So today I received and email via LinkedIn from a gentleman named Don Mast, Don is Elliot Mast`s father.
What made this an inspiring email was Elliot who is only 11years old has decided to dedicate the whole of his 2010 baseball season to raising funds for the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital.
His dad posted a link to Elliot’s blog http://elliotmast.blogspot.com/2010/04/challenge.html and after reading and watching Elliot’s video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlBe9m_1F-M I decided to contribute $100 to his campaign.
I think Elliot is doing a wonderful thing by raising not only money but awareness about sick kids and the special care they need, places like the Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital is but one of hundreds of institutions that provide 24/7 care.
Well done Elliot you are a true champion.
Good luck this season and may your hits be home runs and your pitches fast.
Cheers
Stewart
Monday, May 17, 2010
Discount Badges 11th May 2010
We have finally finished our discount voucher system.
Any sports business can now opt into being a Navsports Rewards Member.
If a fan followers any sports business that has opted in they will start receiving discount vouchers via email which they can print and redeem.
Sports businesses can also display what these discount vouchers can be used on, this info is available on their profile.
These discounts are displayed as a 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% badge that appears on a fans profile, every fan starts of with a 5% badge and the more they interact with Navsports, including adding a new friend, uploading photos or videos, writing comments, following sports businesses and a host of other things.
We hope to develop our rewards program further so any feedback is most welcome.
Cheers
Stewart
Any sports business can now opt into being a Navsports Rewards Member.
If a fan followers any sports business that has opted in they will start receiving discount vouchers via email which they can print and redeem.
Sports businesses can also display what these discount vouchers can be used on, this info is available on their profile.
These discounts are displayed as a 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% badge that appears on a fans profile, every fan starts of with a 5% badge and the more they interact with Navsports, including adding a new friend, uploading photos or videos, writing comments, following sports businesses and a host of other things.
We hope to develop our rewards program further so any feedback is most welcome.
Cheers
Stewart
Who are the real leaders in sport? 30th March 2010
You would think that the overpaid and most of the time highly egotistical elite athletes are the leaders, you may even think the heads of sporting organization are, some would even say that it's the passionate sports lover.
Well after twenty years of elite sports coaching, training a player that has reached Grand Slam success and being the owner/manager of a successful tennis academy coaching over two hundred kids per week, I have finally realized that the real leaders in sport are the kids and adults that want to make a difference the ones that dare to dream that they could be a star.
Everyone has varying degrees of passion for sport; it may just be they like watching it on television, listening to sport on the radio, playing or even watching live games. But the real leaders are the ones that get up before dawn, train like there is no tomorrow and then get up the next day and do it all again.
These people inspire others to watch them, support them and then ultimately to be like them. Out of two hundred kids in our programs I can only indentify two leaders, these kids ask and pursue for more they arrive early and leave late.
They work the hardest to develop their skills and they draw the attention of the people around them.
We all know of these leaders, we may have one living next door; they could even be a sibling, son, daughter or even the kid in our local team.
These leaders stand out in a crowd because they show more courage and strength to get up when most stay down.
They are the ones working odd jobs and chores around the home to earn the extra money to buy a new racquet, hockey stick, skates or whatever they need to train with.
I call these leaders the Passionate Skilled because you can have all the talent in the world but without skills you can never be a leader and skills come from hard work and belief.
Next time you see one of these leaders give them a pat on the back because they are the ones that make all sports great.
I would be interested to hear who you think the leaders in sport are.
Leave a comment if you like.
Cheers
Stewart
Well after twenty years of elite sports coaching, training a player that has reached Grand Slam success and being the owner/manager of a successful tennis academy coaching over two hundred kids per week, I have finally realized that the real leaders in sport are the kids and adults that want to make a difference the ones that dare to dream that they could be a star.
Everyone has varying degrees of passion for sport; it may just be they like watching it on television, listening to sport on the radio, playing or even watching live games. But the real leaders are the ones that get up before dawn, train like there is no tomorrow and then get up the next day and do it all again.
