บทถอดความฉบับเต็มของ Eric Stephens, Franchise Owner, i9 Sports | Interviewed by Justin Cohen

00:04:07.000 the right age and at the right time, I think, 75 00:04:07.240 --> 00:04:10.800 in kids' lives, right, so I think, you know, I'm 76 00:04:11.280 --> 00:04:14.280 pushing I'm in my forties, right. So growing up, I 77 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.519 was a basketball guy, basketball kid, and if you played AAU, 78 00:04:18.720 --> 00:04:23.040 you were absolutely elite. Uh and you belonged typically in 79 00:04:23.040 --> 00:04:27.240 that realm. And nowadays they're slapping that name on just 80 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:33.879 about every league, and you're seeing rec level athletic kids 81 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:39.160 and teams pay thousands of dollars to travel cross states 82 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:43.560 and and uh kind of you know, their parents are 83 00:04:43.600 --> 00:04:46.240 playing paying hundreds of dollars just to get in to 84 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:50.279 watch them, you know. And and I think it's become 85 00:04:50.319 --> 00:04:53.399 a little bit ridiculous in my in my opinion. And uh, 86 00:04:53.759 --> 00:04:57.839 and I'm a huge fan of, especially at the young age, 87 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:07.879 doing rec level sports or local travel competitive sports that 88 00:05:07.879 --> 00:05:10.959 that don't come with a high price tag, but come 89 00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:15.680 with teaching the kids a love for the game, educating 90 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:19.800 them and just not being a money first league, right, 91 00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.879 so I known is very different from that, and that's 92 00:05:23.879 --> 00:05:27.399 what I love about it. I love being an experience 93 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.639 that can be a first for many kids just to 94 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.600 help them harness a love for the game, because if 95 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:37.959 their first experience doesn't go well and it's overly competitive 96 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:41.079 for a five year old kid who's never touched a 97 00:05:41.160 --> 00:05:43.959 field or never touched a ball, it could turn them 98 00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:46.600 off for the rest of their life. And and that 99 00:05:46.639 --> 00:05:49.800 would be extremely unfortunate, you know, for a kid who 100 00:05:50.279 --> 00:05:53.000 just didn't know any better and just having into the 101 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:57.040 wrong league or the wrong coaches hands and was put 102 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:59.680 in a bad predicament. So I love being a league 103 00:05:59.680 --> 00:06:02.639 where kids can come of all skill levels. And don't 104 00:06:02.639 --> 00:06:04.720 get me wrong, it's not all first homors. We get 105 00:06:04.720 --> 00:06:08.079 some really competitive kids in there, and we actually have 106 00:06:08.199 --> 00:06:12.720 some divisions that will label as competitive for those who want, 107 00:06:12.839 --> 00:06:16.120 you know, more competition or a higher level of competition. 108 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:20.000 And it's very inclusive and I love that about it. 109 00:06:20.879 --> 00:06:25.600 I really do agree with your take on really the 110 00:06:25.720 --> 00:06:29.920 pressure that kids and really parents sometimes might feel if 111 00:06:29.959 --> 00:06:33.800 they're dumping so much money into these sports that they're 112 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:37.079 seeing their children play. I think that can certainly lead 113 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:41.600 to more negatives and positives. I think that can genuinely 114 00:06:41.759 --> 00:06:44.600 ruin how the kid sees the sport and if they 115 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:50.079 even want to play the sport anymore. So I was wondering, 116 00:06:50.959 --> 00:06:55.120 there's a big difference between being a great coach, because 117 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:58.240 it certainly sounds like you are, and running a business. 118 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.120 So I'm asking, what's the prise you the most about 119 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.759 the ownership side of things and what skills have transferred 120 00:07:04.800 --> 00:07:06.199 better than you might have expected. 121 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:08.319 Yeah, that's a good question. 