Young Ones to Watch: Laura Sappington, Youth Athletes United

Laura Sappington — senior director of operations at TGA Premier Sports, one of the newest members of the Youth Athletes United family of youth sports and activities brands — helps lead the No. 1 golf and tennis enrichment brand in the country.

But it’s a long way from where she started.

Sappington majored in biology in college before pivoting to marketing, catching on with a golf startup, working with corporate clients and big golfing events, and spending time in golf communities across the country. At one event, she met the then-TGA CEO Joshua Jacobs and struck up a conversation.

The two stayed in touch, and after moving on to working at Apple for nine years — including being a part of the group that launched the first retail launch of the Apple Watch in North America — she wanted a change. Around that time, Jacobs reached out to her in search of a new marketing director. 

She made the leap to TGA Sports, and the rest is history.

1851 Franchise caught up with Laura to discuss her journey to TGA Sports and Youth Athletes United, some of the challenges she faced when she entered the franchise industry with TGA and how the brand not only navigated the COVID pandemic but came out stronger on the other side.

Watch the full video above.