Our Mission

That’s why SportsRubrIQ exists.

I Want to Make a Difference

Why Mark Bickham Built SportsRubrIQ^™

For more than 40 years, I’ve watched talented young players get overlooked—notbecause they lacked ability, but because we often judged them by what wethought we saw rather than what we could measure over time.

I saw late bloomers labeled “not good enough.” I saw early developers mistakenfor future stars. And I saw players' opportunities shaped by a single game, atournament weekend, or one person's opinion.

That stayed with me.

I built SportsRubrIQ to change the way we see and develop young players.The 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Development Taxonomy, SOAR™, and SDUO™ provide astructured framework for understanding what players need to learn, how they areprogressing, and where they need to go next.

Using the 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 Development Taxonomy together with the SOAR™ and SDUO™ frameworks, SportsRubrIQ creates a common language for player development. It doesn’t replace the coach’s eye—it strengthens it with objective, measurable evidence that follows a player throughout their journey.

SportsRubrIQ isn't another platform for rankings or league management. It is aplayer development system built to answer a fundamental question:

How many great players have we lost because we never truly measured their development?

If we want the United States to become a genuine soccer nation, we need to stopsearching for the next superstar and start building a system capable ofdeveloping every player.

The goal isn't simply to find better players. It's to build a better pathway for all of them.