Press Release: Airo Nation Set to Bring the Adidas 7v7 State Championship Series to Louisiana

Davie, FL, June 13, 2016 – The 2016 Adidas Championship Series is coming to Louisiana June 15-17. Saint Thomas More High School (Lafayette, LA) and St. Amant High School (St. Amant, LA) are hosting the three day event. The Championship game will be played at St. Amant High School at approximately 12:30pm, June 17. Schedules are attached along with key media notes on the top schools and prep athletes participating!

The 2016 Adidas 7v7 Championship Series, the largest 7v7 platform in America, includes stops in California, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The platform will attract approximately 500 teams, 3,000 coaches and close 11,000 prep athletes in 2016. Regional and state championships are planned across 11 states in the summer of 2016. Event dates and locations are listed on www.airo7v7.com.

“Our commitment to designing and developing the lightest, fastest cleats in the game makes adidas the brand of choice for best high school football players in the country,” said Shannon Ferbrache, Director of Grassroots Sports Marketing for adidas. “Our new partnership with Airo provides the perfect platform to showcase our authenticity and leadership position in grassroots football and we look forward to being able to crown eight different State champions in 2016.

In addition to Adidas, Airo has lined up national sponsors including Gatorade, RockSolid, The Process and Krossover.  Krossover will add a special platform for coaches new to the 7v7 world.

Krossover, the leading video analytics platform will provide game film analytics and video breakdown of 7v7 game film for prep coaches.

“Krossover is excited to partner with Airo as we expand our 7v7 presence”, said Eric Perugini, VP of Krossover.  “Our best-in-class technology will provide a valuable tool for coaches and athletes that participate in this rapidly expanding sport”.

Airo has secured strategic partnerships with football coaching associations from many states where the 7v7 events will be hosted. Airo has already inked partnerships with the majority of state coaching associations.

The national effort is led by Airo principals Dave Menard and Richard McGuinness. McGuinness created the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on NBC which features the nation’s best preps in the biggest prep all-star game and a stable of national sponsors. McGuinness sold his interest in 2014 to pursue new and exciting opportunities like 7v7. Menard, Airo founder, has been a pioneer in 7v7 events for years in Florida. Menard was inspired by the Texas 7v7 championship, which is one of the biggest football events in the country featuring hundreds of 7v7 football teams.

Both men saw the emerging but fragmented 7v7 world and decided to partner. Their goal – wire the country with an exciting 7v7 brand that provides first class events to coaches and athletes and a road to play in a regional, statewide and eventual national 7v7 championship.

The 2015 Airo 7v7 soft launch in Florida, Georgia and Louisiana was a big hit with sold-out events in each state. Testing the waters in SEC country was important to understanding the potential of a national 7v7 platform. They anticipate adding more states each year.

“7v7 football is the centerpiece of what we call the ‘Second Season’,” McGuinness stated. “Given the prominence of 7v7 football and the training that occurs in the spring for the nation’s best players, there is no longer an ‘off-season’. There is the traditional ‘First Season’ that features tackle football governed by the states and the ‘Second Season’ that features 7v7 play which is wide open. Almost every high school football team in the country plays some form of 7v7 football during this time but with no national system,” McGuinness stated.

“Up until now, it has been disconnected. This new world, the Airo 7v7 world, will invite teams to play in regional competitions, statewide championships and ultimately a national championship,” McGuinness concluded.

Menard sees the national platform as a win-win-win-win. “It is a win for parents who like the non-contact nature of 7v7 football and the affordable price ($30 per athlete), a win for coaches who want opportunities to better their team, a win for athletes who enjoy the exciting pass oriented and fast paced 7v7 competition and a win for national sponsors who can introduce their brand to thousands of athletes and coaches in one location over three exciting days during the back to school window,” Menard stated. “In each state, we are running the biggest football events that feature thousands of prep coaches, athletes and their parents – three desirable target groups for our sponsors.”

Airo Nation will focus on the “scholastic” world of 7v7 which is made up of established high school football teams led by their high school football coaches. “The all-star 7v7 world features athletes from each region playing together without their coach. We wanted to showcase the scholastic style of 7v7 because we support the high school football coaches desire to stay together and get better as a team,” McGuinness added. “They are the back bone and life blood of prep football and they deserve our support.”

Menard also gets excited about the potential size of the scholastic market versus the all-star market. At last count, there were 250 plus all-star 7v7 teams in the country versus 28,000 scholastic 7v7 teams. Most high schools feature a JV and varsity 7v7 team.

 

Photo credit: Airo Nation – Adidas 7v7 Tournament