Arizona Rubber

Arizona’s and New Mexico’s Authoritative Voice of Hockey

New video program helping make memories for young Arizona puck stars

 

As the game of hockey continues to grow in Arizona, so, too, does programs and businesses that aim to help with that growth.

Recently, SportsKast came on to the market, something its president and founder Pat Wilde calls “the most exciting product for athletes that has ever been offered.”

“It’s the most spectacular sports product or memory that you can create for your athlete,” Wilde said. “Our customers upload the videos they have on their phones or other devices to our website, where we edit those videos into our pre-shot templates at the SportsKast studio, resulting in a five – to six-minute production that spotlights the athlete in a setting that mimics a nationally broadcasted sports program, complete with commentators. Your video can be sent to you in a link to share with family and friends, or we can host it on our servers in a more customized way.”

Wilde explained that the idea popped into his head several years ago around the holiday season while watching the IIHF World Junior Championship.

“I was watching an ESPN episode where they were doing background biographies on a few players,” said Wilde. “As parents of hockey players, we always dream about the feeling we would have if our kids ever had the chance to wear the flag of our country in that tournament. In remembering how few players actually make it that far, it occurred to me that the vast majority of youth athletes aren’t ever going to make it on a sports show episode. I decided to come up with a way to add some magic to the time those athletes are spending on the ice, the field or on the court, and give them a taste of what it would be like to be the star of the show, regardless of skill level.”

Fitting in with the ever-expanding Arizona hockey landscape is a situation Wilde feels can be spiced up with SportsKast.

“We think the Arizona hockey market is the same as any other hockey market in the U.S.,” Wilde said. “Regardless of geography, parents want to capture those moments of their kids on the ice. Prior to the rollout of SportsKast, us parents would hit the ‘record’ buttons on our phones and have a ton of videos that would likely never get looked at again. We all have gigabytes of video sitting in the cloud but have no idea of what to do with those videos. SportsKast solves that problem. It’s the next generation of sports memories, and there’s nothing like it out there anywhere. SportsKast is the evolution of the player stat/trading card that you get at the end of every season. It’s what happens when you add cutting-edge graphics and studio production to the simple video you’ve taken on your phone.

“We started with hockey because that’s what we know best. We will eventually move into other sports, but hockey is at the forefront of our lives right now, so it made sense to start there. The core demographic will likely be the under-14 age groups, but we can create videos for players all the way up to 18U right now. We are very close to providing adult player videos as well.”

In getting SportsKast off the ground, Wilde said it’s all a work in progress.

“It’s a family effort at this point, with my wife and kids providing the social media expertise that I lack, along with great creative content,” said Wilde. “I am the main point of contact for the company, and I work with the studio in Phoenix to bring the ideas we come up with to life.”

Wilde also said that while the SportsKast concept sounds complicated, it’s really quite the opposite.

“I’d like people to know how easy it is to create the most dynamic and customized sports memory possible for their athletes,” Wilde said. “All they have to do is go the website and follow the guidance from our Coach Mike on how to upload their videos. In less than a week, their video is done, and I promise it’s like nothing else they’ve ever seen before.

“To coordinate with the launching of SportsKast with the start of the hockey season, we are working with various associations across the country to help with fundraising. Most teams struggle with that, so if your team or association needs some creative fundraising assistance, please reach out to us.”

For more information, contact Wilde at pwilde@sportskast.com.

— Matt Mackinder

(September 21, 2022)

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