DDA Creates Interactive Website for Athletes, Scouts

This unique business utilizes a wide variety of DDA’s website design and development capabilities, TheNextIcon.com allows student athletes to connect with collegiate and pro scouts in order to secure scholarships or full-time careers in professional sports. Launched in 2008, the site features in-depth custom programming that allows a student athlete to create a personal profile with all pertinent information and highlight videos, and allows scouts and coaches to easily search for those athletes.

All of these features were made possible by DDA’s team of experienced programmers, who created the incredible volume of code that allows the site to function correctly. There are multiple databases, four different types of user accounts, and an in-depth administrator back-end area that allows The Next Icon staff to monitor and adjust nearly all areas of the site. Also included is a discussion forum that allows student users to interact with other athletes, Next Icon staff members, and even professional athletes invited to contribute. The site also required programming for complex video upload features that allows users to submit highlight clips in nearly any format. Those clips are then converted automatically and attached to the user profile, allowing scouts and coaches to see the athlete in action. DDA also incorporated a dynamic “video wall” on the front page of the site, including Flash animation, which gives administrators the ability to put their favorite video clips on the front page for easy viewing.