So what is NXTsports?
NXTsports is a sports education and event management company specializing in the sport of lacrosse. The mission of NXT is to create the most innovative sports education programs and execute industry-leading events at exceptional venues. NXT delivers a superior participant experience across its entire portfolio of brands.
How did you get started with NXTsports and when did NXTsports get its start?
I started with NXTsports in the middle of October 2014 after graduating with my master’s degree from Durham University in Durham, U.K. I had played lacrosse for one of the co-founders of NXT, Peter Lawrence, at Division I University of Hartford. When I returned to the U.S., he reached out to me about an opportunity at NXT and I was quick to jump on board. As an organization, NXT has primarily been operating in the Philadelphia and Mid-Atlantic region for the past five years. Our office in Chicago opened this past fall.
How many events does NXTsports run?
Lacrosse is the fastest growing sport in the United States; the game is exploding all across the country. NXT runs 30 events over the course of the summer and fall seasons. There has been tremendous growth for us over this past year especially with the partnerships with MVP Lacrosse and LB3 Lacrosse. Both are well-known names in the lacrosse community and the partnerships with them greatly strengthen our event offerings.
What are your goals for the sport in the upcoming years?
Our goals for the sport are to keep the game spreading throughout the country and to provide players of all ages across the country the opportunity to play at elite venues against great competition so that they can enjoy playing lacrosse.
What do you look for in a host?
NXTsports prides itself on holding our events at only the most elite venues in the country. The field/facility requirements vary depending on where we are, but it is important to have the fields all close to one another and be turf or well-groomed grass. The size of our tournaments varies, too, so the number of fields that we need depends on the size of the tournament. The parking for the facility is another aspect that comes into play. We have to ensure that there is always plenty of room for parking and parents and players don’t have to walk extremely long distances to get to their fields.
We at NXTsports believe that it is not just the tournament but the experience that matters. We hold our tournaments in areas where there is something for the players and parents to do when they are not at the fields. Lacrosse only takes up a finite amount of time while you are at this tournament for the weekend, so we like to make sure that there is something for them to do when they are not at the tournament. We do this through partnerships and offering discounts at certain venues, but also promoting the area around the tournament and all that it has to offer.
