On social media you see them quite often: the good old “How it started / How it’s going” posts. People often tell me we should make one.

And that is definitely worth it. Over the last year we have done many fantastic things, were able to help many student-athletes in their careers and organized a bunch of cool events. Our student-athletes have put down some impressive performances, and besides their universities they also made us and their countries proud. Regarding the how it started vs. how it’s going, here are just a few highlights that I’m very proud of:

• The Slamstox community has grown from 10 student-athletes in 2015, to 100 student-athletes in 2018, to 500 student-athletes in 2021, to 1000 student-athletes in 2022!
• Our student-athlete community in 2022 has won three national championships, 34 conference titles, and countless athletic and academic awards.
• Our Slamstox student-athletes have represented us at 6 European Championships and at 4 World Championships. Huge!
• We have started our first partnerships with universities in Europe and with professional soccer clubs to be able to help our student-athletes even better.
• Over the last year we have organized 20 cool events and trips, and our student-athletes have performed to the max of their ability
• The Slamstox office in Eindhoven has undergone an incredible upgrade and has doubled in size. (are you coming by for a cup of coffee?)
• After Covid-19 held us back for a few years, it was finally time for the first version of the Slamstox Student-Athlete FSTVL.
• No less than 7(!) new colleagues joined the Slamstox Team.
• In 2022, nearly 200 Slamstox student-athletes found a new home in the US. We are now represented in 48 different US States!
• The Slamstox community now consists of 1000 student-athletes, active in 27 different sports, coming from 20 different countries.

Summarized, I’d say it’s been a pretty incredible year and definitely a great year to look back on!

But Slamstox wouldn’t be Slamstox if we wouldn’t think about “How it’s going / How it will be going!”. We are not done yet and are working on some big plans. Our student-athletes are working extremely hard to perform even better in 2023 and to surprise you with some extra hardware.

In the Slamstox office we have been working very hard behind the screens to get ready for the next steps. For example, we just had an incredibly experienced and full-time employee join us in Florida, and another three colleagues will join us in the Netherlands this month.

In addition, we are further improving and developing our services and our network in the business and sports world keeps on growing every day.

We will never know exactly what the future will bring. However, I believe that consistent, disciplined, and hard work are the basic ingredients for every big success. That is exactly what our student-athletes are bringing to the table every day, to get the most out of their careers.

Time for some “bold predictions” for 2023:

• A Slamstox field hockey player will win the NCAA Championship
• Our community will have at least 5 new All-Americans
• Three Slamstox student-athletes will be chosen to represent their country during the 2024 Olympics in Paris
• The Slamstox Community will win at least 25 conference championships this year.

Enough said. All right people. Let’s get after it!

I would like to thank everybody who contributed to the Slamstox Community last year. And I would like to especially thank all our student-athletes, who are constantly representing their universities and our community in class, and on the field. All of you are part of an incredible journey and are creating memories of a lifetime.

Make the absolute most of it!  

Happy New Year,

Pedro