Originally Posted by PowerfulOne
I'm waiting for a response too. These are very legitimate questions. The problem is that there are many players who say that they need sponsorship, but when it comes time to find out what they have to offer in return, you get nada. Whereas, there are a number of good players who don't get the sponsorship and who are really deserving of it. For some the problem is because the parents want everything for themselves. Selfish attitude, but we live in a selfish world.
Make sure that if you sponsor somebody that you are getting something out of it. I'll give you two examples why you should not.
1. You don't want anyone using up what you have and then have absolutely nothing to give back. You will feel used and abused.
2. Make sure that the individual that you are sponsoring appreciates you and what you're doing for them, like giving credit to your name or your company. I'm telling you, if you don't make sure that this happens, they will just get what they want and then move on. The next thing you know, someone else is living in the glory that was a result of all of the money that you put out.
Here are some other things that I'll let you know. I've sponsored players and they've had absolutely nothing to give back. They don't even know how to call you to keep you posted about how things are going for them. It's called, "take your money and run". I could go into even more detail, but that should get to the point. Then, I had another player who is now ranked in the top 100, who has gotten a lot of advice from me regarding many aspects of improving their overall game. This even includes personal matters. One small example such as they couldn't get along with their coach. Well now this player has not only a good ranking, but they are bringing in good cash. I have seen nothing of it, not even a mention or a thank you. The only one who gets it all now is the coach.
I know another top individual in the tennis world who helped someone. They raised quite of money, thousands of dollars, to help one of the juniors. They didn't hear from the kid for a long time until the kid needed money again. This time around the answer was not just no, but it was hell no!
The bottom line is, if they can’t do nothing for you, don’t do nothing for them.
. . . That is unless you can see that it could be beneficial to you or to both of you.