Indiana Basketball Coaches Association - 2023

While half of the Grip Spritz team was in the Pacific Northwest working with the Canadian National Athletic Directors Association and the Washington Athletic Directors Association, the other half traveled to Indianapolis for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Clinic.

We usually hit basketball coaches' associations in the fall as they prepare for their season beginning. But, when you hear basketball and the state of Indiana, you have to make sure you're there!

Over two days, we were able to meet and talk with about 250 coaches from all over the state.

Like we always say, basketball coaches are some of the biggest fans of our Grip Spritz basketball traction mat. When they use sticky pads, they have to constantly spend time tearing off the dirty sticky sheets because players are constantly asking for a new sheet. Coaches usually like to focus on coaching, not peeling sticky sheets and finding somewhere to throw them until they have to clean up the pile post-game.

When we let them know our traction pad will give players game long grip, they're interested but also skeptical! The idea is that they can let the players use the mat pregame and then they're good to go for the rest of the night. 

But is it too good to be true? They often think that, but usually they come back around a few hours later in the day, after listening to a few speakers and let us know their old shoes are still squeaking away on the basketball court. We know right then that they are believers now!

Coaches ask us different questions than athletic directors. Athletic directors are far more focused on cost, and being in charge of the program budget, they have to be! Coaches focus more on ease and effectiveness. 

Coaches usually ask the following,

1. How long will the grip on the basketball shoes last?
2. Is the liquid on the pad going to leak when I put it away for the night?
3. Do I need to wash the traction pad?
4. When do I need to buy more Grip Spritz solution?
5. How long will the traction mat itself last?
6. Will it mess up the court?
7. How many times do I have to mess with it?

Thankfully, we created our courtside traction mat with their thoughts in mind!

1. How long will the grip on the basketball shoes last? Usually about a game. If the court is well-kept, even longer. Players have seen it last 2-3 games even. However, every conference has that one gym. Everyone knows it's the worst in the area! In situations like this, we recommend pregame and halftime! In either situation, you can pretty much forget about it until there is a real break in the action.
2. Is the liquid in the pad going to leak when I put it away at the end of the game? No. After a few minutes, there is a natural evaporation rate that will ensure the pad won't be soaking wet, or dripping in the tote bag or on the basketball court.
3. Do I need to wash the traction pad? No. We truly wanted to ensure this courtside traction mat would be so easy to use. When coaches or athletic directors try out our mat at the various shows, they have no idea we've used that same traction pad at every event for the past few months. Over the course of these events, more shoes are on the traction pad than a team would see in 5 seasons. After we tell them that, they look closer and realize they couldn't even tell!
4. When do I need to buy more Grip Spritz Solution? What comes with the traction mat is good for about 64 games or practices. We wanted to be sure teams would never be waiting on a package and not having grip on their shoes for any game throughout the year! If you don't use all the solution during the season, most don't, you can store them wherever. It'll still be good for off-season workouts or the next year!
5. How long will the traction mat itself last? As we mentioned about washing them, our demo traction pads are seeing years' worth of usage in just a few months. That really speaks to the quality of them. Coaches we first talked to back in 2020 are still using the same exact traction pad, just grabbing more Grip Spritz solution as needed! We also stand behind our product, if anything in the traction mat tears, you let us know and we replace it!
6. Will it mess up the basketball court? Absolutely not. We had to make sure our solution wouldn't cause issues to the court or player's shoes! Both are way too expensive to mess with!
7. How often do I need to mess with it? Again, like said, before the game, maybe halftime if the court is terrible! It's that easy. Coaches can focus on coaching!

Our favorite thing to hear is that coaches already know about us! This usually happens due to their players. Since coaches are more assessable than athletic directors, players are constantly talking to them!

There have been so many occasions when coaches have either had their players show them our social media or better yet, already tried our basketball shoe grip spray! 

When enough players have used the product and are asking the coach about our team traction mats, they always listen to the players! Players enjoying the product is the best marketing we can ask for!

Our busy weekend has finally come to an end but it won't last long! The road is calling again next week and we're excited to get out there and meet more coaches, athletic directors, and players!