Latest / UNCOACHED / Building Better Youth Sports: Why Strong Local Leagues Still Matter

Transcript

Building Better Youth Sports: Why Strong Local Leagues Still Matter · UNCOACHED

• Brad: Welcome to Uncoached, a podcast for volunteer coaches and parents figuring out youth sports as we go. Each episode, we keep things simple. There's five questions to talk about practical insights you can actually use with your youth athletes. My guest today is Paul Dippolito with Clutch Sports. Paul's passionate about improving youth sports at the local level and has taken that passion into his own community by building a youth soccer league from the ground up. Today, we're talking about what it takes to build a mission-driven league, why strong local programs still matter, and how we can create better youth sports experiences for kids and families. Paul, I love what you're doing. Uh, I love seeing some of your content. I love your approach to things. Give me a little bit of your background and, and share with our viewers. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Sure. Well, thanks Brad, I appreciate you having me on, I really do. You, you're doing a fantastic job as well. Love your content. Big follower, big fan. Um, so what we're doing is basically we're filling the gap. So in our community, there's this 40-year-old run traditional rec league where I started coaching. Uh, my boy was my oldest, he's eight now, he was in kindergarten, and started wanting to play soccer, so we got into it. There was three other dads coaching the team. They asked me to join and help out and everything, and I did, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I never played soccer a day in my life. I'm a baseball, lacrosse, wrestling Brad: Sure. Yeah yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: who I was throughout college, uh, you know, up through, through college. Um, but yeah. And as they got older, we were in, you know, kindergarten, first grade, and then we got to second grade and it's just like, this can't just be it because it's either this rec league or travel in our community, okay? So a lot of people were leaving the traditional rec league because they just feel like it wasn't giving them enough, and rightfully so, but they were curmudgeonly going to travel 'cause they felt like that was the only other option. They didn't actually wanna travel, and they didn't actually wanna spend the thousands of dollars that they were spending for their five to nine-year-old to play soccer. Um, so the rec league was always like, "Hey, you know, we want volunteers. We need help. We need ideas." It's two older gentlemen that run it. And so me and the three other coaches, we were like, "Hey, look, we could really revamp this, you know, league." Because I'm a sales and business development, um, person, I'm also, um, a marketing and branding, um, professional. And we also have... We have a merch guy, we have an operations guy, we have an IT data, like, tech guy. So we had everything we need to do. So we put together this business plan pretty much, and I had about two or three, um, conversations with the head of the league. Each was, like, an hour and a half long. And Brad, I'm telling you, you could onl- as a loving, caring parent, you can only hear, "That's not how we do things. We've been doing it like this for 40 years. We don't do it that way," so many times, you know? So I went back to the, my three co-founders and I said, "Look, we're starting our own league." And they looked at me like I had 19 heads, and I'm like, "Just give me a month. Let me go down the rabbit hole. Let me see if this is actually viable and feasible where we are." And I did. We met again, I'm like, "We're starting our own league." And, um, that's really where, um, the nonprofit started and where everything really-- took off from there, to be honest with you. But yeah, that's Brad: No Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: quick nutshell. Brad: no, it's fantastic. A- and I know you're, you're East Coast, I'm Midwest, but it's the same scenario here, and I'd venture to say, man, it's everywhere, where you've got this lower, lower league or lower skill level, um, rec opportunity for a lot of kids, or you jump all the way to the full, you know, full model of pay for play and travel and, and things like that. And it's like, where's that development opportunity for the kids that strive for a little bit better, um, but they don't wanna go all the way in yet? And I, I love your approach. I think it's a huge gap. Yeah. You, you're make- Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: thing, like we're, to your point, we're filling the gap in the middle because it always bothered me when I-- we were teaching, when we were coaching the kids in rec, they'd be like, "Oh, does your kid play for the travel club?" And I was like, "No." They're like, "Oh, okay." And like all of a sudden they think, like, my kid's not good, Brad: That's right Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: that we're coaching aren't good. There's this stigma, Brad: Ja Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: my kid's not the best player, but he's a solid player. He knows the game, he loves the game, they have the passion. And me and the coaches, we were teaching the kids the right way for that age group as they got older. The, the issue with traditional rec is the coaches for the most part are not supported by the league 'cause the league's just running on autopilot. So it's like, "Here's a roster, here's a schedule. See you at the award ceremony." And the coaches are like, "I'm an accountant that works in Manhattan five days a week. Like I don't-- You gotta give me something here." So really the gap that we're filling, and that's the most important part when it comes to, um, our league that we're making the change. Because if we didn't make this change with the coaches, then we're just a regular traditional rec league that's a little bit more organized. Brad: Yeah, and so maybe you could touch on a couple of things that you saw existing. I know we touched a little bit like, hey, we've done this wa- we've done it this way before, and so that's how we're going to keep doing it. So that's one thing. What are some other things that kind of bothered you about what was existing today and made you say, "Hey, we can do this differently," and start thinking about things a bit differently? Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: in this particular scenario, I can say almost everything. Um, and it's not that they didn't care, it's just that they thought they could just keep running out the same, you know, lower-tier product and expect people to come just 'cause they've been around. Um, so in this case, they were using the wrong size ball for the wrong age groups. You had way too many kids on a team, so they're not getting touches and proper playing time. And I mean, besides the non-organization and no coaching support, the kids were also on the wrong size field. Like in second grade, we were playing on a field that 11-year-olds play on. I Brad: tough. Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: like mid-first quarter, you know, and then like referees don't show up 'cause they're like teenagers and stuff like that. So it was a lot of that stuff, but it all stemmed down from and mission, right? So it's like, okay, we could do this better. can say that about almost Brad: Sure Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: But at the end of the day, how much better can you do it? Can you actually execute on it? And before you do any of that, you have to have the vision for what it looks like in the end, and then work yourself back. And then you don't have a mission that the community around you buys into, you just have a cool idea at the end of the day, Brad: Right, right. Yeah, absolutely Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: branding 101. Uh, that's just, it is what it is Brad: It, it is. And I know we're, we're a little bit both in the marketing world, so it makes sense to us, but I think a lot of people miss that, right? Like, you, you have to be attached to something to really have some passion to drive it forward. And so I know you're talking a little bit about, you know, having this clear mission, um, and the decisions that you're making about coaches, competition, playing time. How, how do you go about identifying that mission maybe, And how do you continue to drive the league based on that mission? Has it become a mantra that you guys continually talk about? Is it, is it the value prop, you know, that you guys are con- continually laddering things up to? Or what's that like for you guys in the league that you guys created? Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: That's a fantastic question. Um, so for us, the mission came from filling the gap with what was needed. So what we're doing in our league, to answer your question, is the mission was we need to fill the gap between traditional rec and the current travel league system. So we need to keep it affordable, fun, and engaging like rec, but still give a higher development like travel. That's the key. So how do we do that? So that we knew was our mission, but then how do we do that? If we were to hire trainers, then you're gonna get the price is gonna go out astronomical, just like travel is, because that's what it does. So how do we keep the price affordable? We go back to the volunteer coaches, right? But now you're like, "Okay, if you have volunteer coaches, then you're just like every other traditional rec league." The difference here is I p- we have a board of directors of nine people and an advisory board of six. So out of those 15 people, the majority of us are former elite D1 players, national champions, semi-pro players, um, coaches, top trainers, the whole nine, and they're all local parents. So it's not like we're farming them out from different towns and different communities. And what we're doing is we put together a comprehensive coaching and player development program. So we're developing the coaches as much as we're developing the players. We have three coaching boot camps going on in, um, August. We have one next Monday, next Wednesday, and the following Tuesday. They only need to come to one of them. They're gonna be the same thing. We're not trying to, you know, time suck everybody. We understand it's a volunteer position. On top of that, what we're doing is we're creating a weekly practice framework. So it is gonna be broken out. You could be on the train home from work, and you have practice in an hour, and you can look at, "Okay, my first 10 minutes are gonna look like this. My next 10 minutes, we're gonna go into this drill." Never heard of this drill. Tap the link. Goes straight to a video that we're doing, not Brad: Right Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: a random YouTube video, a video that we're, um, producing that is gonna have how you do it, and it's also gonna have a sports session planner animation on what it should look like on the field so you could properly set it up. So that happens throughout the entire practice. But also what we're doing is every team of that age and gender are practicing at the same time on the same day in their own respective teams. So what we're doing is we're creating community engagement there. We're creating, um, the fact that, hey, all the coaches have to hold themselves accountable to the player and coaching development program, and we have carpooling, helps out with the parents, right? You got little Timmy and little Johnny, but Sally needs to go to dance. But okay, I'll, I'll take your kid, you take mine, I'll pick up, makes life a lot easier. And on top of that, how many times in traditional rec, if you have-- 'cause we're working with smaller teams, we don't want overload the teams, so Brad: Yep, Yep, Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: touches in playing time. So let's say we have a team of eight kids for, um, the third graders, right? If four kids can't show up one day for whatever reason Traditionally, you wouldn't know that until you get to practice. Now we know that 'cause we have a state-of-the-art app in Vyga, and we have communication, so we'll know ahead of time. But then you would traditionally cancel the practice, or it'd be kinda like a dud practice. Now everyone's practicing together, the four of you still come down, those four kids can-- you can practice together or disperse into all the other teams 'cause everyone's practicing and learning the same thing the same day. And the coaches get to see from week one through week 12 an overarching growth plan from start one to finish at the end of the season. so that's really what it's all about, and you tell people that they're gonna be fully supported, and you're gonna spoon feed them the information, you're gonna make their life simple and efficient. And I mean, the traditional rec league that we branched off of would be scratching and clawing for coaches. We have 84 people Brad: Oh, I love it Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: to coach between the ages of three years old through eighth grade Brad: Yeah, you're speaking my language now. I love that. Um, I like that you're putting the same emphasis on training the coaches as training the players, because so often you- you're just kind of thrown to the wolves and you're like, "Hey, you can do, you can do this," right? Or, "Here's your team and, and, and good luck." so I, I think what I like that you're saying is, uh, and it drives me nuts, the stigma that when you say volunteer parent coach, because people automatically think, hey, you're getting less quality of, of a coaching. And yeah, maybe a lot of those folks don't have experience coaching, but like you just tapped on, how many, how many folks are former collegiate athletes or, or even great athletes in high school? And just because you're a good athlete doesn't mean that's gonna translate to being good coaching, but it does mean that you know the game and that you can, you know, understand what the players are going through and what's necessary Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Mm-hmm. Brad: a good team, right? I think a lot of the stuff that, that people need trained on is how to teach kids, right? It's not, you're not... These aren't older people. You really have to break things down, and it sounds like you're actually doing that for the coaches too, and you're breaking those things down too, which is fantastic. I love it Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: And I'm glad that you said what you said. Two points to that is, um, you know, when people say, "Oh, it's a lesser quality of coaching perhaps." Right? Why? If you typically look at a travel team, this is not everybody, okay? But if you look at a travel or club team, a lot of times club team hires a training, like, company, Brad: Yep, Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: And Brad: sure Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: guy's vision on how, let's say soccer, should be taught to the different ages. And then who do they hire? They do have some other adults. They have a lot of them. But if you have your local travel team, it's not gonna be top-tier trainers throughout. There's gonna be one or two top-tier trainers, and then they typically have college athletes or just graduated college athletes that are all of a sudden pro coaches. They're not. They're college kids, and a lot of times they show up bleary-eyed on the sideline on a Saturday or Sunday because they're 22, and they still went out the night before, as rightfully so. You know what I mean? But, like, you, you also get billed for pro coaching when it's just the system that is professional. Depending on how that individual is coaching my kid and our team is a totally different conversation. So I'm glad that you brought that up, number one. But also with, um, the collegiate coaching, it's like they understand how it operates. They understand how a practice to be run. And you said at the end of the day, it's about coaching kids, not the sport. And I think a lot of times parents, for some reason, I mean, it, it happened to me, you know, I'm sure. I don't know if it happened to you, but, like, when you see-- We have short-term memory. So, like, I don't know. I see my eight-year-old out there, and he's doing that, and for some reason you're thinking of how to coach them and all this other stuff, but the way you're about to do it is how you were coached in high school Brad: Right Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: college, because