AIM Sports Group has built a reputation for pushing the boundaries of youth sports, and the launch of AIM+ created the opportunity to integrate real-time performance data into a digital-first experience.

The challenge was to design a system that would elevate the tournament atmosphere while driving athlete engagement and showcasing AIM+ as an innovative, tech-forward platform to modernize a form of manual sports measurement.

For the past 30 years, the Vertec system had been widely used to measure athletes’ vertical jump.

While the pole-and-plastic-vane system is accurate and ubiquitous within the sports community, techenabled systems using lasers and other forms of measurement have struggled to gain widespread adoption.

AIM+ marks an important step forward in bringing technology into the vertical jump measurement process with greater accuracy, interactivity and engagement than ever before.

The AIM+ development timeline, however, was tight. Red Dot had less than a month to design, build and test the system.

There was also no existing blueprint for a comparable activation, meaning the team was essentially creating a new category of interactive measurement from scratch.

Finally, the solution had to be cost-conscious, safe and robust enough to stand up to heavy use by athletes over the course of the event.

Solution:

Red Dot engineered a custom-built vertical jump meter anchored by a 55-inch interactive touch display mounted on a truss-style stand.

Before each attempt, an attendant entered the athlete’s information and standing reach into an iPad interface, which connected wirelessly to a BrightSign media player powering the system.

When the athlete jumped and tapped the screen, the system instantly calculated and displayed their vertical leap with a dynamic graphic.

Immediately following each jump, the display transitioned to a live leaderboard that highlighted the athlete’s score and showed their ranking within their age division.

If their performance landed them in the top ten, their name appeared on the board until displaced by higher scores.

To inspire participants further, the leaderboard also featured vertical jump statistics from famous athletes, giving players a tangible benchmark to compare themselves against.

When not in use, the system runs in a standby mode that cycles through sponsor content and promotional videos.

The display is also pre-programmed with contextual icons for different sports, such as men’s and women’s volleyball net heights and a basketball rim, helping athletes better visualize their jump results.

To support AIM’s Sports Group digital vision, the system logs each participant’s results and uploads them to AIM+, allowing players to access their data long after the event.

The design incorporated practical branding and usability elements, including a custom wrap around the truss to promote AIM Sports Group, while serving as a static measuring tool for athletes to gauge their standing reach.

” With no existing blueprint for this type of digital-forward solution, Red Dot Digital Media embraced the challenge and delivered beyond our expectations. This project redefined how we capture performance metrics for AIM+ and created an engaging experience for our athletes and attendees. The level of innovation and execution drove unprecedented engagement, and it’s helping us think bigger about what’s possible for the future of youth sports.”

–  John Gallegos Founder /CEO of AIM Sports Group

Reason for choosing Red Dot:

For AIM Sports Group, the challenge was not only finding a partner capable of executing the technical vision but also one that could truly understand the concept. Few vendors had the imagination or expertise to approach something so new.

Red Dot embraced the challenge, leveraging its custom-build approach and industry knowledge to bring the idea to life.

President Darryl Kuder’s volleyball background proved invaluable, adding a layer of insight that shaped design choices and ensured the system resonated with athletes and coaches alike.

Results:

The impact was immediate. AIM Sports Group exceeded its AIM+ sign-up goal by 184%, fueled by nonstop lines of athletes eager to measure their vertical jumps and see their names on the leaderboard.

The activation became one of the highlights of the SoCal Cup Showcase, proving that a digital-first measurement tool could drive engagement, generate valuable data and reinforce AIM’s Sports Group reputation as a leader in sports innovation.

Beyond its measurable success, the project delivered a powerful proof of concept, showing that gamified, tech-enabled experiences can fundamentally change how performance metrics are captured and shared in youth sports.

About AIM Sports Group

AIM Sports Group is a premier sports enterprise that owns and operates a state-of-the-art sports event and training facility, premier youth boys’ volleyball league, regional tournaments, national events and tech platforms. AIM is focused on enhancing the journey of youth athletes through innovation and elite competition in sports. Learn more at aimsportsgroup.com