Headfirst is the leading professional sports instruction provider in the Washington, D.C. area. Coaching athletes as young as four years old to high school students, instruction spans teams, leagues, camps, skills classes, private tutoring and lessons. With the belief that "the playing field may serve as the best platform for some of life's great lessons," Headfirst provides prime playing opportunities for young athletes in baseball, soccer, softball, tennis, lacrosse and dance.
In the past five years, Headfirst has experienced tremendous growth - growth that far surpassed the capacity of a paper registration system. When manually entering information on paper had become too time consuming, Headfirst turned to their website. They needed a system they could manage, and a design that would include both athletes and parents - professional but trendy, qualified but spunky. Headfirst wanted something users and players could dig into, something more geared toward their interests.

BrowserMedia designed and built the entire Headfirst site with all of Headfirst's user groups in mind. BrowserMedia integrated a custom registration process integrated with Headfirst's internal CRM solution to allow shared information via a single sign-in on the public website. Online registration and real-time purchasing reduces lag time on both ends of the process.

BrowserMedia also designed an online store where users can purchase DVDs, apparel and other merchandise, increasing revenue and creating opportunities that previously did not exist. Registrants can easily update contact and payment information without having to wait for paperwork to be filed. Use of targeted advertisement placement on the site provides a variety of products and services to clients that were previously unavailable. Headfirst also uses the BrowserMailer emarketing system to generate a newsletter four times per month to send to a distinct client list, keeping athletes and their parents regularly informed.

Since the launch, Headfirst has experienced significant growth in both revenue and athlete registration for programs. Though faced with a design discrepancy between user groups, BrowserMedia found a delicate balance between the two. The new design translates the zest of a group that encourages players to "play smart, get dirty" through dynamic action shots and bold imagery, while showcasing a professional web image that keeps parents coming back for more.

Headfirst directors attribute site's success to BrowserMedia's dedication and attentiveness while working with Headfirst. "During build-out process BrowserMedia team was diligent, creative and willing to adapt on fly to our needs," Co-Director Rob Elwood said. "We wouldn't consider going anywhere else for our web services."

Public opinion, too, has provided positive feedback on new changes. BrowserMedia earned recognition in 2005 and 2006 in form of Omni Intermedia, ADDY, Horizon and Web Marketing Association awards for their design and work on playheadfirst.com.

Play ball.