Brad: Right Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: thing that happened to you. So that's just, "Okay, this is how I was coached." It's not how you were coached at eight years old. It's different, you know? So, and I think a lot of times, because youth sports gets the stigma of having the crazy parents, too, and that happens. We all know that, right? But a lot of times it's-- I really think it's the parents not being able to separate when they were last on the field. And, like, we're starting to treat these kids like they're high school and college kids, and they're, like, prepubescent, and it's just, it, it's not, it's not healthy for the sport. It's not healthy for the parent. It sure as heck not healthy for the, the child's mental health, you know, and the pressure. There's, there's undue pressure. So to your point about the stigmas, it's like if we didn't, in, in my opinion, if we didn't have this of this is how it should be done, because that's how we were last coached, I think it would kinda ease up, and everyone would kinda like pump the brakes a little bit and be like, "Hey, you know what? My kid's actually developing really well Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: age of seven, eight, nine years old." Brad: I think my feedback on this too is, to your point, if you remember back to coaching that you had as a, you know, as a kid, as a high school kid, college, whatever, a lot of those coaches are out there pretty hard on those athletes. They're yelling at them, they're in their face a little bit. Very, very stern. And I'm not saying you can't be stern with your players, but hey, parents, if you have a coach that's actually quiet and they're letting these kids play, that's a really good coach in my opinion, because they're letting them experience the game, learn from the mistakes, move on, how to, how to get through things. You don't constantly need a coach out there that's just yelling commands and moving them around like chess pieces, right? Like, let them play Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Agreed. Uh, the, the, the former Manchester United coach back in the '90s, he... I was watching a documentary, and he ha- he said something, I'm not gonna be able to quote him directly. So he said something along the lines of, them play, to your point, let them fail, because if you're coaching them every step of the way, you're taking the decision away from the player, and that's how the player learns Brad: Yeah. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: of the day Brad: Absolutely. You're robbing them of that opportunity to really, really advance. They're gonna advance quicker by failing than they are by you telling them, "Hey, do this and this," or, "You did this wrong." They need to fail Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Thousand percent. I agree Brad: what I love that you're doing too is you're all about a little bit of the community-based, um, feeling, right? Bringing back a little bit of community, which I think the pendulum has swung so far in club sports. You lose a little bit of that community. Like, you, you've got your small group of parents that you might be with, you know, constantly as you're going to these different tournaments, but you're, you're talking broader than that. You're talking about actually impacting not, not just the community of athletes and parents that are in your organization, but just the, the surrounding area and too. Maybe you could talk a little bit about why it's so important for the future of youth sports in your mind to bring that back to the forefront a little bit. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Thousand percent. So we, where, where I live on Long Island, it is a very tight-knit community, okay? But from what I see in other towns, like we have other towns on Long Island where my brother-in-law lives, where my nephew, all that stuff, it can happen there too. It doesn't have to be like this small town America vibe, just so we're clear about that. But it's just when you involve the community, the local community, it's absolutely insane the support that you will get, the belief that you will get. So what we do is we have in our-- we have, in my opinion, and well, it's my personal opinion, but also I've been, um, assured this by many other people with the feedback, we have some of the coolest youth soccer uniforms that you'll find out there, and I will put this against, uh, clubs that people spend $5,000 a year on. It is legit. It's got a cool design on it, but it's got our little patch up here, a big patch in the back, and then across is a local sponsor. So like if you watch English Premier League, right, and I think it, Tottenham had the old version where it's I- Insurance or whatever it Brad: for sure. Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: that, it'll say something like Laporta, which is a local pizzeria. But it's done in the way that it looks professional, you know? So we roll-- I mean, I've, in the last four months, I've sold over $50,000 worth of local sponsorships. I don't have one regional or one national sponsor at all. Um, and the big thing here is, too, that we're- the whole point is the community coming together. We live in this area together. We're gonna support each other. We're gonna support the local businesses. We're gonna support the mom and pops. They're in turn gonna support the local, uh, leagues, whether it's a club or whether it's rec or whether it's travel or an academy, doesn't matter, right? It's all about working together and creating that, um, economic and supportive ecosystem within the community. But what I have found is, and this can be played on the big club level, on the national level, it can. It just, when you get the, when you get the companies that come in, like private equity, which I have no problem with private equity in youth sports, I think they're better served in some areas other than others. But it all depends on their mission, their value, and what they're trying to do, right? Like ethics should be involved. Um, but to the point is you can have a major private equity firm come in, buy up 15 clubs, do whatever you want, but at the end of the day, if they were to leave their overarching umbrella of a mission, but then bring it down and drill it down to the micro-community level and let that community run that club in that league as a community league, they wouldn't be looked at as the big bad wolf. People would buy into it. They'd make actually a lot more money than what they're trying to do by force feed people an XYZ proposition. Um, and they'd be able to, um, alleviate some of the cost to the parents. So one of the big things is We're a 501[c][3], right? We're a full nonprofit. you get a for-profit, you don't have to worry if you're looking at a sponsorship from Nike or Under Armour or Gatorade or anything like that. They have the money. They don't care about any breaks or, or anything like that. They'll give you the money, fine. But when it comes to local community, you need to be a 501[c][3] to run a sponsorship so that they get the tax deduction Brad: Right. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: of the year. They're Brad: Yep Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: you by giving you the money. You're helping them by automatically getting X percentage back by Uncle Sam. So that's a big thing there. Like, if we were to run a for-profit, "Okay, no, I'm good." They would just say no to the Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: because, "What are you doing for me? I'm helping you, but other than the people that are gonna come through my door, what are you doing?" So there's a lot of different things besides that. Like, we have a, we have a multi-tier sponsorship. So we have one that's just on the website. We have Brad: Okay Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: just signage. And then we have one that's a jersey sponsorship, which is everything underneath it with social media collaborations and everything. We have a higher one, um, and then we have one where you could sponsor the entire league for a full year. Uh, this year that one was not purchased, but we do believe that we-- because we're having massive success with registration. We already have six hundred and sixty kids registered for our inaugural league. We're kicking off Labor Day weekend. So, um, we think that that will be able to be, um, taken care of next year. Um, so that would be great. And again, you know, it's, it's the cost of this, it's the equipment, it's the uni- It's all this stuff that goes into it. And because of the sponsorships, we're able to keep the registration at $175 a kid, Brad: Oh, that's awesome Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: a full kit of a uniform that looks absolutely insane. Brad: I love it. And who doesn't love getting behind a team? I think, you know, the... We're in a swag world, right? I, I love swag. I love getting gear, hats, shirts, whatever. Everybody loves supporting a team. We love getting behind something. I don't care where you're at, you love doing that. And so if you're creating that community, even through, even if it's through wearables and having really awesome-looking, you know, kits that the kids are, are happy to wear, Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Yeah. Brad: you know, you're creating that sense of belonging, that sense of community. It's not just, "Hey, I paid $6,000 to put this club's logo on my chest." This is something that feels a little bit more inclusive of everybody Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: You know, and on top of that, to go back to the overall vision, right? 'Cause you mentioned that in the beginning. Sponsorship is always part of it, and always gonna be community. Like, that was part of the overall vision, the overall mission. And also, I believe part of that vision and community feel should be when you show up to the field, it should look like you are a premier league club. Like, that simple. I don't care what you do. I mean, you walk into these travel organizations, my nephew and niece play on a bunch of them, and they're great organizations, and they do a great job developing the kids, and my niece and nephew absolutely love it, and they- we see growth in them every year. But you show up to a field, it's a regular field. You gotta find the little field tag on, like, the back of a net or Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: And but there's nothing special about it. There's nothing special. We ran a practice, like a little skill set for the kids just to get the baseline so we can create balanced teams. That's all we're doing it. The parents aren't gonna know their rating. The kids are never gonna know their rating. It's for internal use only, right? We had field flags up. We had banners. We had logos. Like, I had parents come up to me, they're like, "This is insane." Like, that I spent $175, and I'm getting this. We had the tent with the backdrop you could take a picture in front of. We had the merch Brad: Awesome Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: and it-- because that's what it should be. You should feel special. You should feel like a D1 collegiate athlete or a professional player when you put on a jersey and walk onto the field. We got music playing. It's fun. Like, it should be fun. S- youth sports should be a blast while they learn. If they're having fun, it never feels like practice. It never feels like work. Like, g- g- you gotta be a kid again mentally, Brad: Exactly Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: in their mind. I a- I literally asked my two kids, I have an eight-year-old and a five-year-old, "What do you wanna see? Brad: Ja Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: And I asked all the other co-founders and board members' kids, "What do you wanna see from this league?" And it, not gonna lie, it matched our vision in the beginning, and we just made it work, you know? Um, Brad: ja. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: touch on, if you don't mind, Brad: Ja Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: in regards to the sponsorships and, like, 'cause a lot of people do- a lot of the, the over businesses don't wanna do it because it's a 501[c][3]. They might not wanna run it. The league should always be run as a 501[c][3]. The kids should be the 501[c][3]. You do your sponsorships through your 501[c][3]. you could have a for-profit business that runs your camps, your clinics, your trainings, your Brad: Sure Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: tournaments, your jamborees, whatever you wanna do. You could run that. You can run it and make an absolute killing because what you would do is on the sponsorship side, your sponsorship includes any camps, clinics, trainings, jamborees, or pop-up tournaments that we run. So now, when you run those on the for-profit side, you're, you're not just pooling into the club. You're pooling into, like, I'm on Long Island, right? If I run a pop-up 3v3 tournament, I could have someone from Westchester Over the bridge, past the city, right? Brad: Yeah, yep Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: someone from Westchester come and play. Am I gonna tell them no? Of course not. But now the local restaurant and the local whoever that are sponsoring us, if they're gonna hang around for the day, they're at the field, they say, "Oh, Rob Key's Italian restaurant. You know what? We're gonna kinda get out of here a little late. We're gonna hit traffic. Why don't we stop by Rob Key's?" Brad: For sure. Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: they Google Map, and then all of a sudden they got a customer. Brad: Yeah. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Key's need us any more customers. They do a fantastic job. If you're ever in Northport, go to Rob Key's. Brad: Well, I, I, I was just gonna tell you, man, you're pumping me up. I, I have to get out there and see some of these things myself. I, you know, we'll connect after this, but I wanna see some of the, the pictures and, and, you know, visuals of this 'cause you're pumping me up Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: you could, you could check it out. You could, you go to, uh, Sand City Soccer o-o-on, on Instagram. You could check it out there. That's the league. Uh, again, no one with the league makes a penny. Brad: Ja Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: in our league that is... And there, we got 16 of us, the board is nine, none of us make a penny from the league. It is straight fi- You are allowed to legally do that. Um, we don't do it at all. Everyone is full volunteer, and that's how we're running it Brad: Well, it's, it's definitely a, a model that I think I wish would catch fire and, and maybe it will after, after we can start promoting what you're doing there a little bit more. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Thank you. Well, Brad: I... Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: I'm doing with Clutch Sports. That's Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: trying to do with Clutch Sports, is use my business, sales, marketing, and, uh, branding background to help other leagues. Like, the league that we branched off from, you know, league shouldn't have to fold. Like, I should never have had to start my league. I never should have had to start it. They should have been able to be like, "Yeah, you know what? We'll try a couple of these things out, see how it works." Just be open-minded to it, right? A lot of these leagues that are folding or being, you know, taken out by these major conglomerates are because they're not willing to adapt. They're not willing to modernize. So I'm trying to reach out to these leagues, organizations, whether you're a travel club, rec, doesn't matter, right? Like, I'm trying to reach out to these people, use my expertise in everything that I've been doing for over the last year and a half, um, and just with my own background to help them so they don't fall, so they don't fall to... So they don't crumble. Because honestly, it just takes a couple of minor tweaks, and they could be right back up on their feet Brad: Well, let's dive into that. What are the two or three things you think those leagues that are currently needing to shift a little bit of their mentality, what are two or three things maybe that you think they could be doing? Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Well, one thing is make sure you're abiding by all the rules, regulations, and guidelines for that age group when you teach them. Um, I'll give you three things. That is important because a lot of times that goes by the wayside. They don't realize that the rules are changing per age because they don't really stay that up to date on it, 'cause it's full volunteer. Um, I would say that, and I would say have s- have a parent with a marketing, sales, business development background that is in that league. A younger parent, 'cause usually these boards are a little older. Have a younger parent that's in that league on the board in that revenue style role. That's number two. Um, and I would say the other would be sponsorships. Like sponsorships, sponsorships, sponsorships, local sponsorships. You can do it. I mean... And it's just like, it's as simple as a little rebrand. A lot of times they need like a little logo, update the mission, redo the website, you know, um, r- and but run it out as if the league is relaunching. Have a relaunch strategy and do it. Like what we did, we were obviously brand new, and we're in a town where it's like the game of telephone on steroids, right? And but a lot of times it's misconceptions. So all I did was I created an Instagram page, and I put our logo in like the nine tiles, right? Like I broke it up like with, with that, and I put... This is back in November of last year, so '25. Brad: Okay okay Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: fall 2026." And I just started following people and Brad: Yeah. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: businesses, Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: of a sudden people were like, "What is this?" Then I went out and I printed 250 car magnets die-cut into our shield logo, hand it out to all the board members and family members and friends that we knew were gonna support the league. I'm like, "Put it on your car, send me a picture of it on your car." I said, "I'll take out all your car markings and license plate. Don't worry about it, Brad: Sure, sure. Yep Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: send it over to me, I put a story every day, "Seen in the wild, Sand City Soccer. Seen in the wild. Oh, seen down on Main Street. Seen at this park," blah, blah, blah. And people are like, "What is this Sand City Soccer? What is this Sand City Soccer?" Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I was getting DMs left and right. I it sit, I let it sit, and then right before the New Year's we publicly launched of like what we are and what we're doing, and wildfire. Brad: So, so tell me a little, let's dive in a little bit about the sponsorship stuff, 'cause I've heard you mention it a couple times. Do you have people coming to you? Are you doing outreach? What's the, what's the pitch look like? Are they... Is it easy, right? Because it's a community base and it's focused on the kids, or y- Give me some feedback here on that Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: it's a no pressure pitch, right? Look, you gotta develop the relationships in your local town. I, I drop my kid off at, at the local, uh, preschool every morning. I go down, I go get a coffee and a thing at the same place every day, right? I do my walk, all that, right? I know everybody in town. It's just kind of my personality, right? I was, ever since I was four, people would call me the mayor, right? Brad: I could tell. I could tell. But, but hey man, we're gonna be instant friends 'cause, uh, uh, this is just your personality and I love it Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: it's just like, you know what? You live in a beautiful place. You're Brad: Ja Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: you live. Know the people that live there. Get to know the shop owners. Say hi. Just have a conversation, and this person knows that person, and that person knows this person, and that person knows the politicians, and the politicians know this people. And all this, and everything starts to get... We, we call it the web, right? That's what we call it internally. We've Brad: Makes sense. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: of people. Brad: For sure Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: it's incredible. And you know what? You do that enough, and people know that you do things the, for the right reasons, and you're doing the, the right way. The pitch is easy. Hey, look, we got this upstart soccer league. We're bridging the gap between traditional rec and travel, so kids can learn the sport the right way but not pay a fortune in order to do it. That's the pitch. And then we say we got a $250 package, a $500 package, a $2,500 package, 5,000 and 10,000, right? It's what it is. And then 90% of the time, people pick the 500, which to be honest with you, if you don't care about having a jersey, it's fantastic. It's all you need as a business. A guy came up to me, a dad came up to me yesterday at the preseason practice. He's like, "Hey." He goes like, "I o- I own a contracting company 'cause I'm interested in sponsoring." I said, "Okay." I said, "Look," I said, "the, the, the jerseys are not gonna have you." He goes, "No," he goes, "I don't need that." I said, "500 bucks." I said, "You will get field signage out the you-know-what. You'll get social media collaborations. You'll get social media posts. You'll get verbal recognition at all things, and you'll be on the website." He's like, "Done." Brad: Yeah, it's perfect Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: what's 500 bucks to a local business, Brad: Yeah, it's nothing really. Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: And on top of it, if you do it, we're doing a, um, local small business discount program that call... So we're also going to people who maybe didn't want, didn't have the money to spend, right? Like there's a local candy store and, like, an art place where the kids, like, you know, how they paint the clay. You Brad: Sure. Yep. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: you. Brad: Yeah yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: um, didn't have the money to do a sponsorship. So I said, "Fine, listen. I'm doing this local business development discount program. It costs you nothing. You let me know what you want your discount to be." Brad: Perfect Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: digital card. You say you gotta wear a Sand City Soccer jersey or show the card, and you get 10% off. I g- I got restaurants out the wazoo Brad: I love it. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: like Brad: I love it. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: 15% off the bill. Brad: Yeah. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: and Brad: And it's nothing. There's no, no money nec- yeah, no money out of pocket. Um, it gets them a little bit of recognition, it gets you out there. it's a it's a win-win. Fantastic idea Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: go back to your question from four questions ago, it's how to keep the community involved with the mission, right? How to answer the question with always stay true to the mission by making decisions. It's Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: can we do? We've already hit these people up for money, right? This-- Well, now what can we do for them to drive even more business for free? So what's the value add, if we're gonna talk in sales terms? What's the value add? Okay, let's create a digital card that costs us literally $0. Zero, right? Brad: Yeah, for sure. It's awesome Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: We're gonna email them out to the parents with the names on the back of the people who were involved and the discount and what they have to do, and they just walk in the door and give them money for their product or service. Brad: Yep Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Like, how hard is that? Brad: No, just Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: the right Brad: low lift. Low lift and everybody wins. