Takkle, a social network for high school athletes, launched today. Slick yet simple, the site focuses on a demographic already deeply networked through teams, schools and summer camps who also have a flair for self-promotion and a love for amateur video. The partnership with Sports Illustrated to feature Takkle athletes in the magazine’s long-running “Faces in the Crowd” series should give students (and their parents) an incentive to register along with an old-media air of respectibility.

The video and photo features will make it a compelling browsing experience for fans, athletes and coaches once more schools are on board. It’s also a perfect platform with which to glean lots of valuable personal info, such as age, geographic location and athletic interests to better target advertising for the lucrative athletic equipment and apparel market.