MISL Introduces Training Series
Published on October 16, 2002 under Major Indoor Soccer League 2 (MISL 2) News Release
(Westport, Conn., October 16, 2002) â The Major Indoor Soccer League has joined Spalding Sports Worldwide, Inc. and InnerSports in introducing a revolutionary web-enabled "Soccer Skilz" training series as an added-value gift inside Spalding's Infusion soccer ball product line. The interactive compact discs are now being distributed via sporting goods and retail stores across the country.
Spalding and the MISL have joined with InnerSports to produce an innovative and groundbreaking video training series that marries the best aspects of CD-ROM with the community-building features of the Internet. The product offers soccer players, coaches, and parents an entertaining and fast-paced interactive format in which MISL stars present the finer points of the game.
Hosted by professional coach Paul Riley, the Soccer Skilz HyperCD training card series features Denison Cabral and Gino DiFlorio of the Baltimore Blast, Peter Pappas of the 2001-02 MISL Champion Philadelphia Kixx, and Nino DaSilva of the Kansas City Comets. The Soccer Skilz HyperCD is part trading card, part video training, and part online soccer community. Each of the four MISL stars is featured on his own disc, which includes nearly 50 minutes of video. Discs are randomly packaged inside Spalding InfusionÃTM soccer balls, enforcing their collectibility as well as their value as a training product.
Each HyperCD delivers soccer fans to an exclusive web site where the user views instantaneous, high-quality video playback regardless of their web connection speed. Each disc presents Riley and the featured MISL players presenting five soccer skills broken down into step-by-step training and conditioning drills. Users will also enjoy exclusive, in-depth personality profiles of each player, as well as League highlight music videos, player statistics, the latest soccer news, interactive polls, message boards, and links to premier soccer sites and soccer merchandise.
"Spalding's award-winning Infusion technology is the trendsetter in recreational sports balls and we saw a unique opportunity with the MISL and InnerSports in bringing yet another innovative and fan friendly product to the marketplace in the HyperCD," stated Mary Lakis, category manager for Spalding inflated products. "In the InfusionÃTM soccer ball package, our consumers will not only find a state-of-the-art ball, but also a dynamic and practical state-of-the-art soccer training product."
"Soccer has now become the largest participation sport among America's youth and yet it has no exciting media channel to feed that passion," said Ken Park, President and CEO of BBM HyperCD and co-founder of InnerSports. "With this product and our relationship with Spalding and the MISL, we have introduced a channel through which to help feed this desire for quality programming. By presenting video training via a compelling online playback environment, we help establish a new online community that supports and speaks to kids, coaches, and parents who love soccer and wish to grow with the sport. As a result, this viral campaign builds an even greater affinity for soccer, Spalding, and the excitement of the MISL."
"This product not only strengthens our relationship with Spalding, but also positions our League as an innovator in the digital sports space," stated MISL Commissioner Steve Ryan. "Our fans view us as the fastest, most explosive and highest scoring form of professional soccer. This HyperCD series gives them an even deeper appreciation for our game and our stars."
Spalding Sports Worldwide is the nation's first full-line sporting goods company. Its leadership and innovative products has led to revolutionary breakthroughs in virtually every major sporting goods product category. Under the Spalding umbrella are the STRATA, TOP-FLITE, ETONIC, BEN HOGAN and DUDLEY brands. To find more information on Spalding, visit the company's website at http://www.spalding.com or call the Consumer Relations Department at 800-SPALDING (772-5346).
The Major Indoor Soccer League is a single-entity organization featuring a coast-to-coast presence with eight teams located across the United States. The MISL is the single major league of indoor soccer, playing a 144-game schedule that began on September 28, 2002 and concludes on March 23, 2003. For more information on the MISL, visit the League's official website at www.MISL.net.
New York-based BBM HyperCD develops and markets disc marketing products that exploit its patented online video technologies to deliver full-screen, full-motion video to 100 percent of today's Web users, regardless of connection speed, while providing privacy protection for valuable online content. Other users of HyperCD technology include such industry leaders as Adobe Systems, Atlantic Records, BMG, BowieNet, CDnow, DC United, E-Poll, Elektra Records, Fleer Trading Card Co., HBO, Hollywood Stock Exchange, Jim Henson Company, Liverpool Football Club, London Sire Records, Major League Soccer, the New England Patriots, Russell Athletic, Sam Goody.com, Showtime Networks, Total Training, Warner Bros. Records, and others. For more information about BBM HyperCD, visit www.hypercd.com.
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