These people inspire others to watch them, support them and then ultimately to be like them. Out of two hundred kids in our programs I can only indentify two leaders, these kids ask and pursue for more they arrive early and leave late.
They work the hardest to develop their skills and they draw the attention of the people around them.
We all know of these leaders, we may have one living next door; they could even be a sibling, son, daughter or even the kid in our local team.
These leaders stand out in a crowd because they show more courage and strength to get up when most stay down.
They are the ones working odd jobs and chores around the home to earn the extra money to buy a new racquet, hockey stick, skates or whatever they need to train with.
I call these leaders the Passionate Skilled because you can have all the talent in the world but without skills you can never be a leader and skills come from hard work and belief.
Next time you see one of these leaders give them a pat on the back because they are the ones that make all sports great.
I would be interested to hear who you think the leaders in sport are.
Leave a comment if you like.
Cheers
Stewart
Moving Forward 18th March 2010
have wrote many times in these blogs over the last few years that if it was easy then everyone would be doing it.
Well to make it a little easy and faster I am excited to announce that Marcelo will now be working fulltime on NavSports.
This is a giant achievement for NavSports as development has been slower than a drunk tortoise.
I never wanted to be the hare as I know that buildiing something worth while was going to take time.
Ok now that we are full steam ahead, our focus is going to be adding value to peoples lives when they join navsports.
There are three key areas that we will be focusing on.
1. NavSports Analytics: When a sports business, team, league or club complete at least 80% of their profile they will get instant access to national statisics on their sport.
Their competition broken down by location, events, personell, fans and more.
2. NavReward vouchers: When Fans follow a sports business, team, league or club that has opted into our rewards program that fan will get instant discount vouchers to use at that business.
3. Scout Me!: This is an exciting product that will allow the kids and adults with dreams of being the next big thing to promote themselves in front of sports management companies and create an opportunity to gather fans of their own.
So thats it for me today.
Take care and enjoy your sport,
Stewart
Well to make it a little easy and faster I am excited to announce that Marcelo will now be working fulltime on NavSports.
This is a giant achievement for NavSports as development has been slower than a drunk tortoise.
I never wanted to be the hare as I know that buildiing something worth while was going to take time.
Ok now that we are full steam ahead, our focus is going to be adding value to peoples lives when they join navsports.
There are three key areas that we will be focusing on.
1. NavSports Analytics: When a sports business, team, league or club complete at least 80% of their profile they will get instant access to national statisics on their sport.
Their competition broken down by location, events, personell, fans and more.
2. NavReward vouchers: When Fans follow a sports business, team, league or club that has opted into our rewards program that fan will get instant discount vouchers to use at that business.
3. Scout Me!: This is an exciting product that will allow the kids and adults with dreams of being the next big thing to promote themselves in front of sports management companies and create an opportunity to gather fans of their own.
So thats it for me today.
Take care and enjoy your sport,
Stewart
Feedback and the road ahead 22nd February 2010
Its nearly March already, wow.
Over the last few months I have met with the Australian sports commission, club administrators and believe it or not NavSports competitors.
Getting feedback is vital to improving the site.
The feedback has been positive, in such a hugely competitive market like the internet its often difficult to stand out from all the noise.
The Crawford report which was a major review of the state of Australian sport, turned peoples heads, made them sit up and listen to the fact that Australian sport is strong in participation but weak in organisation.
Many sports bodies could lose funding because of the report, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief John Coates says the Crawford Report is an insult to everyone who has worked to get Australia to where it is on the Olympic stage.
As the report was commisioned by the Federal government and recommended a review on the way funding is divided between Olympic and non Olympic sports.
Sport is big business in Australia and I believe thats whats hurting sport.
The Crawford report is a timely reminder that things have to change if we want to get back to the heyday of Australias sporting successes.
NavSports is working on three key areas to achieve this goal.
1. Make sport cheaper for people
2. Make sport more easily accessabile
3. Better accurate statistics will help grow sport
Listening to the people on the ground and the people in high places has given me a unique perspective on the state of sport in Australia.
