5 Small Businesses Lifted by High Gas Prices
5. i9 Sports in Brandon, Fla.
Brian Sanders, president of i9 Sports, says somewhere along the way youth sports became more about competition and winning rather than having fun.
"Every study will say the No. 1 reason kids play sports is to have fun. Forty-two million American kids play sports, but half quit by the age of 12," either because they had a negative experience or it is no longer fun, Sanders says.
The sports program caters to kids 3-14 and offers a variety of sports including flag football, basketball and cheerleading. Sanders says there are no tryouts or drafts. Kids are allowed to rotate through positions.
The program is modeled so it is convenient and cost-efficient for households where there is likely to be dual-income earners, he notes. Practices and games are on the same day. "Moms and dads are time stretched, and so they are looking for programs where they don't have to take their kids to three to four practices a week and games every weekend," Sanders says. "It ties in particularly in light of the way gas prices are going up. We hear all the time that parents love the once-a-week commitment and don't have to drive all over going to games." The company started offering franchise deals in 2003; with 130 franchisees (who could have multiple sports programs within their given territory), the company has "exploded," Sanders says. "It's a tough time right now, and so for us to be able to provide an experience that's fun for kids, low-stress, convenient and affordable, it just really fits very well in today's economy," he says. -- Written by Laurie Kulikowski in New York. To contact Laurie Kulikowski, send an email to: Laurie.Kulikowski@thestreet.com. To follow Laurie Kulikowski on Twitter, go to: http://twitter.com/#!/LKulikowskiFollow TheStreet on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
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