Senior Zaskowski’s A Nom De Plume
By Amanda | September 5, 2008
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Senior Zaskowski grilled up some Polish sausage and burgers on Pirate Day at the Red Stars annex.
Don’t be fooled by his suave Polish exterior, or his cool, calm and collected persona. He can be found late-night at the Red Stars annex pumping Poison (the band!) into the air, or on the rare occasion leaving early to catch a Perogi Party in Belmont. He keeps a 6-pack of imports in the fridge and would never hesitate to share a brewsky with a co-worker. Red Stars Director of Ticket Sales Greg Zaskowski is as human as the rest of us - but his knack for sales is like nothing I’ve ever seen.
Now, let me say, I’ve worked in Sales before. In fact, I was a licensed Realtor in Central New Jersey (Princeton/Pennington/Ewing) in my early twenties. By way of proximity (I lived on the Weidel Estate in Pennington), and no job to speak of after graduating college, I was persuaded by my landlord to take the torturous 2-week 8am-8pm crash course in Real Estate in order to pass my License.
There were parts of selling homes that I really enjoyed - the marketing (yes I built websites for my listings way back before Realtor.com offered online tours), getting to know my customers, and looking at all the really cool and historical homes in Princeton (wow!). But when it came down to it, selling just wasn’t in my blood. I couldn’t move a property with a “90% Off” sticker - even back in 2001.
But Greg is different. I sware if he wanted to, he could sell a season ticket package with a 90% increase! How does he do it?! Here’s what I think.
First, people trust Greg. There’s something about the way he communicates that instills confidence and makes you want to hand over your hard-earned cashola. Parents adore him, kids want to play games with him, and guys and gals just want to hang out with him. Kait Sawyer told me that last weekend, at a tournament in Barrington, Greg convinced a 10-year-old girl to run all the way across the complex (no small task by the way that facility is pretty big!) to ask her mom for $5 to buy a Red Stars pin. He was so impressed she actually did it that he gave her a squishy ball for free.
Second, people appreciate hard work. Greg works long hours, making phone calls and connecting with soccer clubs here in Chicagoland whenever the time is right for his clients - 6am, 10pm… doesn’t matter. If I ever ask Greg, “What did you do yesterday?” or “Where were you this morning?” or even “How was the party yesterday?” the answer is always the same: “Selling tickets.” And he means it. (Greg, do you count tickets jumping over a cloud when you tuck in at night, the way everyone else counts sheep?)
Finally, and most importantly, Greg believes in what he does. With transparency being so key within our organization (aka here’s our President Peter Wilt’s blog) I think people recognize that. Greg’s commitment to the growth and development of women’s soccer energizes the rest of us to sell tickets. He’s always offering incentives to his Account Executives to bring in sales (he buys weekly gift-cards at places like Giordano’s or Best Buy for top-sellers). He’s honest, up front, and will give you a solid deal from the get-go.
I think it’s cool that Greg hung one of Emma’s quotes up above his desk: “There’s an altruistic love of the game here, and we all want WPS to succeed. More importantly, we’re willing to do anything it possible takes to make that happen.” Right next to it is a sign that reads: “Football without fans is nothing.”
Last night, Greg stayed at the office well past 10pm to complete his first blog post, which I have been encouraging him to do since WPS set up our social network. In the post, he wrote about how I’m working to connect with fans and supporters online using social media marketing (thanks for all that Greg!). But in response I want him to know that without him, and everybody else in this office, the things I’ve been able to accomplish thus far truly wouldn’t have been possible.
We all feel that way around the Chicago Red Stars. We each have our roles and work diligently to produce quality events and products, and we’re all working with smart budgets and realistic constraints to make this happen. Each person - from our GM to our interns - is so highly valued and regarded within this organization that I can easily say I’ve never been so proud of a team of co-workers.
Right now, there’s an incredible buzz in the air around allocation, and personally I just can’t wait to get our players on board. I hope that if any of them are reading this post, they know they will be valued for every little contribution they give as well - both on and off the field. From signing that one extra autograph to running one more sprint, thank you in advance… and get here quickly because we’re all so excited to meet you!
