The professional record that follows the athlete

James Hunt

Founder, Purpose Driven Training

I’ve spent more than 20 years working with basketball players at every stage of the game, and one of the biggest challenges I’ve seen is that talent doesn’t always translate into opportunity. There are great players everywhere, but if the right coach, scout, program or team doesn’t know who you are, opportunities can pass you by.

That’s why I believe Virtus can be a game changer.

As a trainer, my job is to develop players. Virtus gives us a way to connect that development to a much larger ecosystem. Athletes can build a basketball identity that follows them, document their development, share their film and accomplishments, and create visibility beyond the people who happen to be standing in the gym that day.

I’m especially excited about what this can mean for players trying to reach the next level. Whether that next opportunity is high school, college, the professional level or overseas, there needs to be a better way for credible coaches and trainers to help athletes get in front of the right people.

I’ve known Smush since we were in high school, long before the NBA. Years later, I became his trainer and manager while he was playing for the Lakers, so I’ve had a front-row seat to his journey from New York City basketball to the NBA and professional basketball around the world. We both understand how important relationships, reputation and access are in this business.

Virtus has the opportunity to take those relationships and make them accessible to far more athletes. Instead of opportunity depending entirely on who happens to know you or see you play, we can help athletes build a credible record of who they are and connect them with people and opportunities they may never have reached otherwise.

For trainers and coaches, that means we can do more than make players better. We can help open doors for them.