2006 Conference Photos
The 2006 SMWW Annual Sports Conference was a huge success and SMWW received rave reviews from those in attendance!
The diversity of those presenting to the group as well as the attendees themselves made the conference both a great place to learn more about the business of sports as well as presented some fantastic networking opportunities.
For the SMWW staff, it was a great opportunity to meet people in person and get to know them on a personal level.
The day of the conference was action packed with high profile presenters: from front office personnel, to writers from ESPN & FoxSports to experienced agents from all sports. The conference left most people in attendance wanting more, so SMWW is planning to make next year's conference a two day event!
Here is a list of just a few of the wonderful speakers who presented to the group:
Dr. Lynn Lashbrook, President of Sports Management Worldwide, presided over the conference as MC and kicked off the event by stressing that the people in the room have the power to change the sports world by combining their passion to succeed with an ethical compass. Dr. Lashbrook encouraged people to take advantage of the networking opportunities in the room and told stories of how meeting people in your everyday life can lead to opportunities. He also shared recruiting stories of how he got into the business and signed top NFL draft picks and credited relationships and referrals as the way for a new agent to get in the business and have success.
This year's event saw the Director of Player Personnel from the Denver Nuggets, Mark Warkentien, put on a dynamic show with a multitude of topics that showed his out of the box thinking. Warkentien talked about some of the greatest strategists in history such as General George Patton who's premise was that a good plan executed with vigor today is better than next week's perfect plan. He continued to tell the group that you must be willing to pay your dues in sports and that starting out in the sales department at an NBA team can eventually lead to a dream job at the top. His example of Philadelphia 76ers head coach Maurice Cheeks being an NBA all-star and champion, yet still willing to take a job as an assistant coach in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) in a small town that no one wants to move to, was a sign of someone who understood the hard work it takes to make it to the top.
The attendees were throughly entertained by James Campen, offensive line coach for the Green Bay Packers, as he told stories of his experience with terrible agents. In one situation, his agent told him to sign a contract without even looking at it and the GM of the team was so disgusted that he had Campen call his agent back on his phone line and fire him on the spot.
Jim Solano was easily the most experienced agent that SMWW had at the event. Solano shared his most recent contract situation with Brent Alexander, safety with the New York Giants. The Giants were hoping to get Alexander to retire so that he would have to pay back part of his signing bonus so when they heard that he was considering it, they announced his retirement without talking to Solano. Solano immediately got on the phone and told the team that they would have to cut his player, which helped Alexander avoid losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. Solano has represented over 700 NFL players and has a client list that includes Bill Cower (Head Coach, Pittsburgh Steelers), Herman Edwards (Head Coach,
SMWW welcomed Will Carroll from Baseball Prospectus this year. Carroll is an expert on baseball injuries and steroid use in baseball and has written books on both subjects (his most recent on steroids was titled The Juice). Carroll informed the group that 5 of the 12 MLB players caught using steroids last season were all represented by the Levinson Brothers and a sixth player who was caught is a former client. Those in attendance also learned that the most powerful agent in baseball, Scott Boras, has a Ph.D. in pharmacology! Needless to say,
SMWW continued to invite a member of the NCAA Agents, Gambling and Amateurism Department. This year the group had an opportunity to hear from Angie Cretors, Assistant Director of the department. SMWW has developed a great relationship with the NCAA and continues to be the leader in providing prospective agents an opportunity to learn the business in an ethical way.
Percy Knox, Director of Athlete Management for Athlete's Performance, spoke about the difference in working with a premiere transiting facility and certified strength & conditioning specialists, versus a less qualified group of athletic trainers.
Russ Lande, Former NFL scout and current president of gmjr.com & head of SMWW's Football GM & Scouting Course, took the time to speak to anyone who wanted to learn more about getting into the front office. In his presentation, he gave his first hand story of starting at the bottom as an intern in a college football scouting department to eventually becoming a full time NFL Scout on the road. He shared the difference in how the media and college football fans view a player versus how the NFL evaluates them on film and projects what type of pro they will become.
Jim Kuzmich, General Council for GAAMES Baseball Agency, spoke on many of the challenges that new agents wanting to work in baseball face. He brought with him Garrett Berger, a former player represented by GAAMES, who will now be working full time in the business and he shared his personal experience as a player and dealing with his agent.
Bret Polvorosa, President of Grip Sports Consulting and instructor of the Sports Business Management Course, spoke on captivating an audience and gaining trust through professional communication. He stressed that listening was the key to successful selling and that agents should ask good, open ended questions to learn what the potential client is looking for.
Aaron Schatz of FootballOutsiders.com dropped by the event after covering the NFL Combine and shared many ideas with the group on the new age football analysis that is revolutionizing the way football players are evaluated. An example he used was based on evaluating wide receivers. The traditional method would be to look at number of catches and yards after the catch. FootballOutsiders.com has begun to track the total number of balls thrown to a player and the percentage of balls caught.
Bill Kent, SMWW's Director of Basketball, shared a in- depth pre-draft analysis that he had put together for one of the top players in the country in college basketball this year. He also talked about the difference in a good basketball player and a "marketable" player. He stressed that in-order to make money as an agent, you must recruit and sign marketable players because it makes your job a lot easier when finding them a job in professional sports.
Mark your calendars and join us at next year's SMWW Annual Sports Conference for a three day action packed event February 23rd-25th, 2007!
If you are interested in working as a sports agent or in the front office of a sports property, talk to the SMWW staff today at 877-SMWW-Now to register for one of our fantastic online courses!