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The Inevitable 2017 Pros Switching Sponsors Thread
- Thread starter Aim For The Chains
- Start date
They still are holding on to Koling, Ulibarri, Schusterick, Leviska and Catrina Allen so it's not like the roster is full of scrubs. Chris Dickerson and Zach Melton were strong additions over the past couple years.
I'm actually more surprised that Discraft hasn't attracted any top pros recently. They've held on to Doss and Johansen but really haven't scooped up any big names.
MVP seems to be selling pretty well without sponsoring a team. I guess you can do well just by making great, consistent discs.
It's hard to compete with the monster that is Trilogy. Especially since getting sponsored by either of the three brands allows you to throw anything from the other two. They are also selling like gangbusters, so they have the money to scoop up any free agents..and they have the current World Champion on Lat64. Pretty potent mixture for those trying to make a living at disc golf.
Prodigy has a ton of discs that are perfect for top level players, but Trilogy has so much more variety. Im not a marketing guy, but I would think Prodigy should push Catrina hard...she's their bread and butter.
Innova is stacked as well. MVP/Axiom seems to be doing great without using too many pros. Gateway is the same. Legacy has a loyal following and,in my opinion, great disc options, but probably not the moolah to snatch up anyone big aside from Sarah Hokum,which was a big get for them. Discraft...well I dont know their strategy. But they have Doss and MJ and those are some pretty big names and great reps for their brand. There are other brands, of course, but basically small potatoes in comparison.
So an interesting time to be a pro, to say the least.
teemkey
* Ace Member *
They also snagged Geisinger and Proctor, then lost them. Their retaining power appears to more associated with geographic area than their sponsorship perqs. At least for the new guys.
DiscBaltimore
Par Member
Moar gossip pls
teemkey
* Ace Member *
And she still won't throw PDs.
@iDiscGolf
* Ace Member *
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2013
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- 3,805
Muddyboots
Eagle Member
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2009
- Messages
- 906
dwindacatcher
Eagle Member
I'll give a few things I hope happen. I hope discraft can get more going on and mvp gets their feet wet on sponsoring pros. I know discraft isn't small, and mvp is growing, but growth in those two companies would be good for me. DISCRAFT hq is about an hour south and mvp is a hour east. Those companies getting bigger could lead to beer courses near my house.
Beer hazards instead of water hazards would make me less hesitant to go for the green if it's guarded 
SD86
Banned
Beer courses are good. :thmbup:
Seriously, I've noted that Discraft seems to be attempting to up their game. Good plastics, better colors in those plastics, and IMHO they'll begin developing some new pros. At least I hope that's the case.
As to Prodigy... IMHO they have serious problems that go beyond their stable of pros. The key for any DG company is selling to amateurs/casual players. Prodigy has serious gaps in their lineup of discs that may not be a problem for their pros, but is a huge problem for casual players. See the big gap between speed 7 and speed 13 that the H-Series simply doesn't fill properly. Their plastics are good, but how well are they selling?
This might be an opinion that many will disagree with, but IMHO Innova needs to look further ahead into their future and prepare for it, to wit: yes, they have Paul McBeth and Valarie Jenkins Doss, they have Nate Sexton, and they have a number of other top pros. IMHO I hope they are developing the 'next wave' of pros as the current batch gets older.
And Trilogy is just kicking fourth-point-of-contact and forgetting about the names. They could easily become THE dominant force in DG (that's right, overtaking Innova) at the rate they are going... especially with what the DGWT is going to (negatively) do to Discmania's brand name with DGWT's poor decisions...
Reniger
* Ace Member *
Mighty Mitten DG for the win! Discraft and MVP/Axiom are solid companies and I agree getting more sponsored players would really help them. Especially Maple Valley. Discraft has a huge following in the state, but even living 2 hours from the factory, I rarely see any Gyro plastic around. I've thrown plenty of their discs that are really solid entries and don't get due recognition, IMO.
bhadella
* Ace Member *
Innova has the last two AM Worlds winners (Gavin Rathbun and Anthony Barela) along with Izak McDonald (who came in 2nd in 2015 and 2016) that are all under 18 and are that next crop of pros.
Izak won Am Worlds, Rathbun won Am Nats
bhadella
* Ace Member *
Yup. Sorry for the confusion.
SD86
Banned
Sounds good for Innova, then. :thmbup:
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