Game On

Davidson resident Shawn Moye recently appeared on USA Network’s “America’s Big Deal” to pitch his invention, the E-Sports Trainer.

Davidson Entrepreneur

Develops Sports Training Tool

E-Sports Trainer helps athletes improve their skills

by Tony Ricciardelli

Moye was inspired to create The E-Sports Trainer after watching his son work to improve his basketball game through practice and sports camps.

Shawn Moye is an athlete and a sports fan. When his son Elijah showed an interest in basketball at the age of six or seven, Moye began taking his son to the local playground, so the young boy could gain an understanding of the game, enjoy the physical aspect of the sport, and develop the skills needed to be effective on the court.

“I watched the neighborhood kids playing hoops on their own, without anyone showing them the proper way to take a shot or to give them pointers. You can shoot one thousand jump shots or foul shots, but, if you’re shooting incorrectly, what’s the point?”

Moye watched the boys on the court and realized that some parents just don’t have the time or knowledge of the game to coach their children, or they can’t afford to send their children to basketball camp. “It was a sacrifice, but I spent thousands of dollars to send my son to sports camps with no way of telling if my money was well spent or if my son was headed in the right direction.” says Moye. “The in-depth coaching mostly went to the kids who excelled and, even then, it wasn’t enough.” Moye was stuck on the idea that, in addition to traditional coaching, there had to be a way to enhance athletic skills. But

The E-Sports Trainer measures performance in real time, and offers three levels of training: Novice, Intermediate, and Expert.

how? “I shared my thoughts with my brother and, in looking back to our youth,” says Moye, “we agreed that proper training would have improved our abilities on the turf and on the court. That’s when I came up with the idea for E-Sports Trainer.”

Building the perfect product

Moyes’ dream began fifteen years ago. Not having the funds to hire a patent lawyer at that time, Moye educated himself at the local library, learning the patent process and its legalities. He secured a provisional patent for his idea, which guaranteed his product one year of legal protection. He hired a toy designer who blue-printed the first version of E-Sports, and then a manufacturer to build the product, which included computer chips providing voice-activated affirmation and corrective instruction.

The E-Sports Trainer measures performance in real time. When you shoot the basketball correctly, the device offers words of encouragement; conversely, if a shot is delivered improperly, the device produces an alarm and corrective advice. The E-Sports Trainer uses a display screen that tracks the number of correct throws. According to Moye, “It’s all about muscle memory. Sports camps are great, but they offer only temporary learning. It takes about 10,000 hours of repetitive motion to develop muscle memory.”

The E-Sports Trainer, now in its third version, offers three levels of training: novice, intermediate, and expert. Each preset level has its own specifications and parameters, which determines motion. Not only does the sports performance tool include the option to practice in three sports: Basketball, Baseball, and Golf; it also speaks several different languages—English, Mandarin, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian. The unit is placed inside a lightweight sleeve worn on either the right or left arm, and the device comes with a charger as well.

Valuable feedback

Moye believes his E-Sport Trainer is a viable performance improvement tool for both amateur and professional sports. The product is impressive enough to have garnered Moye an invitation to appear on the television program “America’s Big Deal,” where entrepreneurs pitch their products and ideas before a panel of judges, while competing for the opportunity to partner with a retail sponsor. Although E-Sports Trainer didn’t get the offer, Moye emphasizes “the exposure and feedback were ‘life changing.’”

Moye plans to add other sports options to future versions of E-Sports Trainer, for example, boxing. He is eager to move forward, expanding product features and improving his E-Sports Trainer. “This has been a dream fulfilled for me,” says Moye. “I’ve shown my children that with a positive, optimistic, attitude, anything can be accomplished.”

To learn more, visit www.e-sportstrainer.com.