For Atlanta-based ProElite, Music Is Key For Athletic Training

If you’re an athlete, Ali Barnes has an app that might be music to your ears.

ProElite is a unique training app that teaches sports fundamentals through music. 

As a lifelong basketball player turned trainer, Barnes started experimenting with using clapping and rhythm as a method for teaching ball handling skills. It all came down to “building confidence” and “muscle memory” for his athletes, Barnes told Hypepotamus. 

“Kid’s confidence gets lost a lot during sports training,” he added, which is why the app gamifies drills through its videos and hip hop tracks. Users can browse training videos based on specific sports or the star athletes they admire, be it NBA Guard Trey Burke, MMA Champion Tony Johnson Jr., or NFL Receiver Brandon Tate. 

On top of basketball, the app has drills for boxing/ MMA, football, and will soon include soccer videos.

The MVP of the app launched in the Apple Store in April and has since gained upwards of 1,000 downloads. 

The goal, Barnes said, is to “revolutionize the training space.” 

Screenshots of the ProElite App

 

Meet The Founder 

Barnes raised a seed round from private, accredited investors and is now focused on creating more training content for users. 

A native of Ohio, Barnes is a graduate of Miami University. He moved to Atlanta over the last year to grow his career in the tech and digital media world. While building ProElite, he also serves as Chief Operating Officer for YG Sports at YOUNGGUNS ENT, an entertainment and media company that has been making waves in the digital content space. 

As an entrepreneur, he sees unique opportunities to grow ProElite as NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals gain momentum.

He’s currently focused on securing partnership and grants to continue to grow the platform.

 

SportsTech in ATL 

The move to Atlanta was strategic for Barnes. While the city is well-known for its fintech and SaaS ventures, it is home to several growing sports-focused consumer brands. 

Early-stage startups include MetricMate, a workout tracking platform, alongside Ane Swim and XiQ, two startups that recently participated in the Atlanta-based Comcast NBCUniversal’s SportTech Accelerator

On the venture-backed front, Press Sports has been changing the nature of the college recruiting space as an athlete-specific social media platform, while PlayOn! Sports and GoFans have been working to change the nature of high school sports.