Cincinnati Reds outfielder Jay Bruce spent two recent days in Mason, leading drills, giving lectures and signing autographs for hundreds of local kid athletes.
His baseball camp was sponsored by Cincinnati Bell Technology Solutions, Fifth Third Bank, Prasco and Chiquita Brands International Inc., and most of its proceeds went to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Working behind the scenes were 21 staffers at the Blue Ash offices of ProCamps Worldwide. Their mission: to attract the business sponsors, plan and implement camp events and recruit kids to participate
Year-round, the ProCamps team led by co-founder and CEO Gregg Darbyshire works to execute 44 sports camps in cities around the country for some of the best-known athletes in professional sports. They include Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony, New England Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Next year, camps will number 70 thanks to a June investment by one of New YorkÂ’s oldest and most well-known advertising agencies, Lipman. The group helped build and market the brands of luxury retailers like David Yurman, Lord & Taylor and Burberry and celebrities including Jennifer Aniston and Justin Timberlake. It recently repositioned itself with a strategic investment arm for ventures like ProCamps.
The Lipman funding will help ProCamps add a lineup of collegiate stars and top female athletes, and plan camps for adults and others tied to the Super Bowl, NCAA playoffs and bowl games and the NBA All-Star Game, Darbyshire says. The company also will expand into Europe and China. ProCampsÂ’ first Asian basketball camp will be held next year in an affluent suburb of Beijing.
The wide network of Lipman, Darbyshire says, will help his company attract sponsors that see value in tying their names to an athlete and a cause.
By 2015, Darbyshire expects to record revenue of $25 million, up from $4.5 million today.
“It’s a really exciting time,” he says. His goal is to deliver the same quality camp whether he is executing four or 44. “And we’re staying on track,” he says.
From high school to the highest levels
Despite its list of high-profile connections and clients, the companyÂ’s roots are unassuming.
Darbyshire was athletic director at Kings Local School District in 1999 when he and Jim Stoll, athletic director at Sycamore Community Schools, hosted their first summer football camp for former Cincinnati Bengal Anthony Muñoz.
“We saw that professional athletes and coaches like to give back, and we thought camps would be a turnkey way to do it,” Darbyshire says. He met Muñoz through the player’s daughter Michelle, then a Mason High School student and basketball star.
Over the next several years, Darbyshire and Stoll spent their summers planning a handful of camps for athletes. The two- to three-day camps were open to boys and girls aged 6 to 18 of all skill levels, at a cost of about $200. Each featured instruction, games, contests, lectures and Q&A sessions with professional athletes and dozens of established coaches in each community.
From the beginning, sponsors paid for underprivileged kids to participate.
Most proceeds went to a charity of the athleteÂ’s choice, and ProCamps was paid a management fee.
A big draw for all campers was the opportunity to play and interact with their heroes.
“Many were campers themselves and had someone give them a chance. It’s sentimental and nostalgic for the players,” Darbyshire says. In 2002, he left Kings to help Muñoz start the Anthony Muñoz Foundation. In the following years, growth happened more quickly.
Basketball connection the first big break
ProCampsÂ’ first major professional basketball client was Vince Carter, a connection made by DarbyshireÂ’s former coach at Middletown High School, Butch Carter (no relation). He had coached the basketball star with the Toronto Raptors.
“Vince really put us on the map with the NBA,” Darbyshire says.
In 2007, Darbyshire left the Muñoz Foundation to focus on building ProCamps. He saw a push for athletes and coaches to get more involved in the communities where they play, and few competitors in the organizing field. Plenty of other camps happened around the country, but weren’t as closely tied to big-name athletes. Some pros held camps in their hometowns, organized by a family member or high school coach.
Darbyshire acquired controlling interest in the company and recruited a professional board to advise him. He began to target the most relevant, kid-friendly and cause-oriented players in professional sports.
“Gregg really put his nose to the grindstone,” says Jeff Holtmeier, ProCamps’ non-executive chairman. “He’s always had a vision that once we execute consistently, and meet growth goals, that we find a partner to expand on a global basis.”
The introduction to Lipman CEO Andy Spellman came in 2009 through PatriotsÂ’ football star Welker, a new ProCamps client. At the time, Spellman was a principal in Fireman Capital Partners, a high-profile Boston private equity firm.
When Spellman took a stake in Lipman early this year and agreed to launch the investment arm, he knew ProCamps would be an early investment.
“When we make investments, first and foremost we look for entrepreneurs we think look at the world a little differently,” Spellman says. He saw in Darbyshire, a humble, hard-working, detail-oriented guy who’d developed a strong and profitable business model.
Spellman also recognized a big market opportunity in the $5 billion sports camp industry.
“The opportunity is endless. There is no question with globalization and technology that the world is interested in the U.S. athletes and brands and entertainment,” he says. “But we have to think about what is the best choice.”
Lipman executives recently joined ProCampsÂ’ board, and are helping the company prioritize its many growth initiatives. Coming in May 2012 is ProCampsÂ’ first fantasy camp for adults, to be hosted in Lexington by basketball coach John Calipari of the University of Kentucky. Another 10 players and coaches will soon be targeted by the divisionÂ’s new head, former Xavier University assistant basketball coach Pat Kelsey.
Athlete associations a win for sponsors
Aiding the planned expansion is a group of local and national sponsors like P&GÂ’s Old Spice brand, Bridgestone, Chiquita and Fifth Third Bank.
In its second year of sponsorship, Fifth Third now sponsors 20 camps in cities where it operates.
“It’s very convenient for us. It helps us get into the community, and it covers our entire footprint,” says Nate Paszczykowski, assistant vice president and retail marketing manager. Fifth Third staffers host refreshment stations for parents at camp and answer banking questions. The company also offers contests for free “camperships” in its retail branches.
“In Orlando, where we’re growing, to tie ourselves with Dwight Howard, one of the top players in the NBA, is really a growth driver,” Paszczykowski says. “The athletes in the towns really resonate with people.”
DarbyshireÂ’s unique skill set has helped him run the company so far. His background as an athletic director prepared him to organize schedules, manage a lot of people and deal with parents. And his experience running the foundation helped him know what sponsors want out of a relationship.
Darbyshire calls himself a perfectionist. He visited 42 of 44 camps this year. But he knows that growth will require him to prioritize.
HeÂ’s already hiring executives and additional staff to help run sales, operations and new divisions. Staff count is planned to hit 50 in 2012 and 100 by 2015.
What wonÂ’t be lost as the company expands is its commitment to serving others, Darbyshire says. ProCamps will continue relationships with the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the local Hatton Foundation and national Boys and Girls Clubs, sponsoring less fortunate kids to attend the camps.
“A lot of pro athletes say that someone gave them a chance at a camp. That’s how I could rationalize being away from my own family when my kids were young,” Darbyshire says. “It’s very inspirational.”
Now, his two oldest sons, 8-year-old Grant and 7-year-old Bryce, come along to most camps. They get to meet kids from all over the country and unite around sports.
“It’s really neat,” Darbyshire says. “When I have them with me, I feel like I’m not working.”
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