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Recruiting Soccer

Manchester United Is Making It Rhain

Over on the SportsAgentBlog.com Forum, there is currently a very informative thread concerning clauses in soccer contracts. I am not quite sure that a 9-year-old would understand much of the literature, however. But why do I care about children looking at this blog anyway? Shouldn’t they be busy eating glue or sticking beans in their ears? Rhain Davis is one 9-year-old who definitely does not have the time to partake in such activities.

Davis has just signed a contract with Manchester United after the team was impressed by a highlight DVD sent over by his grandfather [Man U signs nine-year-old YouTube wonder kid]. Here is the YouTube video:

Will he be the next Wayne Rooney? I think it is a little tough to tell from a 6 minute YouTube video. I was a little surprised to find out that Man U signs around 40 players under 10 years of age every year. Apparently they start recruiting kids when they turn the ripe age of 8 [Manchester United Offer Rhain Davis, 9, Chance At Stardom].

I am not surprised, however, that a player was signed solely on a DVD submission and was boosted by a YouTube video. We are experiencing the natural evolution of recruiting and communication within the sports industry. Soon, it will become commonplace for athletes to post their highlight reels online and scouts, GMs, and agents will scour the web looking for the next prodigies.

-Darren Heitner

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.