Athletes Make The Best Launches Pilot Student‑Athlete Workforce Studio with Long Island Media and The SPIN Foundation

BROOKLYN, NY — Athletes Make The Best today announced a new production agreement with This Is Long Island Media and The SPIN Foundation to launch a pilot sports and infrastructure career development program for student-athletes in grades 4–12 and adults ages 18–24. The pilot program will operate through December 2026.

The program called Sports Power Infrastructure at This Is Long Island Studio | Northport is designed to help student-athletes understand how the leadership, teamwork, discipline, communication, and resilience developed through sports can translate into long-term opportunities across energy, utilities, construction, manufacturing, maritime, healthcare, hospitality, transportation, logistics, tourism, technology, and infrastructure industries.

More than 8.3 million student-athletes currently compete across the United States, yet less than 1% will ever play professional sports. At the same time, an estimated 1.9 million infrastructure jobs are projected to go unfilled over the next decade across construction, utilities, logistics, manufacturing, hospitality, technology, and energy sectors.

To help reduce barriers to participation, the program will integrate career-inspired sports merchandising connected to the upcoming Sports Power Infrastructure Summer League initiative, designed to expose athletes to workforce pathways beyond sports through sports culture, storytelling, and industry-connected experiences.

The studio will operate from Dream Seat Studio / This Is Long Island in East Northport, New York, located approximately two minutes from the Northport Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station.

Student-athletes participating in the program will complete professional athlete interviews, green screen introductions, and Sports Power Rating™ assessments focused on education, leadership, communication, career aspirations, workforce readiness, speed, strength, and agility. Participants will also receive raw video and photo content along with instruction on how to responsibly use AI tools to edit and enhance their content for recruiting, college preparation, career development, Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities, and personal branding.

Each participant will receive a custom Athletes Make The Best T-shirt produced with 100% American-made apparel. The back of each shirt will represent an industry tied to the athlete’s aspirations beyond sports, helping expose student-athletes to workforce opportunities connected to the industries that power their communities and economy.

The venue will host structured 4-hour group experiences for up to 40, 20, and 10 athletes at a time, formats designed for birthday parties, graduation celebrations, recruitment events, college signing events, leadership workshops, media training sessions, and college preparation experiences. The venue is also capable of hosting larger sports, media, and community events with capacities of up to 100 attendees.

This Is Long Island Media will support production, filming, and storytelling initiatives for student-athletes across Suffolk and Nassau County, while The SPIN Foundation will support deployment of Sports Power Infrastructure athlete assessment technology tied to speed, strength, agility, workforce readiness, leadership development, and long-term career positioning.

The organizations also announced a partnership with LocalContent.com to serve as a bridge to its network of Local Content-certified businesses, employers, contractors, and workforce development partners that demonstrate readiness to hire local, contract local, and invest local within infrastructure-related industries. The partnership is intended to serve as the primary source of industry referrals and workforce opportunity connections for participating student-athletes across utilities, energy, construction, manufacturing, healthcare, logistics, and related sectors. The effort will also help coordinate workforce development and technical training opportunities ranging from skilled trades and construction safety certifications to electrical, HVAC, green energy training programs, multimedia content creation, and public affairs and communications training.

“Too many athletes are told the game ends when the season is over,” said Tenicka Chaney, Managing Director of Athletes Make The Best. “We created this program to help student-athletes see a clear pathway between the skills they already built through sports and the industries that are hiring, investing, and shaping the future economy.”

“Growing up on Long Island and competing as an athlete, I know how many young people have talent but never get access to visibility, mentorship, or professional opportunities beyond sports,” said Trevor Jackson, founder of This Is Long Island Media, a former college athlete and third-generation Long Island resident. “This partnership is about helping athletes tell their story, build confidence, and connect to real industries and careers where their work ethic and leadership already belong.”

Groups, schools, teams, community organizations, individuals interested in becoming affiliate partners to earn referral commissions, and corporate sponsors interested in sponsoring a session can learn more by visiting This Is Long Island.