Certified Athlete News

ASA Teams Up with Certified Athlete

New partnership will create the nations most comprehensive searchable athlete database for player development and recruitment

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, Friday, October 10, 2003 — The Amateur Softball Association of America announced earlier today a new technology partnership with Certified Athlete, Inc. naming them as the official provider of web based services surrounding the posting of athlete skill and statistical information.

Players across America can visit a USA Softball Certified Training Academy or development camp and get tested by a certified instructor on some of the fundamental skills associated with the game. Once the player completes the test, the academy instructor will post their test scores into a database which will be hosted on CertifiedAthlete.com. The database will only be available to subscribers of CertifiedAthlete.com which will include college and national team coaches from across the country.

“Prior to our relationship with Certified Athlete, we didn’t have a sophisticated web based tracking system that allowed our National Team coaches the ability to monitor a players skill development from 10 years old through their college career,” according to Ron Radigonda, ASA Executive Director. “While this program is still in its infancy, we are excited about partnering with local training centers that want to become USA Softball Certified Training Academies so we can work together on advancing the educational and training aspects of our sport.”

"Certified Athlete is very excited about the opportunity to partner with the ASA to offer a comprehensive recruiting solution to both athletes and recruiters. With ASA's strong softball brand and Certified Athlete's technology platform and expertise, all of the stakeholders: athletes, recruiters, local training centers, ASA, and Certified Athlete, will greatly benefit from this program." said Brent Driggers, President of Certified Athlete, Inc.

In summary, ASA expects the partnership with Certified Athlete, Inc. to yield the following results:

• A database of elite softball players at each competitive age level for National Team and collegiate development
• A national clearinghouse to assist in all aspects of the college recruiting process
• An opportunity to partner with the premier local coaches and softball training facilities to further all educational aspects of the sport
• Provide assistance to players and parents in finding an authenticated source of on-going training and education
• Increase ASA’s ability to conduct local softball skill seminars and showcase events

The ASA is currently identifying local softball training centers across the United States and is extending invitations to join a national network of USA Softball Certified Training Academies that meet a standardized level of excellence. Once a local training center joins the ASA’s team, the ASA will simultaneously extend an additional opportunity to partner with Certified Athlete, Inc. in the development of the above mentioned national player identification pool. The data recorded by local training centers and input into the national database hosted by Certified Athlete, Inc. is designed to record objective and subjective criteria on individual player development for secured access by USA Softball National Team coaches, ASA coaches and college recruiters.

If you work for a local training center and would like to receive an application and learn more about becoming a USA Softball Certified Training Academy, please call or e-mail Stephanie Henry at ASA Headquarters at 405-425-3459, shenry@softball.org. If you are an athlete or the parent of an athlete looking for a USA Softball Certified Training Academy in your area, log on to CertifiedAthlete.com or usasoftball.com. Academies will be added to the network as they complete their application process.

About the ASA: The Amateur Softball Association of America, a volunteer driven, not-for-profit organization based in Oklahoma City, OK, is the national governing body of softball in the United States. Founded in 1933, the ASA regulates competition in every state through a network of 93 local associations to insure fairness and equal opportunity to the millions of players who annually play the sport. For more information about ASA visit www.asasoftball.com. About USA Softball: USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture back-to-back gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won seven World Championship titles including the last five consecutive. The USA Softball Men's National Team captured its seventh consecutive silver medal at the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The U.S. has captured gold at the World Championships five times since 1966. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com.

About Certified Athlete, Inc.: Certified Athlete is a unique web-based network of athletes, schools, sports organizations, recruiters, and training academies. Each athlete on the Certified Athlete Recruiting Network has a Certification posted by a Partner Academy to verify skill/talent for the athlete. These Certifications provide a verified source of information for recruiting organizations including National Teams, colleges, and professional teams. Through quality partnerships, Certified Athlete has built the finest recruiting solution available, providing verified skill evaluations, statistics, and action video clips. For more information about Certified Athlete contact info@certifiedathlete.com.