A missed opportunity for himself led to Daniel 'Danny' Rowe paving the way for others. Hence the creation of Become Elite Academy.
“I was offered a scholarship when I was 17 years old to John Brown University and I needed to work on some parts of my game and I also needed a video of myself. I was at the Soccer Academy at the time and I didn’t have anyone to do it for me. The time for me to send the video came and went, and as a result, I never got my scholarship,” said Rowe.
Rowe’s story is not a unique one. Many players have experienced such an unfortunate occurrence. Even today, some players may be without that required video footage for tryouts or may be missing the technical or physical grade to leave universities or professional club coaches with a strong impression.
'Danny' is commonly known on the sports circuit as a charismatic personality, and is recognized for his knack for helping others and being a true team player. Because of these qualities, the Harrison’s College scholar decided to kick-off the academy.
Become Elite Academy offers one-on-one developmental services to athletes. It helps sportsmen and women improve various skills, and there is a special segment devoted to footballers.
The physical training program is offered face-to-face or online. The programme especially caters to busy individuals and adjusts speed, agility and coordination. Additionally, in the technical development component, which caters to footballers, Rowe gives his undivided attention to developing skills such as shooting, passing and receiving, dribbling and the fine details of the game.
Rowe said the part of his program which is most unique is the mental element, which looks at dealing with disappointment and handling pressure.
The University of the West Indies (UWI) Psychology graduate did his undergraduate thesis on student-athletes dealing with pressure and performance. During his thesis, he examined performance enhancement and how to adequately deal with pressure and cope in stressful situations.
Become Elite Academy also offers a video service, where highlight videos, full scout footage and video clips can be utilized by athletes to post on their social platforms for exposure.
Rowe originally conceptualised Become Elite Academy in his final year at UWI Cave Hill. He experimented on himself and it was quite timely. That particular season, he had an enjoyable and impactful year in the Barbados Football Association (BFA) Premier League with Claytons Kola Tonic Notre Dame.
However, the launch of the academy was delayed when Rowe enrolled in the Barbados Community College (BCC) Sports Management programme and later earned his Human Resource Management certification from BIMAP.
The arrival of COVID-19 caused a lot of disruptions but for Rowe it brought opportunity. He stopped teaching last September and officially launched the Become Elite Academy.
“Once we got the all-clear to go back outside is when I got started. In September I got the opportunity to work with Moise Kean and that’s what really got me off the ground. I had a couple trials just before I started officially and it showed me what I was doing was definitely needed and had a future”, said Rowe.
He described the journey as a remarkable one as he is continuously learning while improving his craft and providing a quality service to his clients.
Rowe believes Barbados is filled with sporting talent and believes his academy can assist in bringing out the best of that talent.
“I want to work with people, help people be better and get out of here. There’s a lot of undiscovered and unrefined talent in Barbados that I really want to get at.”
Website: www.becomeelite.net
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