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Exactly, so- Brad: I'll tell you what, I, I wanna backtrack a little bit, um, and I just wanna talk a little bit about w- your approach 'cause, you know, I'm, I'm... honestly, I'm jealous because I think I'd love to do this in my area, and I've seen it as a huge gap. And we... Yeah, we'll, we'll talk. But you, um... You know, what I see in youth sports across the board, whether it's soccer or anything else, and we've talked about this multiple times, is you've got the kids that are in, in a, in a lower rec league, and maybe they're not supported, right? Their coaching staff isn't being coached up to, to teach them the right way, or you've got the high money, um, club that we've talked about that, that people maybe aren't ready to, to jump into that. I think we're losing athletes left and right, really, really good athletes, because one, they don't have the money to do that, or two, they don't have the time to dedicate to that club experience. And so the gap that you're filling that I really like is that you're helping, you know, folks with first experiences in sports, whether... at any age, right? Like I can see this, even a 12-year-old, 13, 14-year-old coming into a new sport not feeling pressure to, um, be underwhelmed by their performance. But they can come in, they can have a good time, and they can be supported, and they can learn and grow. And so why I like that is because I, I'm a heavy believer in late bloomers. Like I know there's great athletes at young ages, right? They... Some kids just stand out, and people don't like to admit that, but there's just some really good kids. But things change as you get older. When maturity hits in, puberty hits in, you get more strength, things... You know, you develop your brain a little bit differently, and I feel like we're, we're abandoning these athletes that aren't like the top tier, um, the kids that are the late bloomers, let's call them. And I think this, this kinda gap division type stuff that you're doing is gonna really help perpetuate those guys to be, and, and gals, to be better, um, and feel a little bit more confident in going into a sport, and I think it can only help them longer term. So I just... You know, maybe talk to that a little bit. Uh, plug it. I love, I love what you're doing, and I'm totally aligned with it. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: I love it, and like, you know what? The more people I talk to, just parents in general, not just like people on your side of the camera, like agrees with it. Everyone just like, it's like it's common sense, right? So what, what hurts me more than anything is, let's say... Well, first of all, one of our vision/mission things when we started this is, in general, the four of us, me and my three co-founders, we do not believe that under the age of 13 you should have to try out to be able to play a sport and learn the sport the right way. That's absurd. you hit 13, you're in middle school. Then life changes, Brad: Sure. Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: need to start to understand that life isn't always fair. You can't always... Or if you make the team, you're not always gonna be on the field the same amount of time as the kids that are really good. You gotta work for, you gotta earn it, all that stuff. But that also goes to your point about the mental capacity of the child that Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: coaching and teaching and training. So we're talking about two different things. If you're gonna tell me you have no rec league or a very lower le- lower level rec league, uh, or a travel club, if those are your only options in town, and your nine-year-old goes to play soccer, lacrosse, whatever, and they get cut from the team. telling me that your nine-year-old's playing career in that sport just ended at the age of nine? Brad: Yeah, Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: Like a word, it's disgusting. Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: It's disgusting, you know? And like that was what really drives me too, is because, to your point, puberty is the biggest deciding factor. It's not me that's saying it. It's not just doctors that are saying it. It's former and current elite professional athletes say it constantly. They're like, "Your kid could be the greatest player on any sport team or every sport team from the age of six through 12. When that kid's 14, they could be like third rank." It just happens. Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: what happens to mom and dad's $25,000, $30,000 that they pumped into all these travel leagues and professional coaches and trainers? All of a sudden, little Timmy and little Sally aren't producing. Now they're gonna ride them even more because the investment that they've made in them. Brad: Exactly Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: They could have bought a house in Europe. They could live in Europe this point. You know what I Brad: But yeah. Oh, they're gonna, they're gonna double down and spend more money, right? And it's just this terrible cycle. Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: dichotomy. Brad: Yeah Paul (2)PaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaulPaul: gonna start to resent the parents, the kids are gonna burn out, and that's why kids, we're seeing a heavy drop rate, a heavy loss rate at the age of 13 and 14 years old where kids are no longer playing. Brad: so Paul, we've, we've been talking a little bit, um, and you've got me energized and ready to do this. But for somebody that's actually ready to start a youth sports program in their own community, give me some things that they should be aware of before they jump in. 'Cause I'm sure it's not all rainbows and shun- sunshine. I'm sure there were some hurdles. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Yeah Brad: Give me some, give me some inside knowledge here on, like, what it w- what was it like to create that, and what's some advice you would give somebody to start this on their own? PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Buckle up. Like, as my uncle, as my uncle would say growing up, he was a big burly, uh, Irish FDNY fireman, "Buckle up, sunshine, 'cause it's gonna get rocky." Um, and, um, no, in all seriousness There's a lot to it. You need to understand the legal side of it. That's the big thing. You need to understand the 501[c][3] rules. You need to understand the kickback laws because you will develop a kickback accidentally. That's the thing. Not saying that you're being shady about it. Um, make sure that you have a board of directors. Um, make sure you vet those people very well. Make sure that they have this-- Like, so what I did was, with me and my three co-founders, we knew what we wanted to do, right? We had our mission. We knew when we were launching. So this was July of last year. So we knew we had a year and a couple of months until fall of 2026. So what we did was Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): went to the end of the fall season, the weekend before Thanksgiving, November 22nd, it was gonna be the last game of the season, and we worked back to July 15th or whatever it was. So I had a full, detailed, comprehensive plan of what we were doing. So when I went and met with the potential other board members, I gave them our plan. I gave them our vision. It wasn't like, "We're doing this, blah, blah, blah, we want your insight." It was like, "This is Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Hop on or don't come on at all." Like, "We want you, you fit the bill, we think you'd be great, but does this work for you?" type thing. Um, not one person said no that we spoke to because we picked the right people through the Brad: Sure PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): that we created. We mentioned that before. Brad: Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): knew we had the right people that already had the right vision and passion for what we were doing anyway. Um, so make sure you surround yourself with the right people. Make sure you understand the legal standpoint. Uh, get your URL down right away. Get your Instagram page down right away. Just, just, uh, you know, get those handles. Um, Brad: Ja, ja PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): all seriousness, have a real marketing plan. Have a real branding plan, and be very clear with your mission because it's-- You're, you're in marketing, so you'll appreciate this. It's the KISS method, right? Keep it simple, stupid, or what I call market to monkeys. If, if, if you could say it in a sentence and a five-year-old