So my team and I will keep on moving forward, building, developing and innovating NavSports to make a difference.
Thats it from me today, have a great day.
Stewart
Ps, Also we are working on locking down the homepage to make NavSports easier to sign up and sign in, so a few changes are coming.
Over the last few months I have met with the Australian sports commission, club administrators and believe it or not NavSports competitors.
Getting feedback is vital to improving the site.
The feedback has been positive, in such a hugely competitive market like the internet its often difficult to stand out from all the noise.
The Crawford report which was a major review of the state of Australian sport, turned peoples heads, made them sit up and listen to the fact that Australian sport is strong in participation but weak in organisation.
Many sports bodies could lose funding because of the report, Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) chief John Coates says the Crawford Report is an insult to everyone who has worked to get Australia to where it is on the Olympic stage.
As the report was commisioned by the Federal government and recommended a review on the way funding is divided between Olympic and non Olympic sports.
Sport is big business in Australia and I believe thats whats hurting sport.
The Crawford report is a timely reminder that things have to change if we want to get back to the heyday of Australias sporting successes.
NavSports is working on three key areas to achieve this goal.
1. Make sport cheaper for people
2. Make sport more easily accessabile
3. Better accurate statistics will help grow sport
Listening to the people on the ground and the people in high places has given me a unique perspective on the state of sport in Australia.
So my team and I will keep on moving forward, building, developing and innovating NavSports to make a difference.
Thats it from me today, have a great day.
Stewart
Ps, Also we are working on locking down the homepage to make NavSports easier to sign up and sign in, so a few changes are coming.
Board Meeting - Japanese 7th January 2010
Anne Burgot was in Australia on holidays on the 7th January so Dean, Suzy and I all caught up for a nice get together during the evening.
Because Anne loves her tennis, I picked her up from her hotel in the city and we both had a hit of tennis out at the Marconi tennis academy for about an hour.
Anne and Suzy both got to meet Michelle and Riley for the first time with Riley taking an instant liking to both of them. Riley is only two but he likes to socialise lol.
Dean picked the restuarant , a small Japanese restuarant in north Strathfield. Suzy bought two nice bottles of wine one red and the other white.
After a great evening of food, wine and enjoying each others company we headed down to a little coffee shop in Concord for some desert and coffee.
Anne is back at work in Texas now but memories of that night will last for ever, we all had a great time.
Well back to work for me now too.
CheersStewart
Ps The only two missing were Marcelo who is in Brazil and Mark who is up in Queensland. Maybe this year we all can get together,
Because Anne loves her tennis, I picked her up from her hotel in the city and we both had a hit of tennis out at the Marconi tennis academy for about an hour.
Anne and Suzy both got to meet Michelle and Riley for the first time with Riley taking an instant liking to both of them. Riley is only two but he likes to socialise lol.
Dean picked the restuarant , a small Japanese restuarant in north Strathfield. Suzy bought two nice bottles of wine one red and the other white.
After a great evening of food, wine and enjoying each others company we headed down to a little coffee shop in Concord for some desert and coffee.
Anne is back at work in Texas now but memories of that night will last for ever, we all had a great time.
Well back to work for me now too.
CheersStewart
Ps The only two missing were Marcelo who is in Brazil and Mark who is up in Queensland. Maybe this year we all can get together,
Year in Review 2009 17th December 2009
This year has been the biggest for Navsports since we started this journey.
We achieved so many positive milestones during 2009, I just hope that 2010 will be as big if not bigger.
In FEBRUARY it was decided do a usability study on the Navsports website and overhaul the graphics. With the help of Jenna we created cutting edge profile designs and achieved a clear a coherent user interface.
MARCH saw our first Navsports USA Getting Started video with Jason Peck interviewing Rick Riccobono from USA Baseball.View interview here; http://navsports.com.au/project/cheerit/profile_video.php?id_user=4&video_pos=8
In APRIL with the help of the Rotary Club of Wetherill Park we held a fancy dress Dodgeball Charity event in aid of the Australian National Breast Cancer foundation raising over $2,800.
