Zybek Sports is the model for sports equipment testing
Zybek Sports is a leader in the sports equipment testing field. By providing a consistent and reliable testing system for athletes of all levels, athletes everywhere can measure where they are currently, and where they need to get to in order to fulfill their aspirations.
Working with the NFL Combine, as well as other sports leagues such as the MLB, amateur leagues, and college leagues across the United States, Zybek Sports tailors itself to athletes of all ambitions.
Kulture Hub had the opportunity to speak with the CEO and Founder of Zybek Sports, Mike Weinstein.
“We’re just trying to give hope and a direction for athletes who really want to continue onto that next level.”
Mike Weinstein
The inception of Zybek Sports
Zybek Sports was founded in Boulder, Colorado in 2008. The initial focus was to make a reliable system to help the athlete testing industry. Weinstein and co. were making hardware and devising ways to test athletes and help coaches make athlete assessments.
“But since that point, I’ve really seen the need for athletes and coaches to have really valid and reproducible data. So that everybody can have consistent and comparable [data]. And just know where they stack up athletically and where they need to get to down the road.”
Mike Weinstein
As dedicated sports fans know, minor differences can separate athletes from one another. And thus, also how scouts see them performing at the next level.
Whether that is for adolescents looking to get into prep schools, high schoolers looking to get into college, or college athletes looking at the pros, the numbers clearly matter to scouts.
Therefore, it is essential that there is a standard testing system that gets it right 100 percent of the time. Enter Zybek Sports.
Sports are subjective, but Zybek Sports aims for fairness in objectivity
“What we’ve been doing at Zybek Sports is testing athleticism, no matter where you live, no matter what your economic background is, gender, race, any of that,” said Weinstein.
In Little Rock, Arkansas this month, Zybek tested 150 athletes. Each and every one of them, according to Weinstein, has dreams and aspirations of playing college sports. And thus they all want to know how they stack up against their competition.
He noted that the exact same test they use in Little Rock is used in Southern California.
“Thereby everybody can see that opportunity because we’re showing the athlete where they are right now. And where they need to be by next year.”
Mike Weinstein
Weinstein explains how without having standards, there isn’t any way for athletes to compare and assess themselves as to what they need to improve upon athletically to be competitive at the next level.
“This isn’t everything by any stretch of the imagination but it is something objective that athletes can see. It really does provide something that’s easy to understand and motivates people.”
Mike Weinstein
Sports equipment testing at the NFL Combine
“It was 11 years ago now that the NFL combine’s scouting services asked us to come out to be the backup timer for one of their systems. And it worked really great.”
Mike Weinstein
And Zybek Sports was back ever since. For the last 10 years, they’ve been providing the timing system used for the NFL’s scouting combine.
Zybek Sports also does things like, as Weinstein explains, “…if you’ve ever watched the NFL Network, that running clock on the screen of your TV is actually coming from my computer. So we can really show the market and the public exactly what these athletes are running.”
One of the biggest things is that the athletes tested at the local level know they are taking the exact same test as the athletes that are soon to go pro.
The impact of sports equipment testing
Athletes take the SAT (Standardized Athletic Testing) with Zybek Sports. Since everyone is taking the same test, Weinstein likens it to standardized academic testing.
“It’s the exact same thing as taking the academic SAT. You can’t walk in and say ‘yeah I’m going to go into local arts so I’m going to skip the math section. Yale will understand.’ No, you take it. It’s a measure of your academic capabilities, as such the same thing with the 40-yard dash.”
Weinstein noticed a hole in the marketplace of sports equipment testing. And he sought out to create something that could be consistent and eternally accurate.
“What interests me is really solving problems and finding a way to deliver results to the market. I saw a really big opportunity in the market to solve a problem that can really level-set the industry and help everybody get to that next level or at least have everybody treated fairly and equally.”
Mike Weinstein