122 00:07:09.480 --> 00:07:13.759 So the coaching aspect that absolutely love, that's the easy part. 123 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:18.240 The stuff that surprised me or that I wasn't prepared 124 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:22.560 for is just so random. I turned into a weather 125 00:07:22.639 --> 00:07:26.319 man over the night, which I wasn't prepared for. So 126 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.319 every day of the week, I'm checking the weather and 127 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.279 I'm trying to determine is this okay for a three 128 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.279 year old to be out there playing t ball? Is 129 00:07:34.319 --> 00:07:37.279 this okay for any you know, light rain? You know, 130 00:07:37.399 --> 00:07:40.160 this is okay for soccer, This is okay for football, 131 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:43.360 but we can't play out or basketball, you know, And 132 00:07:43.480 --> 00:07:47.800 so the weather, you know, the NonStop worrying and checking 133 00:07:47.839 --> 00:07:51.000 of the weather is probably the biggest thing I didn't 134 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:55.680 account for. And one thing that I probably did account 135 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:00.199 for but not quite as drastic, is just the the 136 00:08:01.319 --> 00:08:05.480 the feedback from the parents being just so all over 137 00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:09.759 the place, and sometimes it's you know, you have to 138 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:14.040 be able to accept that everybody won't be totally pleased. 139 00:08:14.040 --> 00:08:17.759 But if the majority of the feedback you're getting as positive, 140 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:20.800 then you're probably heading in the right direction. But there's 141 00:08:20.800 --> 00:08:23.399 always going to be one parent that thinks it's not 142 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:26.920 competitive enough, and one parent that thinks it's too

competitive, 143 00:08:27.399 --> 00:08:29.920 and one parent that thinks you shouldn't have played in 144 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:33.759 ninety five degree weather, and another parent that thinks you 145 00:08:34.480 --> 00:08:37.559 shouldn't have canceled in light rain. You know, it's, you know, 146 00:08:37.679 --> 00:08:39.000 so that kind of stuff. 147 00:08:39.440 --> 00:08:41.480 Yeah, I know, it's hard to make a bunch of 148 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.919 people happy. So I can understand how it might not 149 00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:47.519 be easy for you, especially maybe when you were first 150 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:50.399 starting those kinds of task. I'm sure you just wanted 151 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:52.440 to make as many people happy as possible. 152 00:08:52.559 --> 00:08:53.000 Absolutely. 153 00:08:53.120 --> 00:08:57.559 Yeah, So I understand that you were involved with the 154 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:01.279 Harlem Wizards events and you we're raising over thirty k 155 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.639 year for local nonprofits through a single annual event. I 156 00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.720 think that's super impressive. I'm wondering how that partnership came 157 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:11.360 together and what you might have learned about using sports 158 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:12.639 as a fundraising vehicle. 159 00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:14.320 Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah. 160 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:19.240 So one of our biggest things before our first league 161 00:09:19.279 --> 00:09:22.279 ever started, as the you know, we initially started up 162 00:09:22.320 --> 00:09:25.200 our business, we started a nonprofit at the exact same 163 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.519 time because we knew that there were going to be 164 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:30.120 some kids that wanted to get involved in our youth 165 00:09:30.120 --> 00:09:32.639 sports franchise that wouldn't be able to afford it, and 166 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:33.960 we wanted to be able to help. 167 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:35.840 As many families as possible, So. 168 00:09:35.799 --> 00:09:39.039 We started a nonprofit and all we do is raise 169 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.600 funds for that nonprofit. We don't ask any of the 170 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:43.799 parents to contribute to this because that's not part of 171 00:09:43.840 --> 00:09:47.360 our mission. But we raise funds for this and we 172 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.440 pay for as many kids as we can to get 173 00:09:49.440 --> 00:09:52.840 involved in youth sports throughout our community. So we were 174 00:09:52.919 --> 00:09:57.120 raising you know, a couple thousand a year through donating 175 00:09:57.159 --> 00:10:00.320 all of our proceeds from our concession stand that we 176 00:10:00.480 --> 00:10:03.519 run at our games. My mom is the person that 177 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:06.679 runs all the concessions and she volunteers their time and 178 00:10:06.679 --> 00:10:09.320 it's fantastic. So we donate all of our funds there, 179 00:10:09.360 --> 00:10:12.519 but then we had formed a partnership with the Harlem 180 00:10:12.559 --> 00:10:16.639 Wizards to host one annual event that would just be 181 00:10:16.679 --> 00:10:19.360 an awesome, fun event in the community that we could 182 00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:23.159 then carry more funds over to that nonprofit and put 183 00:10:23.279 --> 00:10:26.759 more kids in sports who couldn't afford it. So that 184 00:10:26.799 --> 00:10:30.000 we got involved and we had something like fifteen different 185 00:10:30.399 --> 00:10:36.279 schools involved, local politicians and former athletes and Principles would 186 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:39.480 come play on Team Frederick against the Harlem Wizards. We'd 187 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.000 have an amazing night, and then we'd be able to 188 00:10:42.120 --> 00:10:46.000 raise you know, close to a little over thirty thousand 189 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:49.399 dollars each year, which we shared with other local nonprofits 190 00:10:49.480 --> 00:10:52.720 like the Boys and Girls Club and City Matrix so 191 00:10:52.759 --> 00:10:55.279 that they could continue on their missions as well. 192 00:10:56.120 --> 00:10:59.799 I think what you're doing for the community is absolutely brilliant. 