Soccer Stars offers kids the chance to learn about soccer and enhance their skills.
Youth sports concept Soccer Stars is gaining popularity after dipping into franchising last October. The franchise—one of four brands under the Youth Athletes United umbrella—has signed deals for 16 new units, adding to the existing 24 markets in 13 states.
Soccer Stars offers kids the chance to learn about soccer and enhance their skills. “It’s the gateway sport. It’s more parents’ and kids’ first sport experience, because all they need to be able to do is just walk,” Youth Athletes United CEO Adam Geisler said. “We have fun while teaching the fundamentals of sports.”
Youth Athletes United acquired the 22-year-old brand five years ago, and the success since inspired the brand to expand via franchising like its other brands, Geisler said. “Why not start to look at franchising, because we’ve got the system built,” he said of the decision.
Parents bring their children to Soccer Stars to get their kids involved in athletics, Geisler said.
Adam Geisler is the co-founder the CEO of Youth Athletes United.
“They want their kids to get some confidence and they want their kids to see, is this a sport that might be for them? Are the kids going to be interested in sports?” he said. “We take those things and wrap them into a fun, exciting curriculum.”
Soccer Stars offers a variety of themed lessons, where kids can feed a monster (the goal) with a soccer ball, among other challenges that get kids interested, even at a young age.
Youth-centered sports franchises are growing in popularity in recent years. Stronger Youth Brands has two soccer franchises under its belt, Soccer Shots and Little Kickers. The brands each have around 300 units. Roark Capital-backed Youth Enrichment Brands launched in late 2021 with i9 Sports, a multi-sport league brand. Youth Enrichment Brands is the parent company of i9, US Sports Camps and SafeSplash Swim School.
Unleashed Brands, which has a number of youth enrichment brands under its umbrella, owns The Little Gym, a children’s fitness concept, and XP League, a youth esports franchise that blends sports and video games.
Related: Unleashed Brands Faces Turmoil at Four of Five Recently Acquired Concepts
The investment required to open a Soccer Stars territory ranges from $68,100 to $89,100. Revenue in 2021 among 13 franchised territories ranged from $340,117 to $4.4 million. The franchise is mobile, so there’s no brick-and-mortar location.
The brand is looking into expanding all over the country, Geisler said, but he’s seen more leads in the warm-weather states, like California and Florida. “Those have been the markets that we’re seeing the most opportunity on the onset,” he said.
Soccer Stars looks for franchisees who are or want to be involved in their communities. Newly signed franchisees are a mix of husband-wife teams and franchise owners who are adding another brand to their portfolios, Geisler said.
Ultimately, Soccer Stars wants to increase its unit count to 200, which Geisler believes is achievable within the next two years. “We’re facing really good progress in a short period of time,” he said.
Youth Athletes United has invested in its technology to improve its registration platforms, as well as administration and staffing platforms. The parent company has also put money toward franchise success coaches to ensure franchisees are well supported. “We’re investing very heavily in the franchisees,” Geisler said.
Soccer Stars wants to accelerate open rates. Franchisees can open as soon as two months after their training is completed, Geisler said. The mobile business model means there are no leases or construction time hindering open times, he said. “Our goal is really speed to market and giving those franchisees the ability to, if this is what they love, let’s accelerate the growth and give them all the tools and tools necessary for them to open quickly and impact kids,” Geisler said.