It may be a while until Jay-Z taps into track and field as an agent, but Stephen Haas of Total Sports Management U.S. Inc. is already bringing his own swagger to meets across the world. Dressed in a grey blazer with a white and blue checkered shirt, Haas sharpened up for the KBC Nacht in Heusden where many of the athletes in the group were competing. 

Not so long ago, Haas was one of them. After wrapping up his career at Indiana with three All-American titles to his name and several school records, Haas continued his career with Team New Balance. The idea of setting up an American athlete base camp in Europe was not very common at the time he first toured Europe.

The athletes used to stay in dorms. Total Sports now has its group accommodated in the Leuven Business Flats, which provides apartment-style living quarters.

“It was still a great situation to come over here and put yourself in these races that are fast, but I think now we have a good relationship with meet directors and set up races like Oordegem,” Haas said. “That benefited a lot of people and it had a lot of fast times.”

Seven personal bests and five victories were set by Total Sports athletes in Heusden, which adds to their positive reputation in Belgium. The group is now able to get the right athletes in fast heats and set them up for big performances.

With 35 athletes listed on their website, the goal for the group is not about numbers. Haas says the mission is to find athletes that are committed to working hard and help elevate them to an elite level, where they can consistently perform at Diamond League and World Championship stages.

“We want an athlete that is hungry to get better and obviously has talent with ambition to be on that (high caliber) level,” Haas said. “It’s all a process talking to coaches and talking to athletes to find that type. I think we’ve done a good job and can eye people that are potentially going to do well.”

Hassan Mead is a model example. Shortly after a disappointing finish at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Mead packed his bags for Europe and focused on his training in Leuven. After running 13:11 for 5,000-meters in Heusden, his name is climbing on the all-time lists for Americans and Total Sports is helping get him into Diamond League meets.

“Doing it myself and now helping people people do it, I think I’m able to help these guys see the process and see how it works to make being in Leuven, a little bit more comfortable,” Haas said.

Leuven was selected as the training base, because of its proximity to Brussels and how central it is to other Belgian cities. The University of Leuven has an open track on its facilities with trails nearby.

Haas does not want the athlete improvement experience to take place during the summer. After meeting with managing director Chris Layne, he pitched the idea of assisting athlete training. The current plan for the group is to have a winter training camp in Tallahassee. Total Sports will organize the housing and transportation. All the athlete has to do is show up.

“Nobody else is doing something like that,” Haas said. “Thinking outside the box can benefit the athlete. The cost for us is minimal if the athletes perform.”

Total Sports may not just stop with a warm-weather camp as plans may soon start to set-up an altitude camp as well. For now, that's all much better than what Roc Nation Sports is doing for track and field. 
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On August 10, several Total Sports US athletes will compete at the Falmouth Mile in Massachusetts. Haas helped assemble the fields as the Elite Athlete Coordinator. This year's race pits 2012 champion David Torrence against course record holder Jordan McNamara. Craig Miller, Matt Elliott, Will Leer and Jack Bolas are also slated to run. On the women's side, Haas brings Gabriele Anderson to the race after she set personal bests in the 1,500-meter and 3,000-meter races at her last two Diamond League meets. 2012 Road Mile Champion Heather Kampf will also be one to watch in the field. Sarah Bowman-Brown was scheduled to race, before getting the late call to Moscow to replace Treniere Moser on the U.S. national team.