Sarah Spain, espnW.com
For those who’re of a definite life, the theory of elite highschool women basketball may conjure up pictures of all-day AAU tournaments in gyms with padded-walls and negative air-con, avid gamers sweating via affordable reversible jerseys in entrance of a sprinkling of oldsters sitting on hardened, retractable risers the usage of roster sheets to fan themselves. Non-essesntial to mention, the stakes have long past up.
The most productive women highschool basketball avid gamers aren’t simply incomes hundreds of likes on social for noteceable crossovers and flashy dimes, they’re additionally signing NIL do business in with main sponsors and taking part in in tournaments that draw bought out crowds and boast courtside superstars like UConn’s Paige Bueckers and LSU’s Angel Reese.
The sport has modified, and a driving force at the back of that adjust has been Additional time, a social media outlet and sports activities league disruptor. What began in 2016 as a social media corporate serious about short-form content material that includes govern highschool athletes (NBA avid gamers Zion Williamson and Trae Young have been early favorites for fans), has expanded into basketball, soccer and boxing leagues, in addition to products and a movie section. Spotlighting elite younger athletes in usual areas corresponding to highschool or AAU video games impressed the corporate’s founders, Dan Porter and Zach Weiner, to manufacture non-traditional areas by which avid gamers may compete, advertise themselves and form their manufacturers.
The actual length is Additional time Make a choice, a four-week league for elite highschool women basketball avid gamers taking park all the way through the summer season of 2024 at OTE Area, Additional time’s 103,000 square-foot facility in Atlanta, Georgia. Govern highschool avid gamers that experience already dedicated to Additional time Make a choice come with Aaliyah Chavez (Incorrect. 1 within the 2025 magnificence), Jazzy Davidson (Incorrect. 2, 2025), Jenica Lewis (Incorrect. 23, 2026) and dual sisters Mia (Incorrect. 7, 2025) and Mya Pauldo (Incorrect. 24, 2025). They’ll fasten age signees to manufacture 8 groups to compete in a usual season, playoffs and finals, plus a “Takeover Weekend” that includes an All-Famous person recreation, “Queen of the Court” festival and 3-Level Match.
Advisors have been tabbed to spot wishes within the women basketball length, assemble the league and educator avid gamers. Collegiate and professional avid gamers Bueckers, the 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart, Seimone Augustus (Los Angeles Sparks), Zia Cooke (South Carolina), Kahleah Copper (Chicago Sky), Flau’jae Johnson (LSU)and Haley Jones (Atlanta Dream), and WNBA brokers and trade pros Erin Kane, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Lauren Maillian, Pamela Neferkara and Todd Fischer have all signed directly to advise the avid gamers.
“I’m excited to be part of something that is inspiring and empowering for the next generation of future stars,” Stewart informed ESPN. “Overtime Select will give players more opportunities to compete against the best and learn what it takes to succeed at the next level.
“I might have liked this chance when I used to be in highschool. As a mother, it’s so impressive to me to turn my community the usefulness of mentorship and supporting one some other. Advising for Additional time Make a choice and dealing with Additional time to develop the sport and those adolescence athletes is a zeal of mine and so vital for the sport.”
Stewart was among those consulted by Overtime as they worked to create an additive experience for girls high school basketball players.
“We said to everybody around the board, from brokers, WNBA avid gamers, highschool athletes, folks and grassroots specialists to know what’s lacking within the machine,” said Director of Overtime Select Sascha Malas. “How are we able to be disruptive but additionally additive? How are we able to proceed to fortify their careers and their alternatives?”
In addition to facing top competition and grabbing the eyeballs of Overtime’s social audience, Overtime Select players will also benefit from an on-site business summit during Takeover Weekend and tailored business mentorship in the months leading up to and during league play. As they look ahead to college and professional basketball, they’ll learn about public relations and get media training and brand-building guidance while also taking financial literacy classes. Players will also get to work with Overtime’s apparel and design team to create their own team names, logos, colors and uniforms.
“We’re excited to be informed extra concerning the industry facet of the sport, together with advertising and branding,” said Mia Pauldo. “Being that we have already got our personal logo [TBC/TwinBackCourt] we’re at all times having a look ahead to studying extra, specifically about monetary literacy.”
Malas said while players are excited to test their skills against the country’s best, they’re equally as interested in learning how their counterparts are handling the relatively new world of name, image and likeness and personal branding.
“They’re so excited to be operating in combination,” Malas told ESPN. “They’re excited to listen to every alternative’s other logo development and brand concepts. Sure, there’s the contest, however that is far more of a public and a possibility for them.”
Overtime Select is a twist on Overtime Elite, which launched in 2021. Elite offers an alternative to the NCAA model for 16- to 20-year-old high school boys basketball players. Participants in the sixth-month, Atlanta-based league can choose a scholarship option to maintain college eligibility or accept a minimum annual salary of $100,000, a signing bonus and Overtime shares. The league has focused on player development, education, brand development and financial empowerment. In bringing together some of the country’s best players and their families, Porter and Weiner recognized the need for a new, nontraditional path for elite players.
When it was time to address similar needs on the girls’ side, simply recreating the Overtime Elite model wasn’t going to work.
“The frenzy to get to the then stage isn’t as rapid or drastic at the ladies’s facet,” said Malas. “Nearly all of the ladies wish to play games in faculty as there’s stunning publicity at that stage and they’ll have vital NIL alternatives.”
Overtime Select hopes to build on the success of OvertimeWBB, a dedicated social channel for girls’ and women’s basketball highlights and content, and Overtime Takeover events — weekends that have helped elevate rising stars like Zia Cooke, “Queen of the Court docket” in 2019, and given a platform and NIL deals to college-going player-coaches like Bueckers, Jones and Aliyah Boston.
Takeover events also prepare players for the high pressure situations they’ll face at the next level. Johnson, a guard for the reigning NCAA champion LSU Tigers, told Malas that dealing with the bright lights, countless cameras and packed stands at Overtime Takeover events was the best preparation for the overwhelming feelings that accompany playing in March Madness games.
Johnson learned that how she performed on the court could have an immediate impact on the business side. A great game or viral highlight on a big stage instantly boosted follower numbers and inspired fans to join along in her journey.
“[Overtime events] construct you are feeling like a certified,” Johnson said. “With all of the sources they provide you with, they deal with you favor a certified. You might be on this circumstance the place you simply wanna paintings and get well. I feel that’s so, so, so dope.”
Mental health resources are available to help players adjust to newfound fame and a whole slew of new fans and critics. The players will also be able to bring a parent or guardian with them during the four-week league. Malas and her Overtime counterparts have been heartened by the natural way players bond together and help each other through what can be a tough transition, both behind the scenes or in the stands at events.
“The more youthful hour is in reality certain,” she said. “They help every alternative. Within the occasion Takeover occasions that we’ve got, our male athletes have been there supporting our ladies’s athletes. It’s electrical they usually’re leaping up and unwell screaming for them, so excited. It’s in reality cool.”