193 00:11:00.879 --> 00:11:05.159 So public safety work does have pretty clear metrics, such 194 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:10.039 as response times, outcomes, incident reports. I think youth development 195 00:11:10.399 --> 00:11:12.799 is certainly a lot harder to measure, So I'm wondering, 196 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.240 how do you know when you're actually making a difference. 197 00:11:17.080 --> 00:11:18.879 Yeah, that's a good question, right, So. 198 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:25.960 Definitely harder to measure, but you know, being so being 199 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:28.200 on site is one, right you can always be on 200 00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:32.720 site for everything. But if you are, it's pretty clear 201 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:37.720 from the reactions the look on the kids' faces, the 202 00:11:37.879 --> 00:11:41.480 enjoyment is there. Right, you can see it in their faces. 203 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:43.960 You can see that the You know, it's not just 204 00:11:44.039 --> 00:11:46.519 about the kids either, it's about the parents, right, So 205 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.000 we want the kids to have a great experience, but 206 00:11:50.120 --> 00:11:53.000 if the parents don't share that sentiment, they're not going 207 00:11:53.080 --> 00:11:55.399 to sign the kids up again. Right, So we have 208 00:11:55.440 --> 00:11:58.679 to cater to both the child and the parents, and 209 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:00.279 there's different ways that we can do that. 210 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:00.559 Right. 211 00:12:00.639 --> 00:12:04.200 So, catering to the child is simple. It's making it fun, 212 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.399 it's making it easy. It's making them enjoy being out 213

00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:12.159 there as well as gain something from being out there, 214 00:12:12.200 --> 00:12:14.919 like gain the knowledge of the sport. So they want 215 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.919 to come back. Right, If it's only about gaining knowledge 216 00:12:17.960 --> 00:12:19.600 and they don't have any fun with it, they're not 217 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.720 going to want to come back. But if they only 218 00:12:21.799 --> 00:12:24.159 have fun and they don't gain any knowledge on the sport, 219 00:12:24.240 --> 00:12:27.039 the parents might think it was too childish or not, 220 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.960 you know, not good enough for what they pay for. Right, 221 00:12:29.960 --> 00:12:32.279 So you got to hit both metrics. But then from 222 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:35.480 the parents side, the more we can make it convenient 223 00:12:35.559 --> 00:12:37.759 for them, the better and the more that they'll want 224 00:12:37.799 --> 00:12:39.759 to come back. That's the way we see it, and 225 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:42.200 that's the way we operate our U Sports franchise. So 226 00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.720 convenience and youth sports doesn't typically go in the same sentence, right, 227 00:12:47.799 --> 00:12:51.200 So most parents think youth sports is everything but convenient 228 00:12:51.840 --> 00:12:55.360 because they're running all over town for games and practices 229 00:12:55.440 --> 00:12:58.799 and they've got different kids in different sports, so it's 230 00:12:58.919 --> 00:13:02.960 very complicated on their work life balance, their schedules, their 231 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:05.320 their jobs, the kids schooling. 232 00:13:04.960 --> 00:13:05.639 YadA YadA. 233 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:10.720 So what we have been able to accomplish we our 234 00:13:11.159 --> 00:13:13.840 franchise is set up so our practices are right before 235 00:13:13.879 --> 00:13:16.679 our games on game day, so there are no weekday 236 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:19.759 practices right the games, right practice right before the game 237 00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:24.240 on Saturdays, typically on Saturdays, unless it's volleyball, then we're 238 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:28.279 midweek stuff. But having the practice in the game on 239 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:32.120 the same day makes the sport much more convenient for 240 00:13:32.159 --> 00:13:34.200 the parents because now it's just one day a week 241 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:37.240 as opposed to you know, several days a week. And 242 00:13:37.279 --> 00:13:40.440 then on top of that, most of our locations that 243 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:44.240 are outdoors for fall and spring seasons, summer a little 244 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.159 bit as well. We'll host multiple sports at the same 245 00:13:47.279 --> 00:13:50.519 venue at the same time. So we'll have football, soccer, 246 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:53.519 t ball all set up at one location. So if 247 00:13:53.519 --> 00:13:57.480 you have numerous kids

