Lincolnshire man's website gives athletes pro tips
For more than a year, Mark Leonard of Lincolnshire has been traveling around the country and videotaping professional athletes, coaches and trainers for a new website, ProTips4U.com, which he now has launched.
ProTips4U.com offers sports figures from Olympic gold medalists, Pro Bowl players, All-Stars, Hall-of-Famers, World Champions and Heisman Trophy winners a chance to give their advice directly to viewers. Contributing athletes include Andrei “The Pit Bull Arlovski, former UFC heavyweight champ; Tina Charles, No. 1 draft pick in the 2009 WNBA draft and WNBA rookie of the year; Bryan Clay, Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon; and Taj Gibson, forward for the Chicago Bulls, among others.
“This gives athletes a chance to provide their expertise and what they've learned, said Leonard. “It's been really fascinating.
Visitors to the site can get a free tip of the day. Or you can go to your favorite sports, select an athlete, pay $1.99 to $3.99 per video, and download it onto your computer or iPod. It works just like buying iTunes.
Each session is filmed with multiple cameras in high definition.
So far, more than 500 videos on baseball, football, basketball and other sports have had thousands of downloads in English and Spanish. Many were downloaded by visitors in the United States, Australia, France, Japan and Denmark, Leonard said.
Leonard, owner of the Next Level marketing firm, represented baseball star Sammy Sosa during his heyday, along with some other athletes. So his contacts throughout the industry were helpful in making connections to do this website.
He's been funding the site himself and is looking for investors to help expand it.
He wants to offer videos in more languages and intends to feature international sports figures as well. In addition, he aims to provide content for athletes who have disabilities.
In the future, he plans to film sessions that can stream live on the website and allow viewers to interact by sending in questions as the interview is in progress, Leonard said.
Each of the sports figures has provided valuable lessons for fans, especially young athletes in training, said Leonard.
“The most important thing to remember is they were not successful early on, Leonard said. “But they all had a passion for their particular sport.
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