Connect
To Top

Meet Jamar Johnson of CBL Worldwide II, Inc. in Tempe

Avatar photo

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jamar Johnson.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Jamar. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Well, I’m a former basketball player. I had a stellar Indiana high school basketball career during the infamous Hoosier Hysteria days.

I even played in the highest attended a high school basketball game in history in 1990 (over 41,000 fans).

I earned a basketball scholarship and degree from the University of Nebraska. I also had a pretty good career in college too, but I never got that call from the NBA.

Shortly thereafter, heartbroken and feeling the ultimate rejection of my life, I fell into an abyss of recreational basketball leagues, never to emerge again or get any type of professional opportunities as a player.

This is why I’m so passionate about helping players. I want to give them the second shot or an alternate route to achieving their dream of playing college or professional basketball. Or give them an upscale rec league with cash prizes for them to have fun playing in… something that wasn’t available for me.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I started the Community Basketball Leagues (CBL), I was up against a three-headed monster.

First, I was up against the traditional mindset in the recreational league market, which runs on a team fee format, and not a monthly player membership fee format like ours.

A lot of rec league operators told me that my league concept would never work because players would never pay a monthly membership or subscription fee to play in a rec league.

Being a former player that had chased my basketball dream of playing professionally, I knew something that they didn’t. I knew that players who were playing in competitive leagues most likely had aspirational goals to either play in college or professionally. I knew those players would look at our fees as an investment in themselves if the right format was in place. That was how I looked it and I knew other players would too.

Second, not too long after announcing the start of the league, sports facilities that advertised court rental to the general public would not rent to me because the viewed the CBL as a competitor. The facilities were also worried about players fighting and giving referees a hard time, so we implemented strict player conduct and game rules and we’ve never had a fighting incident in any of our leagues.

Third, I didn’t want the CBL to be just another rec league, and in order to create a league that would create a huge buzz and player excitement, I needed the help of sponsors.

Sponsors would allow me to offer free camps and clinics to youth players and it would allow me to be able to help promote our league players to college and professional teams. Therefore, I had to have a great marketing platform that small businesses could leverage and get good ROI or ROS (return on sponsorship/partnership).

We’d love to hear more about your work.
The CBL is a subscription-based recreational basketball league platform for adults players. We use the web, mobile app technology (CBL League App in Apple and Google stores), and cash prize incentives to create and deliver a unique recreational basketball league experience for players.

The CBL is the largest adult recreational basketball platform in the United States with over 31,000 players nationwide. Our goal is to have one million players on our app within the next two years.

My job as the Founder & Chief Commissioner of the CBL is to listen and build a platform that our players, coaches, team owners, fans, and sponsors dream about. I’m responsible for ensuring that our platform and infrastructure is helping to inspire and make it possible for all who use our platform to achieve their passion, goals, and business objectives.

I think the thing that sets me apart from others is my dogged focus, my persistence, and my what-ever it takes attitude. I’m in it for the long haul.

What have been some of the most important lessons you’ve learned over the course of your career?
If I could go back 11 years and have a conversation with myself, I would tell myself these five things:

1. Stop doubting yourself… your faith and favor are greater than you think.
2. Find a mentor that has achieved your end goal (i.e. built billion dollar company with successful exit).
3. Get in an environment that will inspire you and get you in your state of flow and momentum.
4. Cut bad relationships quickly (a bad hire is a setback, but not firing quickly can kill you or the company).
5. Tell yourself 11 years from now to protect your mind, eat healthier, and workout even harder!

Pricing:

  • Rec Player Memberships start at $9.99 per month
  • Rec Team Captain Memberships start at $29.99 per month

Pricing:

  • Rec Player Memberships start at $9.99 per month
  • Rec Team Captain Memberships start at $29.99

Contact Info:

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

 

Related Items

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More in