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🥱 It was supposed to be a boring off-season

🥱 It was supposed to be a boring off-season

Pro Hustlers, Retail Innovators, and Bearhart Delivers

January 11, 2023

Hello and welcome, this is The Players Meeting. The only newsletter where tags openers and ice bowls take over January weekends.Email Read Time: 5 Minutes & 22 Seconds

If you missed last week, then I got you: New Year, New Contracts

Let’s get into it.

Contracts Watch

Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It’s the 2nd week of the year, and we’re still waiting on contracts.

Teams and sponsorships are more fluid than ever, and the day has finally come. I guess you can truly never say never.

🚨 NEW 🚨

Simon Lizotte - After weeks of rumors, Lizotte announced he’s leaving Team Discmania after a decade. He explained that it was now or never with an offer he couldn’t refuse. Here’s what is known so far:
- Had 1 year left on his 5-year contract
- Likely not Team Infinite: He said he won’t be able to throw his last FD3 Signature Series - Doom Bird 4 - which sold out on Monday (1/9)
- MVP rumors are all but confirmed. Leaving an easter egg in his latest vlog, Lizotte had a custom-dyed Axiom Envy in his trunk. It was actually a similarly dyed FD3. BUT with the other big teams already announced, MVP seems to be the only option left
- Rumored contract numbers: $7.5M over 5 years
- His farewell video hit #15 on YouTube’s trending and had over 200k views on its 1st day
Discraft took their Elite Team to the next level
- Added: Anthony Barela, Valerie Mandujano, Holyn Handley
- Promoted: Brodie Smith (2 years), Aaron Gossage, Corey Ellis (2 years)
James Conrad - Extends with MVP for 4 more years with higher disc royalty rates
Mason Ford - Ending his DD contract early, he joins the other Lone Star State company - Mint Discs - for 2 years
Gavin Babcock - In an attempt to fill the giant Simon-sized hole, Discmania grabbed one of the Prodigy boys for 1 year
Zach Melton - Extends with DD for 1 year
Catrina Allen - Extends with DGA for 1 year
Silver Lätt - Extends with Latitude 64° for 2 years
Colten Montgomery - Extends with Discmania for 2 years
Mixed Bag Gang
- Maria Oliva joins Team Infinite to compliment her TSA molds
- James Proctor & Erika Stinchcomb fill the rest of their Clash bags with TSA
- Eric Oakley re-ups another 2 years with TSA

AWAITING ANNOUNCEMENT

Left Prodigy: Austin Hannum (his announcement reeks of DGA)
Left DD: Paige Shue
Left Discraft: Austin Turner
And... *checks notes* ... Left Discmania: Simon LizotteSomeone send BBQ sauce, I need to season my Mind Bender.

The Hustlers and Brand Builders

There’s football post-season, an NFL fan’s favorite time of year. There’s wedding szn, Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn’s favorite time of year.

Right now, it’s nearing the end of contracts season, and I’m lovin’ it. In particular, the trend of mixed bags has gained traction.

On The Trevor Staub Show, Xander Kirby - owner of Beacon Sports Management - explained how our sport is product based. Players have to move discs to be worth something.

And now that everyone has a disc with their name on it, players need to win or be marketable to have value. This off-season, many joined the rebel ranks of Drew Gibson (Infinite, Finish Line, EV-7, RPM) & Eric Oakley (Infinite, Clash, TSA, RPM) without a singular disc sponsor.

While they’re not one of the top dogs, their personal brands paired with multiple sponsors are valuable enough to fit their lifestyle. Gibson & Oakley have been trendsetters by splitting their putters, mids, and drivers from different companies.

They’ve allowed smaller manufacturers to sponsor them without spending the premium to take over their entire bag. A company’s flagship disc can easily find the spotlight with one amazing throw.

“At the current status of things, you gotta hustle. If you wanna make it work, you gotta move product, stay relevant, interact with the fans.” - Oakley on The DG Prescription

As coverage expands and more players get featured, will this slowly become the norm? Instead of switching sponsors, mid-level players might find success by splitting their bags.

Fresh Plastic

Random Triples

1️⃣ Foundation Discs introduced a new policy for their online retail called “Foundation Care”. For $2/disc, you can try out any disc and exchange it for another within 30 days.

Sports equipment demos are not uncommon for racquets, golf clubs, baseball bats, etc. But this seems new for disc golf where equipment is a fraction of the cost.

Are they innovating the retail game or giving themselves a logistical nightmare? Let’s see how it plays out.

2️⃣ If you live where winter exists and are a fair-weather golfer, then throw on Gatekeeper’s 24hr Twitch stream. The white noise of chains and commentary will keep your spirits high while you work, clean, or chill around the house.

3️⃣ 6 months ago, Brian Earhart went to Reddit for suggestions on his Level Up video series. I had the highest comment asking for an explanation of the different styles of putting.

And he kinda delivered! Here’s how he explained push vs. spin putting:

Push (Chandler Fry): minimizes side-to-side misses, more consistent in low wind
- Tips: Focus on the momentum from the back foot, don’t forget spin from the wrist still contributes
Spin (Missy Gannon): more range, fights wind, harder to be consistent
- Tips: All in the wrist but don’t forget the lower body

Meme of the Week

Thanks for reading today. Get out and support your local club this weekend!

- Charlie

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