[caption id="attachment_205942" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="iHoops CEO Derrick Godfrey"][/caption] The National Basketball Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association are making a full-court press to improve the quality of youth basketball. In 2009, their double-team effort culminated in iHoops, which recently came under the leadership of newly appointed CEO, Derrick Godfrey. A former baller during high school and for Colgate University, Godfrey brings to the organization his valuable insight of navigating on and off the court. "Coming from a household where parents were not college-educated, my assumption is that there are a lot of kids who come from similar households who are very invested in the game of basketball,†he says. iHoops–in its role of observing trends and behavioral patterns in youth basketball–isn't trying to regulate the sport at that stage. Instead, it connects the dots between that time period and when players go on to play for college and/or the NBA, providing guidance, information, and skills training to kids, their coaches, and even their parents through online and on-the-ground endeavors. Nearly 45 million children between the ages of 7 and 17 are involved in sports, but basketball is the first major sport to have an entity like iHoops, which was conceived by NBA Commissioner David Stern and late NCAA President Myles Brand. It works to get both entities in front of the young fans who populate their leagues, each of which reported revenues of $4.3 billion and $777 million, respectively. "Many NCAA student athletes played youth sports, so there is an obligation to help young basketball athletes develop at an early age and to educate them on the values of pursuing a college education,†says NCAA Chief Operating Officer Jim Isch. "Though we have 89 NCAA championship sports, men's and women's basketball tends to generate local, regional and national attention at a higher rate,†and no doubt greater interest from aspiring ballers. "I think it's pretty obvious to anyone who's paying attention that the shoe companies are very integral to the growth of basketball,†Godfrey adds, speaking of iHoops' additional partners, Adidas and Nike Inc. "It's a very reciprocal relationship. The shoe companies benefit by kids all over the planet wearing their product and the kids benefit by the shoe companies making advancements in technology of these very important components of the game–minimizing injury [and] making sure these kids are able to play the game at a high level.†Marketing partners include Spalding and Connor Sport Court International, and Godfrey says that working with all of these stakeholders provides balance in their ongoing mission and its place within a lucrative industry. A recent forecast for consumer equipment purchases relating to basketball was $261 million. That number doesn't even tally the $2.8 billion and $1.1 billion spent on basketball shoes and apparel, respectively, with the former's average price-tag-per-purchase coming to $62.13 a pair–more than almost any kind of athletic shoe except golf and toning, hiking and hunting boots, and shoes made specifically for running and jogging. The Online Component iHoops.com features several videos packed with tips to improve skills ranging from ball handling to dribbling to shooting. Godfrey notes that this education is a primary goal of the organization, which strives to teach fundamentals of the game to the site's nearly 750,000 monthly visitors. When they're not scoping out clips of the training regimen of Oklahoma City Thunder Forward and Olympian Kevin Durant or learning how to increase speed through jump rope drills, youngsters can also get advice on landing a basketball-related college scholarship or read articles about how to become a team leader. Of course, in this age of social media, iHoops also makes its presence felt on Facebook (with nearly 370,000 likes), Twitter (more than 13,000 followers), and YouTube (86,000-plus video views). "As we continue to progress as a society from a technical perspective, both kids and adults will be pulled from their desktops, so digital devices will become more important, even more so than they are now,†Godfrey says. "The iPad, the iPod, the Android, the hand-held, the Sidekicks–all of these devices, primarily smartphones, are going to be used more and more to convey information to our young people and we have to be in a position to offer it in the manner that they are willing to digest it.†In response to its increasingly mobile demographic, iHoops' website is mobile-enabled, meaning that it will adjust itself for better viewing on smartphones. There is also an iHoops app for the Apple/iPhone Operating System. Godfrey stresses that while the desktop site is important, kids tend to get info and process it while on the go. "They have these devices in their pockets, in their backpacks, and we want to make sure that we're there.†No matter where or how parents and coaches access iHoops, they too will find resources geared toward them, including topics such as Schools & Camps and Health & Safety for group one, and Practice Drills and Developing Your Program for the second. "We want to instill a sense in youth that one day they can become leaders,†Isch adds to iHoops' mission. "We want to motivate them to think for themselves and make smart decisions. We want them to understand that there can be a balance between athletics and academics. Many believe they are going to the pros, but many are just not. That is the truth. Their best insurance policy is to leave college with a degree in hand.