playing numerous different sports, you can 248 00:13:57.480 --> 00:14:02.120 come one stop shop on low location practice games. 249 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:02.519 All the same day. 250 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:04.799 You could have three different kids playing three different sports, 251 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.960 get it all in and one day and still have 252 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.480 your weekdays to cook home cooked meals, do homework, et 253 00:14:10.559 --> 00:14:11.519 cetera during the week. 254 00:14:11.639 --> 00:14:15.440 So that's a great answer. I think that you and 255 00:14:15.639 --> 00:14:18.120 the team you work with has made it just about 256 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:21.639 as convenient as humanly possible to make sure as many 257 00:14:21.679 --> 00:14:25.679 people are satisfied. So I do have one final question 258 00:14:25.840 --> 00:14:29.200 for you. For someone who was a passion for community 259 00:14:29.240 --> 00:14:32.919 work and is thinking about the Innine sports franchise model 260 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:34.799 as a way to act on it, what do you 261 00:14:34.879 --> 00:14:38.240 wish you had known before signing on? Oh? 262 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:39.399 Sorry, I say that one more time. 263 00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:43.840 So for someone who has a passion for community work 264 00:14:43.919 --> 00:14:47.399 and is thinking about the Innine sports franchise model as 265 00:14:47.399 --> 00:14:50.320 a way to act on it, what do you wish 266 00:14:50.360 --> 00:14:52.639 you had known before you had signed on to nine. 267 00:14:54.200 --> 00:14:55.159 Well, that's a good question. 268 00:14:55.919 --> 00:14:59.480 I'd say there's not a ton I think we figured 269 00:14:59.480 --> 00:15:00.960 it out a lot along the way, and I think 270 00:15:01.120 --> 00:15:02.960 I think we had to. I think we learned a 271 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:05.600 lot by figuring it out on our own, and it's 272 00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.039 going to be different for everyone. I would say one 273 00:15:09.159 --> 00:15:14.279 thing that when new potential owners reach out to me 274 00:15:14.360 --> 00:15:18.159 and ask the same question, one thing I tell them 275 00:15:18.240 --> 00:15:21.639 that I'm glad we did is keep our. 276 00:15:21.600 --> 00:15:23.679 Day jobs in the meantime. 277 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:28.480 Right that for that first couple of years of of 278 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:32.559 most businesses is a bit of a struggle, right. It 279 00:15:32.639 --> 00:15:36.919 is a full time, you know, career, It is a 280 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:42.759 full time job, but that income piece is tough those 281 00:15:42.840 --> 00:15:46.039 first couple of years, right, So you have to you 282 00:15:46.159 --> 00:15:48.240 have to kind of you gotta love it, and you 283 00:15:48.360 --> 00:15:50.639 got to have some income coming from somewhere. 284 00:15:50.759 --> 00:15:50.960 Right. 285 00:15:52.639 --> 00:15:57.960 But aside from that, I think that you you got 286 00:15:57.960 --> 00:16:01.440 to research your community. You got to see what the 287 00:16:01.440 --> 00:16:04.399 needs are in your community, figure out where you can 288 00:16:04.480 --> 00:16:08.960 best serve, figure out where the gaps are and how 289 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:12.399 you can how you can help fill those gaps. And 290 00:16:12.440 --> 00:16:15.519 that's that's probably the thing we've been best at. 291 00:16:15.559 --> 00:16:16.000 I think. 292 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:20.879 I think that's great knowledge for anyone who's listening, if 293 00:16:20.879 --> 00:16:23.720 they are interested in something like this, I would one 294 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:28.279 hundred percent be listening to everything Eric is saying. And Eric, 295 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:30.440 I just want to thank you for your time. I mean, 296 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.759 you had some amazing insight today and seriously, everything that 297 00:16:33.879 --> 00:16:36.279 you said was valuable and I would just like to 298 00:16:36.320 --> 00:16:39.159 say thanks for everyone that tuned into the shift. For 299 00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:43.200 more information about Strategic Collaboration Network, go to the website 300 00:16:43.240 --> 00:16:47.919 www dot strategiccnetwork dot com. Thank you for your time, Eric, 301 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:49.279 Thanks Justin. 302 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:50.600 I appreciate it. I have a good one. 303 00:16:50.840 --> 00:16:51.600 Thank you you too.