Washington Athletic Directors Conference - 2023

After wrapping up the Canadian Athletic Directors Conference in Vancouver, Grip Spritz headed back south to Kennewick, Washington for the WSSAAA, Washington State Athletic Directors Conference.

First, thank you to whoever planned these so kindly for us, make them back-to-back and only six hours apart! Always nice making the most of the travels far from home!

In all seriousness, we are so happy to be building relationships with associations across so many states. This is the key to our growth across the entire country and beyond! Each event puts us in front of hundreds and hundreds of decision-makers at schools all over.

This was our second event in Washington over the last half year. In October we stopped in Yakima for the Basketball Coaches Association. That was our first real boots-on-the-ground trip to the Pacific Northwest to showcase Grip Spritz.

We were able to meet a handful of athletic directors who recognized us from their coaches purchasing our courtside traction mats during the previous basketball season.

The event had about 400 athletic directors from all over the state. Kennewick was centrally located to accommodate administrators coming from the Seattle/Tacoma area as well as the Spokane market.

Athletic Directors are a lot more focused on the financial side of things compared to the coaches. Coaches care for what’s the easiest and helps their players the most. Athletic directors want the same but have to consider the cost associated with those based upon the specific budgets each sports season and team has!

One of our biggest focuses from day one with Grip Spritz was affordability. Basketball sticky pads have grown more and more expensive. When we talk with schools it’s not uncommon for them to have completely left the market for them because of the cost. Some even said their coaches and players want something but it isn’t in the cards.

After hearing this enough early on, we knew how we could grab a huge chunk of high school basketball programs, and make the money a no-brainer!

Athletic directors are always blown away when we say, “We want to make sure you can get two Grip Spritz traction pads for less than the cost of just one sticky pad”. They’re even more blown away when we tell them the cost because it’s true.

If you play basketball, coach, or just watch your kids play, courts are not maintained properly. It’s a pleasant surprise when a court isn’t a dusty mess. It can be very unsafe for players when you don’t have appropriate grip on your basketball shoes. This is why so many coaches and players want something, anything, that can help them stop slipping.

Grip Spritz Traction Mats cover both of these problems. The condition of courts isn’t going to change. Too many activities take place on basketball courts with shoes of every quality. They will always be dusty and dirty. Unless they’re completely redone, then they’ll be back to being slippery a few months later.

Grip Spritz uses no adhesives. We make the basketball shoes grippy, not sticky. When you use a sticky pad, part of that adhesive in the sheets inevitably makes the shoes sticky, they’re now magnets for whatever dust or dirt is on the court.

By rehydrating the soles of the shoes, Grip Spritz allows the shoes to just grip the court as if they were brand new, no matter how dusty.

Now schools have the option to get a traction pad that actually works for their boys’ and girls’ basketball teams and somehow still save money!

Our cost for two courtside traction mats is $269.95. To make sure each program has enough Grip Spritz solution, they get two free additional bottles. Our ‘School Bundle’ gets the school two traction mats, 2 tote bags, and 32 games worth of Grip Spritz for each their freshmen, JV, and varsity teams.

A similar order for two sticky pads alone would be well over $300 and that’s before making sure you have enough sticky pads for just your varsity team's schedule.

Where we travel spans across dozens and dozens of states but the similarities are universal, courts are dusty, budgets are tight, players and coaches need something to help their shoes, and people are fed up with sticky pads just not delivering!

We are incredibly excited for more opportunities to pleasantly surprise players, coaches, and athletic directors all over the country! We have two more big shows coming up in May as well as a handful of other events sprinkled in.

Hopefully, we’re scheduled to be in your state so you can try Grip Spritz for yourself and finally find the answer for dusty basketball courts!