Of interesting note, the WPS “prospective player page” gets more traffic than almost any other. That tells me our success as a League and a team will be directly linked to our ability to market our players… and believe me I will do so, or I’ll die at my laptop trying. You name it - YouTube, WPS, Twitter, Yelp, Facebook, MySpace, etc. And of course I have a few tricks up my sleeve ;-) We’re all in this venture together to raise awareness, gain exposure, and be the very best professional sports team in the world.
So off my SEO soapbox and back to Senior Zaskowski. Please stop by the trailer *ahem* I mean annex, call the office at 866-WPS-2009 and ask for Greg. Buy season tickets. Maybe if you’re lucky he’ll invite you to a Perogi party.
Topics: Chicago Red Stars, Emma Hayes, Women's Soccer | 2 Comments »
Chicago Fire’s Section 8 Helps Form Red Stars Supporters Group
By Amanda | August 22, 2008
Section 8 faithful Tom Dunmore shows his support for the Red Stars.
The guys and gals in the Chicago Fire Supporter’s organization, Section 8, have taken a HUGE initiative here in Chicago:
Part in parcel with the enthusiasm from the woman’s team performance and in recognition of the upcoming inaugural season of Woman’s Professional Soccer (WPS) and the Chicago Red Stars, it is an honor to announce the formation of the Red Star Supporters. The Red Star Supporters is an interim organization that will serve to build a fan base for the Chicago Red Stars and women’s sports in the Chicagoland area, and help establish a permanent supporters group that will begin operations some time next year.
A board will be chosen from the initial membership and will begin establishing a database of potential supporters. Such a database will be used to distribute news and information on upcoming events and matches. In addition, the organization will raise funds through donations and sales of goods for future projects and charitable offerings.
This is awesome! Click for more: http://www.soccerpubs.com/boards/index.php?showtopic=29951
Topics: Amanda | No Comments »
News Video From The ‘Golden Globe’ Pub Olympic Viewing Party
By Amanda | August 22, 2008
Topics: Chicago Red Stars, Technology | No Comments »
Competitive And Competing Women’s Professional Soccer Leagues Will Help Develop The Global Game
By Amanda | August 20, 2008
This post is in response to the Guardian.co.uk article published on August 18th titled, “New US league targeting our players, Arsenal warn.”
Anyone who knows me will say that my one true ambition in life is to help develop the game of women’s soccer. I believe that the advent of Women’s Professional Soccer here in America, which sets as its mission to be “the global standard by which all leagues around the world are measured,” will do more to encourage women’s leagues, teams and players than anything else the world over.
In his article, Leighton rightly identifies WPS as the successor to the “ill-fated” Women’s United Soccer Association that suspended operations in 2003. However, let’s be clear that WPS is not WUSA. The 1999 Women’s World Cup saw nearly 100,000 fans packed into the Rose Bowl stadium in Pasadena, CA. This brought hope, pride and celebration to the world, and from this, an American women’s soccer league (WUSA) was born. However, trying to run a start-up league on a Madison Avenue budget with an office in downtown Manhattan, salaries for executives and players that had no relationship to actual income streams, and questionable business decisions - for instance the national television contract with Pax - all combined to sink the venture.
What’s changed? Tonya Antonucci’s incredible diligence over the past five years brought together both a group of investors in multiple markets and a viable business model where each franchise is owned by local investor groups with proven success on a myriad of fronts. These organizations, in conjunction with the league, have developed a plan for fiscal success that adds smaller venues, tighter budgets, grassroots efforts and viral marketing tactics to the strength of local ownership groups.
Baseball failed in America the first time around. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. It took Abraham Lincoln 30 years to achieve his dream of becoming President of the United States. Americans don’t lay down easily - we fight onward and upward. WUSA didn’t work here because the business model lacked foresight and experience. WPS will work, and the local individual ownership groups will ensure its longevity.