can understand clearly what you're doing, that's your pitch. That's your mission. That's your tagline, you know? Um, like our tagline is unity through sports, right? Um, we have, uh, on the for-profit side, to do the camps, the clinics, the trainings and all that stuff, um, and merch and concessions. Um, which by the way, be very careful about that, and I'm glad you brought this up because budget is extremely interesting and can be very, um, tricky. So when we were-- Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): was 501[c][3], right? When we were Creating the preliminary budget with my treasurer, who's not a co-founder, who she just came on, um, she was like, "Paul," once we got to the merch, like T-shirts, hats, whatever, and the concessions line, she's like, "We can't do it." I'm like, "What do you mean?" She goes, "We- the amount of money we're gonna have to raise, and we already have to spend money on equipment, and the uniforms, and this, and the ref fees, and those other stuff." Like, we're also, we have AEDs on the field. We background check anyone who's involved in the league, whether you're a coach, whether you're on the board, advisor, whatever. Um, Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): have first aid administered there, and we're gonna have the local, whoever's off duty for, um, the fire department. Uh, we have-- So we're gonna have local, um, uh, paid, um, EMTs there, at least one emergency medical professional there on the field at all times. So we're gonna go overboard on that. we believe that-- 'Cause a lot of times it's not the kids that need it, it's the parents or the grandparents that need it. Brad: Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You're, I mean, you're out there in the heat too, right? So that's probably a big, that's a big deal. Of course. Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): crazy, the boomer Brad: Yep. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): that still yells like they're yelling Brad: Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Chris Chandler sitting Brad: Oh, yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): run in '78, you know, in New York anyway. Um, but yeah, so you know, we have all that stuff in place. She's like, "It-- we can't sustain." So I went back to the drawing board. I was like, "All right, fine. Don't worry about it." And I said to my three co-founders, I said, "Look," I said, "What if we..." I, I thought about it, right? And then you gotta have the right mission and the right vision if you're gonna do something different, and it has to tie in the right way. 'Cause if not, everything gets skewed, and you don't wanna cannibalize one for the other. And so I'm like, "What if we created an LLC, the four of us?" They're like, "What are you talking about?" said, "We'll run the merch and concessions," I said, "because we can't do it through the league. We'll front the money for it, and we'll create a, um, agreement, and we'll pitch the league." They're like, "What do you mean pitch the league?" And the reason why I'm having this long, drawn-out conversation is 'cause it asks you about what you need to know if you wanna start a league. Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): important. So I'm like, "Look, we can't do it because it can look gray," all this other stuff. So we then needed, 'cause there's four of us, we needed to be outvoted by five people, hence why we have a nine-person board of directors, okay? Brad: Okay. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): to be Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): and up. Everything we're doing is fully transparent with our community. We're also gonna have, um, open public board meetings quarterly, so the parents can come, tell us what we're great at, tell us what we suck at, tell us what we can do better, if they have different ideas they wanna get Brad: It's great. Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): that. Leagues don't do that, so we're doing that. Brad: No PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): I said, "Look," I said, "we'll front the money on the concessions." We pitched them. The four of us got up there to the five other remaining, and I said, "Look," I said, "we will be your merch and concessions vendor." said, "You-- if you don't wanna use us, 'cause we can't do it in the budget line as a league, you can also-- 'cause you have to give to other businesses. You have to, like, do it. Brad: Yep. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): So you could use this Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): and this is what they do based on what I found, you can do your own research, or you can do this company. Do your own research. This is what we found." And we'll give you 15% gross revenue off the top. And my treasurer comes back, and she's like, "We want 20%." we said, "Okay, we'll, we'll go with..." This is my treasurer who I just Brad: Yeah, that's awesome. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): she Brad: She's grinding you. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): at Brad: Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): "No, we need, we would need the 20% for the budget line." And I said, Brad: Love it PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Then I looked at my business partners like, "All right, we'll do the 20." So we, we pitched them. We had to leave the room. This is all in our minutes, by the way. We took down all the Brad: I love it. Yeah, it's great PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): the room. They deliberated for eight to 10 minutes. They came back out. They got us. They told us that we-- they went with our agreement at 20%. Um, so like if... You can do it. Like, you can do it. You could do it the right way. You can structure it the right way. You could still potentially make a little bit of money from it. Like no one's, no one's driving a Rolls-Royce from what we're doing on the LLC side. You know what I mean? Like, it's just not happening, you know? And then when we roll that into camps, um, and clinics and pop-up tournaments and stuff like that, we went back to the league, and we said, "Hey look, we'll run your camp on behalf of you because we looked at the budget line, and it can't work." I said, "We'll give you 20% gross revenue." Now, if I run a camp for two, three weeks of all the ages combined, right? You get the all the weeks out of two, three. If I make $200,000, you're gonna tell me that a nonprofit league is gonna Brad: Right PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): 40 grand off the top? Not at Brad: Right? PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): And then when you have Brad: No, not PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): items, you're not even making that much out of the 200,000. You're just not if you break it down business-wise, you know? Brad: For sure. Yep PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): reason why we started the for-profit side is to make sure the nonprofit is financially funded and stabilized. the key. Brad: Yeah, it's genius PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): I checked, if you have a for-profit youth anything, not donating a penny to a nonprofit that is in their community. They suck it up. They take it, blah, blah, blah. So was having a conversation with someone, and they're like, "Oh, you guys are gonna do other leagues." I said, "Absolutely not." They said, "Why not? Why don't you do lacrosse? Why don't you do this?" I said, "Because we have a great lacrosse program. Because we have a great basketball program. Brad: It's not needed, right? Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): So she Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): but like what about like on your business side? Like would you do like lacrosse camps?" And I said, "Yeah, I would love to do lacrosse camps." They're like, "How would you do that?" I said, "I'd get in touch with the local lacrosse league and work with them. Brad: Work with them. That's right PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): give them 20% gross revenue." Because the whole point, the whole mission and vision of the for-profit is to make sure the nonprofit is financially stable and viable, so the kids can learn the right way at an inexpensive, affordable cost. So they don't have to do Team 91. They could do it. Those kids play Team 91, and then they play rec. I have kids coming to me who play travel ball and aren't gonna play in my Brad: Yeah. But they like the community mission and they wanna be part of what you've got going on too, which is what you PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): Yeah. Brad: right? Like, you've got a good mix of people. It's awesome PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): to be t- to use as, as extra touches for kids in those more Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): but I'm getting-- And we didn't go after these kids marketing-wise, just so you know. We're getting kids on the soccer side, 'cause you know how soccer is like the A team, the B team, the C team, the D team. But a lot of times just the A and B teams get the best trainers and all that other stuff. So Brad: Of course. Yep PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): a lot of the C and D player kids that are either using us for extra touches or leaving the travel and coming to us because they don't see the benefit of it. They're spending thousands of dollars, but their kids aren't getting the right, uh, training and, and, and like care and experience where they should 'cause they paid the same amount at-- They s- they, they paid the same amount as the A kids. Um, they Brad: Yeah. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): You know, and that- Brad: And no, it's the same, it's the same here. You're, you're 100% spot on. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): So I also say this from, we were talking about the private equity before, right? With that overarching umbrella, bring it down to the micro level, right? They can run the same play I'm running look like the white knight that walked into town. why I said before, you, you don't make money off the kids in the league, and you don't make money off the sponsorship. But you have the for-profit that runs the camps, the clinics, the jamborees, the trainings, the pop-up tournaments, whatever you wanna do. Because you're not pooling just from your community from those. You're pooling-- You can run a 50-mile radius in, in, Brad: Right PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): ads, right? For that, and pool all those kids in. And at the end of the day, if you're then giving back to the youth league that you're also overseeing, you allow them to go there. You, you take the 20% or whatever you wanna do, give it there. But now the cost for the travel league with the professional coaches and the trainers goes from $3,000 a year, it drops a lot more than that, and you'll get more kids in there. Another Brad: Yeah, for sure PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): what we're talking about with the A through the D teams, right? Let's say you get 60 kids that come out for the U9, uh, uh, the nine-year-old. Great, right? is about developing community, and it's about everything cohesive, right? Let's say only have-- Let's say there's 24 kids of the 60. So in that age range, you want-- You're playing 7V7 with a goal, you probably want max 12 kids on a team. let's say have 24 kids. You can field, truly field two teams at the A and B level total. C and D team that you would make, not really there yet. If you put them on Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): they're gonna have a tough time, not gonna be a great experience. Instead of taking $2,500 per kid on the C and D team, create your own interleague cohesive academy, charge them 700 bucks for the season, develop those kids, break them down to small-sided teams, have two, two-a-week trainings, and have them play small-sided games constantly for a whole season. Then when those kids come back, let's say for spring season, and they try out again, you might have some of those kids that make the B or A team. And if not, you might have a C team that's really ready to be on the C team field. So now you're do- now you have a community, mantra, and a community marketing message of, "Hey, look, we're not just here for your money. If you don't make the team, you're gonna pay a lot less money. We're gonna develop you in our ecosystem of XYZ system that is proven through one, two, three", and all this other stuff. People buy into that, and as long as you see development in your kid, you'll continue to buy into it. They'll make more money 'cause they'll have more kids come out for the teams, right? So now you can have 100 kids come out for a U9 team instead of 60, 'cause they know, all right, worst case scenario, my kid doesn't make the team. I'm not spending 3,500 bucks. I'm off the hook for that bill. You know what I mean? But I'll pay 700 because I know my buddy's fri- my buddy's kid and my, you know, my nephew, my niece, who are also in town, are seeing progress, and then they made the team in two seasons. Or now Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): an A and B team, they got an A, C, and D team. And you know what I mean? Brad: No, I mean, eventually you have two A teams potentially, but I, I'm with you. It drives me nuts 'cause it's the same scenario where, where I'm at. I have a feeling it's the same for a lot of people. I don't understand why they don't make that tweak. I mean, it's not that much of a change to what they're doing today to make that happen. I think, I mean, I know why. It's the money. They, they've got the money coming in and they don't wanna change it, but I think, I think they're missing an opportunity to make more money probably and have a better community. Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): just investing in a system. they buy these clubs, they're investing in an existing system across the board, right? It's like seems to be the ecosystem for soccer specifically. And instead of just investing in the system, change the system in your silo put out a better product into the regular ether. And that will take... If, if another private equity firm sees that a, a private equity firm did this and they made more money, they'll do that in a heartbeat, 'cause at the end of the day, that's what they Brad: It would change the whole model. It would change the model everywhere. You know, eventually it would catch fire. Yeah, and I- PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): the frustrating part, and last time I Brad: Ja PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): I don't have $60 billion in the bank to have my own hedge fund or private equity Brad: Right. PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): make that happen. So, you Brad: Yeah PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): to kinda sell these people on it by showing them that it works at the micro level. If you could show Brad: Yep PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): it works at the micro level, it will work at the macro level as long as they come back to the micro and allow it to grow in its own ecosystem. That's the key. Brad: Paul, man, this has been such an awesome conversation, a wealth of knowledge. I mean, you've got me pumped up ready to do this. I'm sure somebody out there is thinking the same thing, so, you know, just thanks for opening up and, and giving us a peek behind the curtain. What you're doing there is, is fantastic. I love it. I want people to be able to learn more from you, so where can they go to connect with you and, and learn more about what you've got going on? PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): if you wanna start your own league or if you have an existing league that needs to be modernized, league, team, club, academy, whatever, um, feel free to check me out at clutchsports.co, or you can follow me on Instagram at paul.l.dippolito Brad: That's awesome, Paul. Thanks again for your time PaulPaul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2)Paul (2): you, man Brad: If this episode helped you, share it with another coach or a parent who's trying to figure it out too. You can find Uncoached and this episode wherever you listen to podcasts. You can watch the episode on YouTube, and make sure to follow the Coaching Dad on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook. We'll see you next time on Uncoached.