Playing Smarter-Sports Education Network Creates Dedicated, Direct-To-School Athletic/Coaching TV Channel
(PRWEB) November 11, 1999
November 1, 1999 Sports Education Network
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 495 William Pitt Way
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
Contact: Jeffrey Wateska
888-779-3530
Playing Smarter-Sports Education Network Creates Dedicated, Direct-To-School Athletic/Coaching TV Channel
Pittsburgh, PA-This Fall, the playing field for sports training takes a high-tech hurdle direct to the coach's office and high school training room. The distance learning, satellite delivery of Sports Education Network (SEN) may just be the pre-season favorite for how middle and high school coaches and athletes stay on top of their games.
The company's game plan? Produce and televise an annual programming schedule of coaching and student-athlete clinics showcasing the field bosses and staffs from the most respected athletic programs in the country. Schools get the telecast over the company's proprietary digital satellite network. "Installation involves a small satellite dish and receiver hooked to a TV anywhere at the school. Payment of the annual tuition fee entitles anyone there to tune-in at the scheduled times," says Jeffrey Wateska, chief operating officer. "Staff and athletes can watch in the convenience of a classroom, limited only by the room's size."
Events are live and interactive. Viewers can call-in, toll free, to engage presenters in real-time exchanges. The channel has two programming venues. Clinics in the Classroom caters exclusively to coaches, with a first-year programming roster that features university instructors from heralded sports teams such as Penn State, Stanford, Texas A&M and the University of Arizona. Headliners to appear during the channel's first telecast season include: Joe Paterno, Penn State football head coach; R. C. Slocum, Texas A&M football head coach and Tara VanDerveer, Stanford women's basketball head coach. These and other marquee presenters, such as four-time Olympic wrestling medallist Bruce Baumgartner; Sigi Schmid, head coach, Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer and Morgan Wootten, head basketball coach, DeMatha Catholic High School and winningest coach in basketball history at any level, will provide expert knowledge about techniques, drills, schemes and strategies covering all the bases with hard-hitting facts, fundamentals and forward-thinking advice.
"We're providing schools with an extremely affordable athletic training system covering a wide spectrum of men's and women's sports with 21 live and interactive clinics." says Leo Wisniewski, senior vice president of sales, and a former football captain at Penn State who is a NFL veteran with the Baltimore and Indianapolis Colts.
SEN's other programming venue, The Total Athlete Series, helps student-athletes and their parents ease the hurdles and manage the rigors of the academic-athletic relationship. These 60-90 minute programs cover player issues such as specific sports skills development, training regimens from the pros, NCAA rules and guidelines and recruitment. Appearances from well-known professional athletes: Rick Barry (NBA Hall of Fame), Tunch Ilkin (NFL Pittsburgh Steelers) and Don Beebe (NFL Bills/Packers) offer inspiration, humor and a chance to relate one-to-one in a live, call-in format.
The network enters its first season with plenty of experience and technology support. SEN is part of RTN Inc., a leading distance training company headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA. RTN healthcare Learning Labs currently provide accredited continuing education to over 1,000 downlink sites nationwide.
The Kick-off of SEN's inaugural season was on October 21, 7 p. m., EST. The show featured a preview by Fox Sports' James Brown, an SEN advisory board member, and Richard Quick, head coach women's swimming, Stanford University and coach of the U. S Olympic women's swimming team. Schools with steerable satellite dishes can get the November 11 wrestling clinic to air at 7pm EST featuring four-time Olympic medallist Bruce Baumgartner and PSU Wrestling Coach Troy Sunderland, free through the network's no obligation Try-Out offer. Any school that wants to register, or learn more about subscribing, can call 888-779-3530 or visit the SEN website at www. sportseducation. com. Says JB; "SEN is tailored for the needs of coaches and student-athletes in almost every sport. Our mission is simple, "We believe every coach and student-athlete deserves the best in athletic instruction."
