Elite Nashville club leverages the leading technology platform to give student-athletes more exposure and increased opportunities to reach the next level.
Launched in 2014, STARS Basketball Club (Tenn.) quickly became one of the top club organizations in the area, if not the country. This past year, STARS had over a thousand players try out for the first through eighth-grade teams. That number skyrockets if you include high school divisions.
STARS is that place.
Founder and club director Lance Akridge said that the club provides comprehensive training. It’s built around a culture of “more than,” the mindset means basketball is just the beginning. The club looks to deliver a first-rate playing experience with the resources and support to help players be their best on and off the court.
I would say the two things that got me excited the most with using Hudl for club: number one, and the most important thing in my opinion, is helping our girls get to college and play college, it helps so much with recruiting... And second, to get those stats from Hudl Assist.
Tony McLeod
From the outset, Akridge focused on bringing on the right people in key roles. He composed a staff of veteran coaches with experience from the college and high school ranks. But in an ultra-competitive club basketball landscape, marquee names and pedigree aren’t a differentiator anymore. It’s the norm.
Oftentimes, current and former basketball stars will form AAU teams and use their personal success to attract athletes to the club. If that person made it to the promised land — playing collegiately or even professionally — then maybe up-and-coming players who join their team will, too.
But there are no guarantees in club basketball. However, with help from Hudl, STARS power edges out star power.
For Akridge and his All-Star lineup of coaches, having Hudl is how STARS puts its money where its mouth is. It shows athletes that success on the court and in recruiting is the club’s primary focus.
Ted Quinn, STARS Director of Player Development and Leadership Enhancement, brings nearly two decades of experience in college basketball to Akridge’s team. He oversees every facet of player growth including practices, camps, clinics, and even coaches one of the club’s high-level teams.
Quinn says that in the last few years, a rising number of variables (more teams, more highlight reels, more..everything) has made recruiting difficult for both recruiters and recruits.
Incremental growth is key. Club basketball isn’t like high school ball. Teams may have one or two practices per week. Time with athletes is limited.
With Hudl, STARS coaches provide instruction or feedback via clips that players can watch on their own wherever they are. Players who see their growth on film are more confident when they take the floor as well as when they’re approached by recruiters.
As the Director of High School Girls’ Program, Tony McLeod says Hudl and Hudl Assist are invaluable for club coaches and their athletes. His experience using Hudl and Hudl Assist with his Father Ryan High School varsity team made him all the more excited to coach his club teams once STARS opted to use Hudl.
With Hudl Assist, McLeod receives full team and player stat breakdowns for every game from Hudl’s analysts. Each stat is linked directly to video so he can pull up clips on any player or possession in seconds.
“I would say the two things that got me excited the most with using Hudl for club: number one, and the most important thing in my opinion, is helping our girls get to college and play college, it helps so much with recruiting,” McLeod said. “And second, to get those stats from Hudl Assist.”
McLeod says one of the first things he discusses with college coaches after they see a highlight reel or a tournament game is a player’s stats. With Assist, he’s always prepared.
“You'd be surprised how many [recruiters] ask me ‘Okay, what can you tell me about this kid? What's her three-point percentage? What's her free throw percentage? But I also like to sneak in ‘Here's her offensive rebound percentage. She's taken seven charges.’ Just being able to pull up those things on the fly.”
With stats from every game, McLeod can immediately give information that college coaches need to take the next step toward evaluating and recruiting that player.
When college coaches know what they need to know, they zero in on the player they want and stop looking elsewhere. This tips the scale in favor of STARS players.
McLeod says Hudl has raised the bar in recruiting, but STARS is raising the bar in club basketball. The club has helped over 80 former players combined on both the boys’ and girls’ side of the program earn scholarships to reach the college level, at all divisions of play.
Success on the court is important, but proving to prospective athletes that you can capably and consistently get players to the next level? That’s how you stay ahead of the competition.
That’s how a modern basketball club wins.
