Mike DeMara Eurosport Internship

Sport Management Club Officers

2008-10-17T06:43:00.000-07:00

President: Chase Cates
Assisted by Brittany Noe
Vice President: Deseree
Treasurer: Kyle
Secretary: Kasey Nichols

Meeting 1:
Chase and Dr. Combs chose the new officers.
20 minutes long
Attendance: appx 20
Discussed fundraising opportunitites for the upcoming year and discussed how the club could raise money (t-shirts).

Final Week of Internship

2008-08-14T20:23:00.000-07:00

On August 1st our Rep was in town for the next couple days and got us tickets to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs. The following day we attended an MLS game between Chivas USA and Chicago Fire. Here we set up 4 hours before the game and gave out catalogs, raffled off prizes as well as promoted some new promotions going on in the company. Once the game started we were able to break down and go up into the suite and watch the game with some of our bosses. The following day on the 3rd we went to Soldier Filed where the Chicago Bears play and set up for a game between Mexican team Chivas Guadalajara and one of the top clubs in the world from Spain, FC Barcelona. We set up our tent 6 hours before the game for an event with 40,000 fans in attendance. We promoted the same stuff as the day before except handed out over 2,000 catalogs and 1,500 promotions broschure's. Once the game started we broke down everything and put it in the van but didn't get into the game until almost half time. The following day we then drove back to the Detroit area where we went to another Michigan Rush camp and repeated the same ting as the following week. After the camp on the 5th we then drove from Detroit to East Rutherford, New Jersey for another FC Barcelona game at Giants Stadium against the New York Redbulls. Here we repeated the same process as in Chicago at Soldier Field and gave out another 2,000 catalogs and promotions broschure's. After 6 hours of being set up we broke down and were able to see the whole game from three rows back from the field. This would be our final event of the summer. On the 7th we drove back to Hillsborough, NC. On the 8th we unloaded our van, wrote up all of our event reports, did our expense report, went to lunch with the interns, and we were done.

Week 4 in MidWest

2008-08-14T20:08:00.000-07:00

On the 25th we drove 12 hours from Lincoln Nebraska to Detroit, Michigan where we would stay the next two nights. We were scheduled to attend a tournament hosted by the University of Detroit-Mercy but could never get in contact with our contact for the event and we even went to the school to find out if anything was going on but found nothing. So we spent our time there checking out the decent areas of Detroit. This included driving across the river to Canada for lunch. After Canada we drove south to Indianapolis. We spent one night in Indianapolis to attend the Butler University camp on the 28th. We basically did the same thing that we had done at every other camp. Just played some games and aloud them to shoot at the sign. It was a successful event because it had good numbers and also one of the campers won a $200 gift card from shooting at the sign. After the camp we drove two hours east to Cincinnati. On the 29th we went to the University of Cincinnati camp where we did the same thing as the day before at Butler, but no one was fortunate to make it through the sign. Following camp we then drove back up to Detroit for the Michigan Rush camp. At the camp on the 30th we had to change some things up. Since the camp had about 200 kids we didn't have time to play a game with each individual team so we just let everyone shoot at our sign as there coaches sent them over. This camp in fact was our best camp of the summer because all of the kids were excited and energetic and we had 3 kids win $200 gift cards from making it through the sign. Immediately following the camp at 12 noon, we drove straight to Chicago for a Professional game between English team Everton FC and MLS team Chicago Fire. Hear we set up our tent 3 hours before the game and just gave out catalogs and posters and other promotional information. We didn't raffle anyhting off because we had ran out of raffle pads, plus the attendance was low for the game. Once the game started we broke down and went into watch the game. We would spend the next 5 nights in Chicago.

Week 3 in MidWest

2008-08-14T19:42:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Topeka, Kansas on the 16th. The following day we attended the Prodigy Soccer Camp, which was a camp that a local club was putting on. We arrived around 10 a.m. and noticed that it was one of our smaller camps of about 20 to 30 kids. Basically we separated the camp into three different age groups and played individual games with them and gave out prizes. Then we let each camper shoot on a Eurosport sign which we had a hole cut out in it. If they could make it through the hole in one shoot they would win a $200 gift card. Unfortunately no one made it but everyone received catalogs and posters. The following day we did the same thing but with a different group of kids. Also the club director told a local TV news station that we where there so they sent out a reporter to interview us. I answered a few questions about our company and our relationship with Prodigy Soccer Club and that was that. After camp on the 18th we had to travel 5 hours north to Lincoln, Nebraska for the next week. On the 19th we went to the Torro Soccer Club tournament, which was an all girl club based out of Omaha that was hosting their tournament in Lincoln. The tournament was a big disappointment because it was only about 3 or 4 age groups and there weren't many games going on at once. This made it hard for us to get much traffic to the tent. Since we only received about 30 raffles we talked with our region rep and decided to not return the next day of the tournament. So from the 20th to the 24th we had off with no events scheduled in Nebraska. On the 24th we attended the Rush Festival for the Rush Soccer Club. Rush is a soccer club that has different satellites of clubs in states throughout the whole country including Hawaii. It's Eurosports largest team account with over 6,000 players. Basically the Rush Festival brought all of the clubs u-12 boys and girls teams to Lincoln for a camp/tournament experience. We set up our tent and gave players the chance o win some prizes as well as shoot on our sign to win a $200 gift card. it was a whole day event for us which was nice since we were in Nebraska for a whole week with only 2 events. The following day we would make a 12 hour drive to Detroit.