†On the Ground and Raising Awareness At its most basic, iHoops wants to connect with leaders in the youth basketball community, be it those who organize tournaments to working with municipalities that govern the sport. This includes actively engaging with program partners the Amateur Athletic Union, National Federation of State High School Associations, and USA Basketball. "It's [also] going into communities and [helping to] rebuild stadiums and refurbish backboards and courts. It's working with community leaders to provide the best facilities that we can for the kids who play the game, both boys and girls.… It's a very important part of what our mission is going to be moving forward and we're hoping to execute that at a high level.†On the menu online is nutrition advice, as well as information that engages parents and coaches to think about the wear and tear on the bodies of youngsters who may be pushing too hard or competing too frequently. This is one reason why Godfrey says iHoops wants to get more adults into and registered with its Coach Certification program. "You need a license to practice law, you need a license to drive your car, you need a license to do many things in our society, but you don't need a license to coach youth basketball, or at least a certificate that suggests you've had some training,†says Godfrey. "We want to put men and women [through the program]–who are going to be shining examples for our young people–in a position to be successful, and I think that's what the coaching certification program will do.†Godfrey says that research will be a part of the organization's endeavors in the future, such as looking at the effects of too much play at a young age. Academics also play an integral role in the information provided to parents and kids. "What we want to do is to reach out to parents and make sure [they] are aware of academic standards that their kids have to adhere to,†Godfrey says, specifically noting NCAA eligibility requirements, which are available on its site. Advice can also be found on the site regarding time management, and balancing basketball and schoolwork. This is an especially important and relevant subject for Godfrey, who has attained much success in his career and seen the same happen to other who have played the game and focused. "My backcourt mate at Colgate [Thaddeus Brown] is now the CEO of the Houston Rockets, so it just shows that when you use basketball as a tool versus basketball just using you, there are so many opportunities for our young people to thrive and survive, be very productive citizens, and make very significant contributions,†he says. [caption id="attachment_166037" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="(Image: ThinkStock)"][/caption] Visual Diversity Blacks are prominent within major sports–totaling 67% of players in the National Football League, 78% of the NBA, 69% of Women's National Basketball Association, 8.8% of Major League Baseball, and approximately 61% of male student athletes and 51% of female student athletes at Division 1 universities. Despite this, blacks in leadership and chief executive positions within professional and college sports are limited to a handful when compared to their white counterparts. Godfrey recognizes the visual diversity he adds to that number, but says irrespective of race, it's important to possess leadership, and to be a visionary, a good executor, and a good listener, all things he's learned from working with the likes of Earl G. Graves Sr. at BLACK ENTERPRISE, Richard Fuld Jr. of Lehman Brothers, and Bob Bowman of Major League Baseball Advanced Media, where Godfrey was most recently the vice president of business development. His background in the digital space comes in especially handy in his new role, as does the understanding of how it reaches some diverse demographics. "In both the African American and the Hispanic community, mobile is very important,†he says. "I think part of it may be a cost factor. When you look at what it cost to put and Apple computer or a Dell computer on your desk … it becomes a stationary device and its usefulness is not as substantial as perhaps being able to pull out an iPhone, or an iPad, or an Android, and pretty much receive similar information. Those devices are so advanced and have such an important place now in the technology world. They are almost as good as sitting in front of a desktop in terms of their power and processing speed, and their abilities to provide and give kids and adults access to information they need on the fly. Those devices are hugely important. He continues, "I think it's very important to understand that iHoops is an essential part of the youth basketball community,†he continues. "We're a very young organization … but I think we're well on our way to being a huge force in youth basketball, and the way that that is even possibly, obviously, is our association with the NBA and NCAA.†"We want to emphasize the fact that we are in cyberspace, on the ground, in parks, in stadiums, in boardrooms,†Godfrey says. "We are everywhere that we can affect change.†Read more about Derrick Godfrey in "What it Takes to Recharge Your Career†in the August 2012 issue of Black Enterprise