Several retired professional athletes are part of the management team behind a new scouting app that allows would-be sports stars to upload videos of themselves so that talent evaluators can find them without going abroad.
The app, ScoutUS Pro, which is being dubbed “the most technologically advanced athlete scouting platform on the market,” is set for launch on Tuesday.
The app’s developers said that ScoutUS Pro is a “first-of-its kind athlete scouting platform that connects athletes and scouts with players who have never been seen before around the world.”
The roster of ScoutUS Pro’s leadership and advisory board includes former baseball players Marvin Benard, Jimmy Rollins, Cory Wade and Reggie Smith.
“Major League Baseball has given me a fantastic career with seasons playing for the Phillies, Dodgers, and the White Sox,” Rollins, a former Most Valuable Player, told The Post.
“There are amazing athletes out there, waiting to be discovered, and ScoutUS Pro has been able to join tech and sports to make sure more of those great athletes reach their dreams.”
Benard told The Post that he was only able to have a professional career after a scout came to watch another player on his high school team.
“Scouts rarely came to see my high school team in Los Angeles,” said Benard, a former outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.
“I was only discovered because there was a fantastic pitcher on my team, and they accidently saw me.”
“ScoutUS Pro will make sure all athletes have a fighting chance and will make sure they don’t have to rely on accidental sightings,” Benard told The Post.
Retired US soccer star Brad Friedel told The Post: “Breaking into professional sports is not easy. It shouldn’t be.”
“But, if you have talent, if you have passion, if you have drive, you shouldn’t be blocked because a scout can’t get to you,” said Friedel, who was a goalkeeper on the US Men’s National Team.
“ScoutUS Pro is unlike any other technology in the world that it breaks down the final barrier between players athletes and scouts and will help athletes across the globe.”