Week 2 MidWest

2008-07-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

On the 10th we drove to the small town of Burlington, Iowa. The drive was only supposed to be about five hours but turned into six due to flood detours. When we finally got there at six we went to a Eurotech community camp which i smaller then the one at Lake Forrest. It was a camp of about 40 kids so we played some small games with each age group and gave out some posters and catalogs to everyone. Once the camp was over we had to drive north to Dubuque, Iowa for a tournament on Friday and Saturday. We were able to relax on Friday morning since the tournament didn't start till that night. Once we went to the complex we set up our tent and table and realized there were only a few games going on and no real traffic that would be help full for us so we left our stuff set up over night. We then spent most of the next day at the tournament and turned out to be a good event with a lot of interested people. We received a good amount of names thought the raffle, as well as gave out prizes every hour as well as catalogs and posters. Following the tournament we drove back to Chicago for the net 3 nights. Due to the floods in the Midwest many of the original events that were planned got canceled so there was a struggle to find new events. So since we didn't have any events scheduled we would use this time to do some Retail reports, which are reports we do of local soccer stores in some of the cities we travel to. We basically go to a soccer store and see what kind of products they offer, how much of it, quality, neatness, and etc. It's to analyze what local competition offers. Of all the reports i have done no one offers what we can. Also while in Chicago we used this time to do all of our event and expense reports. We went to FedEx Kinko's to make sure had everything printed off and filled out then mailed everything back to our rep. From Chicago we would then travel nine hours to Topeka, Kansas.

Switch to Midwest

2008-07-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday July 2nd, i flew from LAX back to Raleigh. Once i was back i had to pack up a van on Thursday to head out to St. Louis and the Midwest the following day on July 4th. We drove 12 hours to St. Louis Just in time for the fireworks. That weekend we were at a 3 v. 3 soccer tournament which turned out to be one of better events of the summer. We got a lot of names through the raffle in the two days and gave out some good prizes. After the tournament on Sunday we then drove to Chicago where we stayed in the middle of downtown. On Monday we attended the Eurotech soccer camp in Lake Forrest which is just north of Chicago. We came in toward the end of the morning session and gave out some free stuff as well as gave some winners a chance at a $200 gift card, which no one won. Following the camp we headed to Milwaukee where we were supposed to have a camp the following day but got canceled. So instead while we were in Milwaukee we toured the Miller Brewing Co. and went to a Milwaukee Brewers game. The next two days we had off so we drove to Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin, and checked out the town before driving to Iowa on Thursday.

Week 4 California, final week in Cali

2008-07-17T20:06:00.000-07:00

For the fourth week in California we were scheduled to go to the Bay Area of California for some events. First we went to the Sacramento area for a Cleats Soccer camp on Monday the 24th, and also to pick up another intern from the airport. After we picked up Martin from the airport we then drove to San Francisco where we had the next day off. We spent the day checking out some of the downtown area. The following day on the 26th we crossed over to Oakland for the Jack Hyde Soccer camp of about 70 kids. We had a fastest shot contest with each age group of the camp and gave out prizes to each, as well as leaving catalogs and posters for everyone. On the 27th we then went south to Atherton, CA which is between San Francisco and San Jose. There we went to the Atherton Lax Camp which was a very small and low talent camp but we were still successfull in reaching the kids. Now that the weekend was here we had our last few events. On Saturday the 28th we went back up to San Francisco for a WPSL game in the after noon and following that we drove back down to San Jose for a Major League Lacrosse game. At the lacrosse game we set up a tent inside the main entrance of the stadium and gave out free catalogs and stickers as well as raffled off prizes ever quarter. Also we did the same on field contest that we did at the LA lacrosse game previously. Basically we gave two kids three chances to catch a velcro ball on a pad attached to helmet. While the two kids didn't win we still gave them some free stuff. What we didn't know was this was our last event in California. We were scheduled for a women's professional game the following day but due too the fires in California it was canceled. So we drove back down to the LA area and hit up the beach the last few days we were there.

