job."

Giannoulas got his start as a publicity stunt for a San Diego radio station, handing out Easter eggs at the zoo in 1974. He volunteered to attend San Diego Padres games in costume. He met three U.S. Presidents and was included on Sporting News' list of 100 most powerful people in sports of the 20th century.

Nowadays, developing a mascot is more complicated than choosing a costume.

The Thunder's new mascot makes its long-awaited debut tonight, but in upcoming years it could be in the public eye as much as Kevin Durant.

"I applaud them for what they've done," Raymond said. "There's plenty of mascots but not many characters. They understand the importance of putting in the time and effort do it right. It's not just checking off a box, we have a mascot."