SoCal Cup Volleyball

Campaign Staffing Requirements

AIM Sports required a long-term staffing partner capable of scaling with a multi-event calendar and supporting sponsor activations, athlete recovery, retail, and full event operations inside one of the busiest youth tournament series in the country.

Typical Daily Staff Deployed: 25–60 Eleven8 Event Staff (scaled by event day and activation schedule)

got milk? Sponsor Activation Staff

Supporting the tournament's title hydration sponsor, got milk?, which promoted the performance and recovery benefits of real milk to athletes and families.

• Distributing fresh cookies, milk, and branded merchandise to athletes and spectators

• Running brand-forward giveaways and engagement moments at the activation booth

• Educating athletes and parents on got milk?'s hydration and recovery messaging

• Maintaining product inventory, booth flow, and line management during peak hours

Hyperice Recovery Zone Staff

Supporting the on-site recovery zone powered by Hyperice, where athletes decompressed between matches.

• Assisting athletes with Hypervolt massage guns, Normatec boots, and heat/cold recovery tools

• Managing session flow, sanitation, and equipment turnover between athletes

• Educating players and coaches on proper recovery protocols and equipment use

• Maintaining a calm, organized recovery environment adjacent to the active court floor

Merchandising Team

Supporting the official SoCal Cup merchandise retail area, including limited-edition tournament drops that consistently generated heavy demand.

• Managing point-of-sale, inventory restocks, and display resets throughout the day

• Controlling queues during high-demand merch releases and finals weekends

• Assisting customers with sizing, product questions, and athlete-family transactions

• Supporting end-of-day reconciliation and secure close-out of retail inventory

Production Assistants

Embedded with the production and operations team to keep tournament-floor logistics moving across multiple halls.

• Supporting runners, court officials, and production leads with on-floor needs

• Managing equipment transport, signage placement, and branded environment upkeep

• Assisting with score table support and floor resets between match blocks

• Serving as the connective tissue between sponsor activations and core tournament operations

Setup & Teardown Crew

Before the first serve and after the final whistle, Eleven8 crews supported full venue build-out and breakdown inside LACC.

• Load-in and load-out of sponsor activations, merchandise fixtures, and recovery equipment

• Branded environment installation — signage, banners, back-of-house, and activation builds

• Floor resets between tournament days and end-of-event venue strike

• Coordination with LACC operations, AIM Sports production, and sponsor vendors

Operational Challenges

Large-scale youth tournaments at a convention center present a distinct operational profile compared to traditional brand activations.

Sustained Multi-Day Staffing

Unlike a single-day pop-up, each SoCal Cup event requires three to four consecutive days of coverage from setup through teardown, demanding reliable, rotating staff pools trained on the same activation standards each day.

Multi-Zone Coordination

With got milk?, Hyperice recovery, the merchandise retail zone, the college combine, and core tournament production all running simultaneously, every zone needs its own team lead while remaining aligned with the overarching event plan.

High-Volume Youth Audience

Youth club volleyball audiences skew toward athletes, parents, coaches, and siblings — a demographic that requires friendly, family-appropriate activations and carefully managed queues, especially around limited merchandise drops.

Recovery & Athlete Welfare

Athletes often play multiple matches per day. The Hyperice recovery zone had to remain welcoming and efficient at all times, with trained staff who could confidently guide young athletes through equipment use.

Our Approach

Dedicated Event Leadership

Eleven8 assigned a senior account lead to the SoCal Cup partnership to provide year-over-year continuity across The Open Championship, The Showcase, and The Winter Formal — eliminating the ramp-up curve that often slows down new event staffing vendors.

Zone-Based Deployment

Staff were deployed across four core operational zones — got milk? activation, Hyperice recovery, merchandise retail, and tournament-floor production — each with a team lead reporting directly to AIM Sports production and the Eleven8 account manager.

Repeat Talent Pool

Because Eleven8 has staffed every SoCal Cup event since 2024, the majority of deployed staff are returning professionals already trained on got milk? brand standards, Hyperice equipment, and LACC venue logistics — allowing the team to scale from 25 to 60 staff on any given day without sacrificing quality.

Flexible Daily Scaling

Daily staffing scaled from roughly 25 on quieter pool-play days to 60 on finals, combine, and merch-drop days — ensuring spend was tied directly to on-site demand rather than flat over-staffing.