"Sport competes with a conventional serial": the authors of "Game Intellect" about the uniqueness of the program and the response of the KHL hockey players

Today the sports industry competes with television shows, series and other entertainment content on television.

In order for the sport to be interesting to those who have been following it for a long time and conquer new markets, athletes must transform and turn into role models not only in the information space, but also in everyday life.

In the West, where sport is already part of show business, this has been thought about for a long time.

As a consequence, rookie support programs have emerged in all professional North American leagues (NBA, NHL, NFL, and Major League Baseball).

In recent years, the leadership of Russian clubs and leagues has been thinking more and more about the fact that foreign experience should be used and athletes should be educated not only on the grounds and in gyms, but also outside them.

The created program "Game Intelligence" is engaged in the formation of knowledge necessary for the development of social elements of the career of athletes, and is designed to help them.

Within its framework, aspects such as improving financial and legal literacy, developing communication skills, building a personal brand and long-term career planning are studied.

Last year, Omsk Avangard was the innovator in this matter, after which the program was noticed and evaluated at the level of the Continental Hockey League (KHL).

And last summer, five clubs have already passed master classes - Amur, Sochi, Avangard, Salavat Yulaev and Dynamo Moscow.

RT talked with the creators of "Game Intelligence" Anton Shershnev, Vadim Neroslavsky and Yulia Levchenko and found out what is the uniqueness of this project.

The program was launched in the summer of 2019.

According to Neroslavsky, the creators were guided by the experience of the largest North American leagues and, above all, the National Basketball Association (NBA).

“They have been working on these issues for 20-30 years.

For example, after being drafted, basketball players are required to undergo training that covers various aspects of their careers, from running a Facebook page to managing their own finances.

This is a mandatory part of the program and can even be included in the athlete's contract, "Neroslavsky explained in an interview with RT.

According to him, the significance of the project lies in the fact that the athlete gains knowledge that he did not receive at the dawn of his career.

Because of this, the player can make mistakes that will subsequently negatively affect his sporting achievements, which, in turn, will affect the reputation of the team and even the sport in general.

That is why clubs are especially interested in such education of their players.

After completing each master class under the Game Intelligence program, the hockey players received action templates that they could use in certain situations, and also in a playful way evaluated its benefits.

In addition, they have compiled a list of topics that it would be useful for them to analyze in more detail.

Interestingly, they were most interested in the question of the balance of career and personal life.

During lectures, some hockey players open up from an unusual perspective.

“The master class lasts an hour and a half, and each of them deals with about five to eight specific examples.

We show photos, how to stay in front of the camera, what phrases to say, what topics it is better not to touch upon.

The captain of Salavat Yulaev, Grigory Panin, surprised most of all.

His Instagram profile will be the envy of many official club accounts.

The player talks a lot, is active outside of sports.

He is engaged in his own development and thanks to this he has gained authority and became the team captain, ”Neroslavsky said.

A separate section of the program is devoted to the development of social networks.

According to Yulia Levchenko, this aspect is important not only in terms of creating a personal brand, but also as an important channel of communication between fans and athletes.

“Instagram, social networks are the closest channel of interaction and communication between fans and athletes.

Because there is no other way to “touch” them, to address them, to ask a question.

The exception is the traditional fan meetings held by the club once a year.

Therefore, athletes must give feedback to their fans and admirers, "Levchenko explained.

However, according to the authors of "Game Intellect", in order to get closer to the fans, one should not go to extremes.

The audience will not be equally attracted by the scandalous person, and the one who, on the contrary, diligently avoids controversial situations.

“In the West, the most striking example is Sidney Crosby, the leader of the Canadian national team, one of the best hockey players of his generation.

At the same time, he is not at all interesting to a wide audience and advertisers, since his life is absolutely sterile.

All his interviews are the same, he does not get into any scandal, does not allow himself to make ambiguous statements, ”the authors explained.

Several more master classes are planned for this season.

However, we can already say that the program has a positive response from the participants.

And even if at first the hockey players do not always understand the essence of the event, by the end their opinion changes.

“There are heroes who excelled at master classes, were more active than others.

Firstly, these are players with internal leadership potential, like Panin's.

Secondly, the rich experience of playing abroad, where hockey players constantly have to be in public, plays a role.

For example, like Dmitry Yashkin from Dynamo.

They actively answered questions, asked something themselves.

Other guys contacted the speakers after the lectures, "Shershnev noted.

As for the future plans of the program managers, they not only intend to continue cooperation with the KHL, but also work with other sports organizations, including with the involvement of representatives of individual sports.

In their opinion, such an educational aspect should be introduced at the initial stages of professional career development.

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Publication from Game Intellect (@ gameint.ru) 1 Sep 2020 at 8:08 PDT

“Our program can be in demand by leagues, clubs and federations of different sports.

We plan not to limit ourselves exclusively to hockey, but to introduce such a program in football, basketball leagues, possibly in MMA.

The Game Intelligence program is quite flexible, has a constructor structure that adapts to any kind of sport, "Levchenko explained.

Such projects are especially important during the coronavirus pandemic, when athletes cannot always demonstrate professional skills directly at competitions.

“Now sports are competing with a conventional TV series, that is, they are fighting for the attention of an audience that has forgotten a little about it.

And the audience is interested in players as individuals, as heroes.

Therefore, it is so important to talk about your interests, to show that you are a guy like them, to become a role model for boys.

We are convinced that this should be spelled out in the contracts, since athletes receive money not for hitting the puck, but for being part of the show business, ”Neroslavsky summed up.