This is where I first met our now board member Suzy Balogh, Suzy was a special guest speaker from the National Breast Cancer foundation.
Check out the highlights from the day here; http://navsports.com.au/project/cheerit/profile_video.php?id_user=4&video_pos=9
In MAY Navsports branding campaign included having professionally designed tracksuits and shirts printed.
Worn by Zachary Garland and Jonathan Bejar at the National Junior Tennis Championships over the year have help with our brand awareness.
JULY saw a major milestone for Navsports with the launching of the Navsports USA site, with over 8,000 teams/organization in the directory, Navsports USA is now a major contact resource for sports fans.
In AUGUST, I was interviewed by ArLena Richardson an epublicist from Houston Texas on her radio program Deeper than the Game.
Also in August Navsports welcomed its fourth board member Anne Burgot.
In SEPTEMBER Navsports, Inc was officially created giving Navsports a USA base located in Austin Texas.
Also in September Marcelo Moraes our long time Chief Information Officer and Suzy Balogh an Olympic Gold medalist became our fifth and sixth Navsports board members.
OCTOBER was a big month for Navsports, Myself, Mark, Marcelo and Telma all travelled to the United States to meet with Anne and also meet with our Navsports USA attorney Mr. John J Gilluly, III from DLA Piper Attorneys.
Over the year we have had many minor and some major improvements to the site, Linked Data Analytics, NavPoints rewards system, Professional bloggers just to name a few. Over 2010 we will continue to update and innovate.
So 2009 was a great year for Navsports and a great year for me, having amazing people around me inspires me to move forward with my dreams and aspirations.
Thank you for reading this blog and for supporting Navsports.
Cheers
Stewart
We achieved so many positive milestones during 2009, I just hope that 2010 will be as big if not bigger.
In FEBRUARY it was decided do a usability study on the Navsports website and overhaul the graphics. With the help of Jenna we created cutting edge profile designs and achieved a clear a coherent user interface.
MARCH saw our first Navsports USA Getting Started video with Jason Peck interviewing Rick Riccobono from USA Baseball.View interview here; http://navsports.com.au/project/cheerit/profile_video.php?id_user=4&video_pos=8
In APRIL with the help of the Rotary Club of Wetherill Park we held a fancy dress Dodgeball Charity event in aid of the Australian National Breast Cancer foundation raising over $2,800.
This is where I first met our now board member Suzy Balogh, Suzy was a special guest speaker from the National Breast Cancer foundation.
Check out the highlights from the day here; http://navsports.com.au/project/cheerit/profile_video.php?id_user=4&video_pos=9
In MAY Navsports branding campaign included having professionally designed tracksuits and shirts printed.
Worn by Zachary Garland and Jonathan Bejar at the National Junior Tennis Championships over the year have help with our brand awareness.
JULY saw a major milestone for Navsports with the launching of the Navsports USA site, with over 8,000 teams/organization in the directory, Navsports USA is now a major contact resource for sports fans.
In AUGUST, I was interviewed by ArLena Richardson an epublicist from Houston Texas on her radio program Deeper than the Game.
Also in August Navsports welcomed its fourth board member Anne Burgot.
In SEPTEMBER Navsports, Inc was officially created giving Navsports a USA base located in Austin Texas.
Also in September Marcelo Moraes our long time Chief Information Officer and Suzy Balogh an Olympic Gold medalist became our fifth and sixth Navsports board members.
OCTOBER was a big month for Navsports, Myself, Mark, Marcelo and Telma all travelled to the United States to meet with Anne and also meet with our Navsports USA attorney Mr. John J Gilluly, III from DLA Piper Attorneys.
Over the year we have had many minor and some major improvements to the site, Linked Data Analytics, NavPoints rewards system, Professional bloggers just to name a few. Over 2010 we will continue to update and innovate.
So 2009 was a great year for Navsports and a great year for me, having amazing people around me inspires me to move forward with my dreams and aspirations.
Thank you for reading this blog and for supporting Navsports.
Cheers
Stewart
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