University of Miami student’s app helps high school athletes train for the next level

During dinner with his mother and entrepreneur Allison Manswell one evening, WeTrain founder Maurice Manswell passionately discussed the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s new protocols that have allowed college athletes such as former University of Miami women’s basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder to get paid by companies while still in school.

Her response? Start an app for your business.

“She said that I should set up a platform where you could train student-athletes through an app,” Manswell, 20, recalled.

As a former lacrosse player at boarding school IMG Academy and Division II Lynn University, Manswell knew what it took to train and get the opportunity to play college sports. Now an undergraduate student at the University of Miami, he’s found a way to put his sports experience to use.

The WeTrain app connects student-athletes and their parents with trainers who can provide them with insight and workouts to support their goals of playing college sports.

Depending on the sport they are training for, student-athletes practice drills that allow them to improve in their sport. Working with trainers through the app allows them to learn from the people they hope to emulate.

The trainers are current and former college athletes who have expertise in the sports they once played. Parents of amateur athletes have free access to a database of trainers and only have to pay for sessions that they complete. Trainers pay $10 a month for access to the site and can charge a maximum of $100 per session.

Manswell remembers learning about the successful launch of apps such as Uber and Lyft and that made him believe in WeTrain’s potential as a digital tool.

“People my age have grown up with apps since elementary school,” he said. “I know it’s one of the easiest forms of interacting with my phone. It’s not like brick and mortar but can generate a lot of revenue as well.”

Information scarce

Growing up with two brothers who played football (Mykal, 26) and soccer (Malcolm, 31) at the Division I level for the University of West Virginia gave Manswell insight from a young age about the needs of student-athletes. He learned over time that his family either had to find ways to train on their own or be fortunate enough to find a local trainer. Information on what it took to get to the next level of sports often seemed scarce.

Since Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments began being dispersed in July 2021, it is estimated that college athletes earned about $917 million over the course of the 2021-2022 sports season. Former University of Alabama Heisman Trophy-winner and current Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had an NIL valuation of $3.5 million before he left college for the NFL. Louisiana State University gymnast Olivia Dunne gained notoriety for earning $500,000 in a single NIL deal.

NIL allows college athletes to get paid for the use of their name, image or likeness. College athletes can now appear in TV commercials and other ads for businesses or be tagged on social media for money and still be eligible to compete in college athletics.

Sydney Hill is a former lacrosse player and graduate student at Lynn University and a founding athlete for WeTrain. Hill and Manswell have been friends since they were still elementary school students in Maryland.

Hill, 21, said she believes the app’s offerings reflect the recent addition of NIL and can assist families in learning how it can help their student-athletes generate income.

“Now that I’m in college, NIL rules have changed things and I think it’s beneficial,” she said. “Normally, only a small percent of college athletes get the attention on them for big deals. I played at a small D2 school and I think this platform will change the game because athletes at smaller schools will get opportunities.”

As NIL is becoming of more importance to student-athletes and their families, Manswell sees WeTrain as a vital tool in helping them connect the dots.

“They’ve been curious about it because they’re new to it as well and would ask, ‘Is it a brand deal?’” he said. “We would explain that NIL is normally to benefit the brand, not the athlete. We’re a platform saying we won’t give athletes a brand deal and we’re just providing a platform for kids looking for training. Every parent has loved it so far and fully understands.”

Coral Springs chiropractor Jared Cohen played football in his youth and appreciates the training Manswell has done with his 15-year-old son Jonah, a high school football player. Cohen helped treat Manswell’s back problem in the past and sees his work with WeTrain as a way of paying it forward.

“My son has a lot more resources now,” he said.

Balancing the life of a student-athlete, the college experience and entrepreneurship was difficult for Manswell. To allow more time for WeTrain he is shifting from a full course load to four classes and stopped playing lacrosse. With the app now on the market and 50 trainers signed up in less than two weeks, the WeTrain team of eight people has no time to rest.

“The landscape has changed and is so competitive now,” he said. “It’s starting to elevate sports. We were all kids that used to look up to those college athletes.”