Week 3 in California

2008-06-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

This was a fun week. We had a day off to start the week so we went to Ventura Beach and tried surfing again. I did a little better this time but still not good enough. Also we checked out Malibu beach for a bit. The following day we went to Westlake Village, a rich town outside of LA, to go to a soccer camp. We basically did a fastest shot contest and gave out some prizes. After that we went to the beach again. The following day we had off because the Lacrosse camp we were supposed to go to got cancelled. So we headed up to Santa Barbara for the day since we had a camp there the following day. The next day we went to the campus of UC Santa Barbara for a Vocelsinger Soccer camp. This was the largest camp we had for the month with about 200 kids. After the camp we headed south closer to San Diego to Carlsbad, CA for a lacrosse camp. Basically at all the camps we go to we talk to the campers about who we are and what we do, then we do a contest. Once we were finished at the camp we headed back up the coast and saw from the highway that there were some very large waves. So we stopped at the beach again only this time for him to surf. Now that the weekend was here we headed back to the LA area to Beverly Hills. We spent most of Saturday checking out the sites of Hollywood and Beverly Hills. That night we had to set up for another Major League Lacrosse game in Caron, CA. The following day we attended a Nike Soccer camp outside of LA and then a WPSL Game (women's league). This would be our last event in the LA area. The following day we would be leaving for the Bay Area of San Francisco.

Week 2 in California

2008-06-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

As i said in the last post we were headed to Arizona. We had one event scheduled in Tucson but got canceled so the only event we had was in a town close to phoenix. Basically we went to soccer camp and had a contest for some of the kids and gave out some prizes. Also we left catalogs and stickers for all of the campers. The few days before we left for Arizona we had a little time off so we checked out the beach for a few days. When we were done with camp in Arizona we drove back to California because we had a busy weekend. We got back to California for the weekend and had to attend a Soccer tournament in Temecula. The tournament had 120 girls teams and we were there for both days. On the second day we left early because we had to run across town to go to the US national team game against Barbados. Then when the game was over we had to go out towards Santa Monica for a women's Professional game. The weekends are usually our busiest days.

First Week in California

2008-06-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

We left San Diego for Santa Monica, which is near LA. We finally hd our first event which was the Copa Cabana Sand Soccer Tournament. Friday the 6th we had to go to the location of the tournament and set up our tent the night before. Once we were set up we stayed around and hung out at the beach for the rest of the day. The next day was an early and long day. We were up at 6:30 in the morning for the sand soccer tournament. We stayed there till about two, then we had to pack everything up and head across town to a Major League Lacrosse game and do the same thing there. We got to the game a few hours before hand and set up our tent and all of our promotional gear. I had to talk with some of the operations people with the team because we were doing a TV time out contest on the field in the 3rd quarter. During the game we had a busy tent, with alot of people signing up our raffle. I hand picked the two kids that were going to participate in the contest. It was a chance for them to win $1000 shopping spree with Great Atlantic Lacrosse/Lacrosse.com. When it was all said and done they won $500 which they would split.
The following day we went to a Passback event in the inner city of LA. Passback is and organization in which Eurosport and US Soccer Foundations have partnered to send gently used soccer gear to those who cant afford it. So we went to a Passback clinic and gave away alot of free t-shirts, balls, gift cards, posters, catalogs, stickers and etc. The next few days we had off so we went to Huntington Beach or Surf City and I tried surfing for the first time. I was unsuccessful. On Wednesday we travel to Arizona for an event outside of Phoenix.

Week 3

2008-06-12T10:17:00.001-07:00

As we set out to California, we had to stop in Bowling Green, KY for a state cup event. Basically we set up our tent at the event and did some free giveaways as well as raffled of some free gear. The event was for the best teams in the state of Kentucky. Once we were finished with that event on Saturday the 3rd, we left on Sunday for Kansas City, where we stayed just for the night. Next we drove to Denver where we met up with another intern group for the night. The following day we drove to Las Vegas and Stayed on the Strip and got to experience Vegas. After a long night in Vegas we drove to San Diego where would stay the next two nights. While we were there we got free tickets to the Padres vs. Mets MLB game. Basically the first week was spent getting out to California.

Training

2008-06-12T10:02:00.000-07:00

I began my internship on June 20th in Hillsborough, NC. Eurosport brought all the interns into the intern house which is located across the street from the offices. The frist two weeks consisted of nothing but training. Durring the first week we sat in on alot of meetings in different departments such as Marketing, Promotions, HR, Online opreations, purchasing, warehouse operations and etc. Also the first day we met with the co-founders and president and vice president.

One major task of the first week was going to our first event with our rep. My group went to New Jersey and Pennsylvnia durring memorial day weekend. We went to two tournaments and did some promotional work at both.

Much of the second week was taken up by region packing. The regional championchips were a few weeks away and Eurosport and Adidas set up a region store at each tournament. We had to unpack and sort all of the adidas gear for each region tournament. Once everything was sorted and counted we had to repack and get them ready to ship out. Last year it took them 3 weeks to do all 4 redions. This year it took 5 days.

The final task of training was figuring out what regions we would get and whhat events we would be traveling to. My partner and i were lucky enough to get the west coast region for the whole month of June. Basically we will be traveling through California and Arizona going to different events and promoting our partners aswell as the company. The final few days of training were spent packing up our van with all of the promotional gear and giveaways we would need for the entire month. On Friday the 2nd of June my partenr Paul and I began the drive to California.