The article further states, “Several England internationals are being headhunted with the carrot of professional contracts.” Yes, WPS will in fact be offering well-deserved professional contracts. These are women who have spent their entire lives in pursuit of a dream to become top-tier professional athletes. Sadly, they’ve been halted because there hasn’t been a realistic option for them to play soccer on a full-time, professional basis. Many women have been playing at semi-professional levels for years, both in America and abroad, in anticipation of this opportunity. They’ve been washing men’s kits, shining their boots and coaching youth soccer camps to make ends meet.
The U.S. “headhunting” has prompted the English FA to call an emergency meeting to change their current format in an attempt to retain players. According to Peter Hough, the Premier League chairman, “We are hoping to create full-time opportunities for girls in English clubs and we will do all we can to retain the players.” This is a tremendous statement, and perhaps a very positive step. If I was sitting in a room with Hough, here are the five questions I’d ask:
1. Why now? Has the threat of Women’s Professional Soccer in America prompted this change?
2. Why the sudden and heavy focus on retaining talent, when instead you could be building a system that fosters and develops the next generation of stars - both English and foreign - in a positive and competitive environment?
3. WPS has been planning their business model for five years, and with the experience of a previous league behind them, has at least ten years of combined work. What sustainable foundation will the FA be able to put in place with this sudden intervention?
4. What kinds of opportunities will you be providing? Will the FA give the girls contracts as professional athletes and pay them for their time and talents, or will they still be folding the men’s laundry?
5. Will the FA guarantee that if a Premiership team is relegated, their women’s program will survive? (P.S. Leighton, if you’d like to discuss “ill-fated” teams, how about Charlton Ladies and their demise?)
WPS will create a level of parity across the board that will help to further develop the players’ talents at the highest levels by creating a competitive environment. Of important note, Arsenal is an incredible club with a rich tradition and solid women’s program. Leighton wrote on May 6, 2008, that the FA Cup final produced an “outclassed” Leeds United and Arsenal was able to score “three times inside six minutes in the second period” to claim their ninth FA Cup final victory. Let’s take a moment to ask ourselves how this environment is challenging to top-level players physically, tactically, technically and even spiritually? If it’s a “one-horse race” year-in and year-out, how are the players growing and developing? We learn from adversity; not from a cake-walk.
In Leighton’s article, Vic Akers names four players and claims that “if these girls and other England players go to America, it could set the game here back 10 years.” How strong is your existing league if the departure of four players is that threatening? That’s quite a statement to make about the FA, especially from the manager who’s won ten Premier League Championships, nine FA Women’s Cups, nine FA Women’s Premier League Cups, five FA Women’s Community Shields, seven London County FA Women’s Cups and the UEFA Women’s Cup during the past 20 years.
A reminder here that WPS is restricted to five internationals on each roster, and with seven teams in the League, that equals 35 players from a multitude of countries.
Sure, WPS may not be initially popular around the globe by signing the best players (as Arsenal most certainly couldn’t have been popular with English, Welsh, Scottish, and Irish leagues throughout the past ten years by signing their top talents). But hopefully the American league will prompt more countries to put out quality products themselves. If WPS can lead the way by creating this self-sustainable professional women’s league, with multiple franchises based all around the country successfully operating in the black, it will serve as a model for other countries to pick out the parts that work for them and alter their business models to suit their cultures and environments. Just the way the WPS is learning from the successes and shortcomings of existing pro leagues like MLB, NBA, NFL, and MLS, and also the experiences of the Swedes, the Germans, the Dutch, the Chinese, the Australians, and many, many more.
I’m writing this post because I feel that the development of the game itself is really the development of people. It’s important that in this venture to grow the women’s game, we all become part of the solution, not the problem. Let us never forget, it’s about the players. It’s about the pro players, it’s about the college players, it’s about the high school players, and it’s about the millions of little girls and boys playing soccer all around the world. It’s about the women and girls playing basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, swimming, gymnastics, track and field, and tennis. Developing the world game of soccer is about creating community, nurturing growth and supporting equality.
Topics: Women's Soccer | 3 Comments »