PHILADELPHIA – After a year away from the July camp scene, Reebok made a return this week with the Reebok Breakout Challenge. Previously, their big July event was the Reebok All-American Camp, while an underclassmen event in June had the Breakout name. But in their year away, Reebok repositioned the camp, hence the new name and a clear new focus.
One thing Reebok wants to make clear is that the Breakout Challenge is not their answer to the Lebron James Skills Academy. They are not positioning this as an All-American camp. Instead, they position it based on the first big success story they had when they relaunched their grassroots camps in 2007 around the Headliner tryouts, Breakout Camp and Rbk U All-American Camp. That would be the story of John Wall, who was an unknown when he went to the Breakout Camp when it was their primary underclassmen camp, then earned an invitation to the All-American Camp with a stellar weekend. The rest, as they say, is history, with Wall becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft.
So those who come expecting to see one high-major prospect after another, along with the college coaches to match that, are going to be disappointed. But that’s not what Reebok has in mind as they get back in the game after a one-year absence. The event certainly had some high-major prospects, but mid-major coaches did well to come and see the talent on hand.
The media packet describes more clearly what they are trying to do. After noting that they are not positioning it as an All-American camp, it reads: “It is about giving hard working, deserving players the opportunity to take their basketball destiny into their own hands. It matters more who you are when you walk out of our gym than who you are when you walk in.”
Pat Coombs, the Reebok Breakout Challenge Director, said that the year away gave them the chance to not only sharpen what they wanted to do with it, but also improve the message. Previously, Reebok fancied its July camp to be one for under-the-radar players to a degree. But that tended to get lost in what people knew of it, owing in part to Reebok even calling it the Reebok All-American Camp. Now, Reebok isn’t going to let that happen. Coombs feels like the message is clear now on what the event is.
In addition, Reebok always emphasized that players were to be selected from the Headliner Tryouts based on how they performed over the two days, with reputation not factoring in. It’s not easy to separate reputation from play over a couple of days, but that was the idea. The Breakout Challenge’s new focus follows from this.
Nearly half of the participants earned their way to Philadelphia by virtue of their performance at a Headliner Tryout. But the vast majority almost certainly would not get a chance to play in a true All-American camp, so the mission was accomplished. Over 100 players had their well-earned chance to show college coaches what level they can play at during the biggest recruiting month of the year.
John Wall played a big role in the event all the way through. It’s not just that he is featured and the motivator for the direction they are taking. He was present to meet and work with the campers, and at the end, he selected the top performers to invite to a private training summit later in the summer. So while the players had every incentive to play well with college coaches and media present, there was another reward as well. The reward keeps right in line with the idea of the camp and what Wall would like to see Reebok do.
Reebok is back in the game in July, and now with a clearer focus. They made the most of their time away for the purpose they have in mind.
