Playing a sport can ignite a passion within individuals that drives them to push themselves to new heights throughout their athletic careers. However, some athletes' love for the game doesn't end when their playing career is over. Instead, they discover a new passion for teaching and coaching, using their knowledge and experience to help others improve and succeed in the sport they once played. Brandon Evans, owner of Pro Standard Basketball Academy, discovered his passion for coaching at 15. As he progressed through college, he had the opportunity to train with a well-renowned basketball trainer in San Diego. This experience opened his eyes to the world of training and inspired him to pursue a career helping others reach their full potential on the court. Now, he is on a mission to grow his training business and make a lasting impact on the basketball community. Today, we will delve into his story about how his love for basketball began, his coaching journey throughout his younger years, and how he got to where he is today with Pro Standard Basketball Academy.
Brandon Evans was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and spent his early years there until his family relocated to Gurnee, Illinois, just before his sixth-grade year. Reflecting on his childhood, Brandon shared that sports played a central role in his life. From playing hockey and baseball at a young age, it was basketball that captured his heart during middle school. Upon entering high school at Carmel Catholic, Brandon decided to try out for the football team, which he found to be a refreshing change but ultimately reinforced his love for basketball. As part of his school's community service requirements, Brandon began assisting his AAU basketball coach with the younger players, organizing workouts, aiding in practice sessions, and even stepping into a coaching role. It was during this time that Brandon's passion for coaching was sparked and started to flourish.
After graduation, Brandon ultimately decided he didn't want to continue playing basketball at the college level but rather focus on his studies. He wanted to study engineering, so he went to his local community college and pursued an engineering internship in his city. After his freshman year, Evans was less passionate about engineering, so he made a degree shift to Business Administration and transferred to the University of Missouri. We asked Brandon if he had always wanted to start a business, and he said,
"I grew up watching my grandparents, Dick and Marti Evans, run Evans Toyota up north Fort Wayne. Then they passed it down to my uncle, Rick Evans, who now runs that and a multitude of other business in Fort Wayne and beyond. So business owning was all I'd ever known and always wanted to do. I just didn't follow down the car path."
While in Missouri, he continued to coach, but this was his first experience with coaching without the guidance of his AAU coach, so it was a great learning experience. Then, in 2020, COVID-19 drastically changed the education system, and Brandon's coaching career was abruptly stopped. As Covid restrictions started tailing off, Brandon had just completed his junior year of college. With a late submission for his final class, he unexpectedly had a summer off. With this new time, he decided to reach out to Ryan Razooky, a well-known basketball trainer in San Diego, who he had been following on social media for some time. In his message to Ryan, he asked him various questions about how he managed to start a training gym and make it so successful.
When Ryan responded, Brandon was shocked to see that instead of answering any of his questions, Ryan offered to have him come out to San Diego to show him exactly how he did it. Brandon jumped on this opportunity and went out to San Diego immediately. As we discussed that time, Brandon said,
"In San Diego, I realized that I could actually start training for a business. All I ever understood about basketball, coaching, and training was that you do it because you love it. There's really no opportunity for it to expand or become a business because only corporate entities can do it and be successful with it because bigger companies back them. I learned there that that is definitely not the case. Ryan mentored me for three months. I got to learn everything from him. He has two gyms, trains over 400 people between the two, and has about two million followers across social platforms. So that is what I did that summer, and again, that was the launch pad for me. I got to work with NBA guys, and I got to work pro days in Vegas. It was an unbelievable experience but I came home, moved back to Fort Wayne in late August 2022 with forty dollars in my bank account, completed my last two classes online, and started my business."
In 2023, Brandon filed the paperwork to form his business, Brandon Evans Basketball. He made a deal with Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Waynedale to rent gym space and began marketing his basketball training services. We asked what the challenges were in the beginning stages of the business. He said,
"It wasn't the most difficult thing I've ever done, but there were some obstacles. The first one being - I don't know if you know much about the basketball training social media space, but there were a lot of people who thought I was just a "social media trainer" because there are a lot of people on social media that have big followings but they don't know what they're talking about. I understood it because I was 23 at the time, and I was advertising training. I had just gotten back from a social media powerhouse in California, so there was a period where I had to prove I was good at training and developing players. That was the biggest thing I had to overcome. It didn't take too long to prove that I was good because the kids I was training did start to get really good, but as far as obstacles, that was my biggest one, and then, of course, getting people in the gym was another one, but that's pretty common with every business I think."
From the beginning, Brandon had a very focused business plan. He witnessed what Ryan was doing in San Diego and intended to replicate it here in Fort Wayne. He knew he wanted to offer group classes, so he started with one a week at the same time each week.
Once he had enough kids to expand to two days, he added another day to the schedule and continued that pattern until the week was full. Throughout his class, he takes his players through live game sessions, training and developing their live game skills, simultaneously making them better all-around players. He also offered team training to other coaches, typically for free, to get in front of more kids. During this time, he was introduced to his now partner, Chase Sanders, through a mutual connection. Chase grew up in Fort Wayne, played basketball for Manchester University and Trinity Christian College, played a couple of years in semi-pro basketball, and then coached a pro team in Germany for a year. In 2022, he moved back to Fort Wayne, and when he and Brandon connected, they hit it off immediately. Chase asked Brandon to come out and train his incoming senior team, and they've been close ever since.
