Article by Dan Shope at The Morning Call :
Some parents throw their toddlers into pools to teach them to swim.
Why not a DVD to show kids the basics of football, baseball, basketball golf, soccer, tennis, cheerleading or wrestling?
Jack Daddona Jr., 35, of Emmaus began developing the idea for Tiny Tot Sports DVDs when he was playing football for Allentown Central Catholic and University of Pittsburgh.
He became a sports psychologist, where he analyzed golfers, field hockey players, baseball players and some Olympic athletes. But he still wondered about toddlers.
So Daddona became president of sales and marketing at Tiny Tot Sports. He's been invited on NBC's "Today" and Fox and ESPN shows to talk about the company's products.
This summer, Creative Child Magazine named "Baby Golf" toy of the year. iParenting named "Baby Football" best product in 2005 and "Baby Golf" the best children's vacation product this year.
"It started six years ago, when I went to a store to buy a video series for kids about sports," Daddona said. "We're an athletic family, and I thought our kids would like that.
"To my surprise, they had just about every other subject except sports for a young kid."
So he decided to change the situation.
He convinced Alan LaGarde and his wife, Denise Cramsey, creators of "Trading Spaces" on the Learning Channel, to produce the shows and buy into the idea. Like Daddona, Cramsey went to Central Catholic.
For public relations, he hired Jeff Vaughan of Allentown, a former NBC and Rodale official, who made the connections with ESPN and "Today." They started filming "Baby Baseball" in 2003 and completed it a year later. They picked favorite spots in the Lehigh Valley for the shots.
For baseball, they did the filming at Limeport Stadium, known as "Field of Dreams" because of the adjacent cornfields similar to those in the movie of that name.
"It's a playful introduction to the game, introducing the concept," he said.
"Baby Golf" was done at Lehigh Country Club. "Baby Basketball" was shot at Rockne Hall. "Baby Soccer" was shot at Lehigh County Fields near Dorney Park. "Baby Football" was done at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
"Since 2003, we've sold about 10,000 of baseball, the most popular," he said. Cost is $16.99 for a 30-minute DVD or VHS.
A Scottish speaking character named Gilbert Golfrey narrates "Baby Golf." Danny Dimples, Pammy Putter and the entire Tiny Tot Sports team of 30 children join Gilbert to learn how to drive a golf ball (and a mini golf cart), chip a ball onto the green, and finish the hole by putting.
"Baby Golf" also reinforces the importance of social skills and etiquette needed on the golf course, Daddona said.
"The videos are now in 5,000 stores, including Wal-Mart, Target, TJ Maxx, Wegmans and Albertsons," he added.
Daddona said the short videos are a way to get the "baby potatoes" out of their seats.
"Although some people might say that they have to sit to watch the show, we found in focus groups that the kids are up and active in five or 10 minutes," he said.
-- Dan Shope at The Morning Call
