Children’s Sports Brands Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars Team Up Under Parent Company Youth Athletes United for Renewed Franchising Opportunities Across the US

Long-running, trusted programs Soccer Stars and Amazing Athletes have joined forces to create the next generation of youth sports partnerships under the new parent company Youth Athletes United, offering unique programming for children of all ages and lucrative franchising opportunities for entrepreneurs nationwide. 

The youth sports industry is making a major rebound, after the COVID-19 pandemic altered how children participate in sports, closing down community based programs and broader access to youth sports across the country. It is a perfect time for Youth Athletes United to emerge as a leader in the multibrand franchisor category with two established brands in the youth sports sector. 

“The concept of creating one of the largest youth sports franchise platforms that can provide best-in-class content across multiple activities for kids has been three years in the making,” said Adam Geisler, Co-Founder & CEO of Youth Athletes United. “We believe that every kid is an athlete. With 20+ years of experience creating fun, engaging content, our goal is to impact over 1M kids a year through our programs and encourage more and more children to participate in sports across the country.”

According to a recent study by the CDC, children ages 6–11 years are currently reporting BMI that is 2.5 times as high as the pre-pandemic rate. “Youth Athletes United needs to be at the forefront of getting more kids active through our programs, especially as access to many community programs have become less accessible across the country.” Geisler continued, “Today, we impact over 200k+ kids annually, which is almost 20M calories burned a year! This is the leadership role we plan on taking in the space and the impact we want to have in the community.”

Backed by 21 years of experience, Soccer Stars offers one of the nation’s most popular youth soccer programs for children ages 1-16, set in a fun, non-competitive environment. Reaching over 2M+ kids, Soccer Stars’ crib-to-college programming introduces young athletes to the fundamentals of soccer with a unique, age-specific curriculum meant to improve soccer skills, build self-confidence and develop socialization skills.

Empowering 84 franchise owners across 124 franchise units since 2006, Amazing Athletes — the nation’s premier multi-sport education provider — is a year-round program that introduces kids to the fundamentals of 10 sports and helps them master six key areas of motor development and physical literacy. With expert coaches operating in top schools and facilities across more than 32 states, Amazing Athletes is on a mission to keep kids active with engaging content that teaches them about life skills, teamwork and nutrition.

“As we talk to new and existing entrepreneurs in the franchise community, people that are educators, coaches or just passionate about impacting kids through sports, we are the platform for them,” said John Erlandson, Co-Founder and President of Youth Athletes United.  “We are finding that the pandemic has given people more motivation than ever to look for opportunities that can be rewarding financially as well as making an impact in the community.  We are building a best-in-class platform in the youth sports education space and are so proud of the owners, coaches and employees that are joining us on our journey.”

Why Now Is the Time for Families, Coaches and Owners to Join

The pandemic has changed the way children play organized sports, and now they’re finally making a comeback. 

“Even in the early days of COVID-19, when we were talking about how we keep kids healthy and active, soccer and multi-sport were great options for kids to participate,” said Dean Simpson, Chief Programs Officer. “We have these sports that are set up perfectly for kids to be able to play and still be healthy and stay safe.”  

As part of their corporate vision of providing an athlete pathway, Soccer Stars will now offer its current customers Amazing Athletes' curriculum in the form of multi-sport classes and camps. Parents can choose to sign up for these programs via the Soccer Stars class and camp search pages, as well as via the Amazing Athletes registration page.  

Many schools and even daycare centers are incentivized to prioritize academic work, leaving physical education largely neglected. Youth Athletes United addresses this gap in the curriculum. As reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “adolescents who play sports are eight times more likely to be physically active at age 24 than those who do not play sports,” making the skills taught by Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars coaches a part of the foundation for healthy habits that can last a lifetime. The same report credits youth sports with increased life skills, leadership qualities, self-esteem and lower rates of anxiety and depression.

"The most telling event, I think, was when our U14 [soccer] team won nationals in 2018,” Simpson said. “The majority of those kids started with us [at Soccer Stars] at age three or four. It really shows that sports at that age need to be more than just running around and chasing a ball. Learning cues at that early stage are important. As it stands now, most kids typically stop playing sports at 6-8 years old. Children need to have a supportive outlet and the confidence to get out and play, so we are really working to undo this statistic."

How the Partnership of These 2 Brands Sets Franchisees Up for Success

In an era where parents are spending massive amounts of money on their children, youth sports present a near-recession-proof opportunity. With the chance to buy into multiple units across multiple territories and brands, a franchise opportunity with Youth Athletes United boasts a low investment relative to return on capital. 

Amazing Athletes franchisees come from a wide range of backgrounds, with a heavy emphasis on the desire to be a motivated business entrepreneur who is passionate about impacting children’s lives through sports. Soccer Stars has plans to launch franchise territories in 2022. 

As a mobile business that utilizes schools, parks and gymnasiums, these two kids fitness businesses can easily be run remotely or from a home office. These programs have developed a simple business model that is easy to master, so owners will not need to worry about starting from scratch.

The world of children’s fitness has been steadily growing as more and more people see for themselves the positive impact Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars can have on early childhood physical education. Franchisees with Youth Athletes United love that they’re able to build a flexible business that works around their schedule.

Amazing Athletes currently offers two franchise programs: The total investment to begin operation of this franchised business for the Complete AA Program ranges from $43,650 to $64,950, including between $35,450 and $43,450 that must be paid to the franchisor. The total investment to begin operation of this franchised business for the Basic Package ranges from $33,450 to $51,950, including between $27,950 and $33,450 that must be paid to the franchisor. For more information, visit https://amazingathletesfranchise.com/. 

About Amazing Athletes

Amazing Athletes, founded in 2003, uses a multi-sport program to benefit children physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally. The program introduces the fundamentals of 10 different sports (soccer, hockey, volleyball, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, football, track and field, baseball, and golf) in a non-competitive environment. Children in Amazing Athletes routinely gain greater confidence, learn to combine fitness with fun, and develop 6 key motor skills: balancing, running, jumping, throwing, catching and kicking.  For more information and to find out about franchise opportunities, currently covering 30 states and over 50,000 kids annually, visit www.amazingathletes.com. 

About Soccer Stars

New York-based Soccer Stars was founded in 2000 and is the largest corporately run youth soccer program in the country. Soccer Stars’ goal is to use the soccer ball as a vehicle to help children improve their soccer skills while at the same time building self-confidence, enhancing gross motor skills, honing socialization skills, and developing physical literacy. Dynamic local and international coaches work with small groups of boys and girls to develop these skills and teamwork in a fun, non-competitive, educational environment. Soccer Stars operates in over 25 major markets reaching over 110,000 children each year. Additional information is available at http://www.soccerstars.com.

About Youth Athletes United

Established youth sports and activities brands Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars come together under parent company, Youth Athletes United. With 15 - 20 years of success for each individual brand, a total 200+ locations and 200,000+ children instructed nationwide each year, Youth Athletes United has earned trust in each community they touch. The brand’s overarching mission is to help the world understand that everyone is an athlete and ultimately impact the lives of over one million children.