On September 8th, 2023, Chase and Brandon joined forces and converted Brandon Evans Basketball into Pro Standard Basketball Academy. As the business continued to grow, they were quickly outgrowing the gym at Mount Calvary, and the sale of the church to Smith Academy set Brandon on a hunt for a new location that could fully accommodate their growing business. In May, Brandon found the perfect location within a warehouse at 2320 Pennsylvania Street. After signing a three-year lease with the owner of Carr's Lawn and Landscape, the warehouse owner, Brandon got to work converting the 4700-square-foot warehouse into the perfect basketball training facility. Brandon created a parent and player waiting area filled with couches, refreshments, TV, and WiFi. He placed flooring to make a court equipped with two half courts, one side featuring college and pro lines, pro-grade basketball hoops, and all equipment needed for training and with the much-appreciated help from Paul, the warehouse owner, his crew, Brandon's girlfriend, and a few other friends, Pro Standard Basketball Academy opened its new location on June 24th, 2024.
Now that the facility is open, we asked Brandon what his favorite part of being in the new space is. He said it's definitely being able to do what he wants without having to ask permission beforehand. If he wants to add class times or do open gyms, he now has that flexibility. In fact, he has already scheduled a few camps at the end of July, along with a couple of open gym 3v3 sessions over the weekends.
Regarding pricing for sessions, we asked how the price structure works for those wanting to join his training program, and he said,
"It's all monthly. You can do drop-ins, but it's more expensive per group, so everything is monthly. One, because that gives us consistency, and two because it gives families consistency; as players, it helps their development. It is very hard for Chase and me to develop players when they are not coming consistently, so we reward that. So, the payment structure is judged by how often you come per week. So for my middle school structure, for example, if you come once a week, that's $99.99 a month, which breaks down to about $25 per class; if you come twice a week, it's $180 a month, which breaks down to $22.50 a class. The more you want to come, the cheaper it is for you. Consistency is the biggest thing, and we tell the players that. We want players to come in here, learn something, take that knowledge, keep practicing it, and then return and do it again."
Today, Brandon and Chase train between 50-75 players a week, but they expect that number to increase once school starts. Brandon aims to get that number up to 150 players during the slow season and 300 players during the busy season because the facility can easily handle that capacity. We asked Brandon what he believes sets his training program apart from others in the area. He said,
"I would say that we hold everyone to the same standard. Chase and I both have good experience with the highest level of players, and we both have developed kids from little kids to pros, and we hold everyone to the same standard. We take our youth and middle school classes along the same route as our pros. There are small differences between them but in terms of teaching them the game action and showing when and how to do things is what I believe makes us different. We teach off of game principles, and we never use cone drills. Everything is game principle-based, and our goal is to teach kids how to play the game. We expect kids to do cone drills independently, so that's what makes us different; we teach game principles."
As we discussed the future of Pro Standard, Brandon shared that, first and foremost, he wants to increase the amount of kids at training each week. Once he reaches his capacity goals, he envisions opening up another location replicating the successful model. Brandon aims to recruit additional trusted trainers who can effectively implement the program structure, allowing him to shift his focus toward the back-end aspects of the business, such as marketing and optimization. He also aspires to introduce camps featuring prominent basketball stars, offering players new and distinctive experiences within the training program.
The journey of Brandon Evans from a young athlete with a passion for basketball to the owner of Pro Standard Basketball Academy is a testament to the power of following one's passion and turning it into a successful business venture. Brandon's story showcases how his love for coaching was ignited at a young age and how he pursued his dream of helping others reach their full potential on the court. Brandon's vision for a training business became a reality through dedication, hard work, and the mentorship of a well-renowned basketball trainer in San Diego. From humble beginnings to the grand opening of his training facility, Brandon's determination and focus on providing quality coaching have set Pro Standard Basketball Academy apart in the industry. As he looks towards the future, Brandon's goal of expanding his business, adding more trainers, and offering unique experiences for players demonstrates his commitment to making a lasting impact on the basketball community. With a strong foundation and a clear vision for growth, Pro Standard Basketball Academy is poised to continue inspiring and developing the next generation of basketball players. To finish our conversation, we asked Brandon what advice he would give to other entrepreneurs hoping to launch a business someday. He said,
"It's going to be a long journey, so prepare yourself to work all day, every day. There will be many ups and downs but you have to continue doing what you're doing. Stay the course."
We want to thank Brandon for taking the time to share his story with us. His hard work and dedication to helping develop future basketball stars is truly admirable and serve as an inspiration to aspiring athletes and coaches alike. Brandon's passion for the game and commitment to providing top-notch training services have undoubtedly positively impacted the basketball community. We look forward to seeing the continued success of Pro Standard Basketball Academy. We also want to thank Nike with Creative Roots Media for capturing the images displayed throughout the article. If you like reading about the entrepreneurs helping shape Fort Wayne one business at a time, sign up for our free newsletter so you're always in the loop about what's happening here at the Fort Wayne Business Journal.
