Today we’d like to introduce you to Ace Gardner
Hi Ace, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I have been a national top 100 high school recruit in football and track at the division 1 level. I received a football scholarship to SMU in 1996, after winning the state championship in football at San Antonio Roosevelt HS. We were ranked #4 in the country. As a former college athlete, and a father of a son, in this “iPhone” generation who has been recruited by colleges, Co-founding Coaches Vue was a natural thing for me. In addition I’ve worked directly and from a business perspective with Coaches, Athletic Directors, Program Marketing Directors, and other key roles within the collegiate athletic offices when I managed the largest 7 on 7 tournament in the country, which spanned 16 cities, and aired on Fox Sports in 2012 as a 5 part series “Red Bull Game Breakers.
” So in a sense, I speak multiple languages/jargin within the collegiate sports world. I understand the interests and key priorities for each title. This helps me to not waste their time, and to speak to what matters most to them each. This is all expressed in our app design and flow. We speak to and translate for the Coach/Program, Athlete, and Parent. www.coachesvue.com I launched Coaches Vue in the winter of 2020.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
we had to fight many battles. In 2020, we presented to 25 division one schools virtually. 16 of them said yes. However, every school in the country was on a spending freeze to the pandemic and a question foreseeable future. We decided to give our platform to Texas Tech Football to serve as a pilot program. This spending freeze continued through 2023. Finally we signed Arkansas State, Tennessee State, and SMU from 2023 -2025.
We’ve been impressed with Coaches Vue, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Coaches Vue brings to collegiate recruiting, a bridge which spans the gap of communication style between a generation born with iPhones and a generation which craves handshakes and eye contact.
Today’s recruit lives in a curated world. When I was 18 years old, I listened to the radio while driving, or to whatever CD’s I had in the car. This generation expects a Bluetooth link, allowing them to play their customized playlist when they get in a car. Furthermore, they expect/want to be engaged in this way by schools. Data is collected about their preferences all day by their digital footprint. Thus the ads the see and content in their timelines reflect that. Our intuitive platform captures data points which help Recruiting Coordinators make better informed decisions on how they engage and interact with the recruit.
Any company which realizes value value in someone being able to experience the sites, culture, and offerings of their unique space/product/service, is a potential client of our platform. Collegiate recruiting is where we saw a clear and immediate need with low barriers for market entry. However, we also see a need for our Platform in retirement homes, theme parks, vocational schools, drivers education, work safety, restaurants, and even local churches.
Nevertheless, collegiate recruiting is where we chose to prove our value and impact.
What are your plans for the future?
My goal is to establish Coaches Vue At the top of the “food chain” for monetizable immersive experiences which capture usable data from audiences to help companies in multiple markets make more informed decisions in a way that no other data collection can.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.coachesvue.com
- Twitter: @CoachesVue_
