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THE STATE OF
YOUTH SPORTS CLUBS
& PARENT EXPECTATIONS
We surveyed hundreds of youth sports parents to
uncover
never-before-seen insights into what drives member
satisfaction, retention, and frustration.
Are parents happy with their
youth sports club experience?
Youth sports, once a local, team-based activity, is now a club-dominated industry valued at upwards of $20 billion in the U.S. alone. The challenge of club management - operating these youth sports organizations as thriving businesses - has never been more complex. Providing a modern, friction-free membership experience is a critical part of improving a club’s bottom line.
We asked over 500 parents of youth sports club participants what matters most to them, what clubs can do to improve their membership experience, and how club management technology impacts their satisfaction.
Some of what we discovered is on this page. All of what we learned is in
the full report.
What you need to know
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
If you have 500 parents in your club, we’ve learned that 215 of them are less-than-pumped about their club experience. Only 125 of those are likely to remain for another season. And only 47 are likely to recommend the club to their friends and neighbors. Lost opportunity, anyone?
The bottom line
Parents and players have more choices than ever in how to spend their recreational time and money. A subpar member experience will no longer be tolerated. The path to happy parents, increased word-of-mouth, and higher member retention starts with streamlining club operations.
THE STATE OF
YOUTH SPORTS CLUBS
& PARENT EXPECTATIONS
We surveyed hundreds of youth sports parents to uncover never-before-seen insights into what drives member satisfaction, retention, and frustration.
Are parents happy with their
youth sports club experience?
Youth sports, once a local, team-based activity, is now a club-dominated industry valued at upwards of $20 billion in the U.S. alone. The challenge of club management - operating these youth sports organizations as thriving businesses - has never been more complex. Providing a modern, friction-free membership experience is a critical part of improving a club’s bottom line.
We asked over 500 parents of youth sports club participants what matters most to them, what clubs can do to improve their membership experience, and how club management technology impacts their satisfaction.
Some of what we discovered is on this page. All of what we learned is in
the full report.
What you need to know
Those who feel fulfilled by their membership experience remain loyal to the club for years.
There is clear opportunity for improvement in the youth sports club experience.
The technology clubs use to communicate with parents and the tools that allow parents to manage their membership greatly affects satisfaction levels.
We found extensive dissatisfaction when clubs aren’t using parent-facing technology effectively.
Youth sports parents have
high expectations of clubs.
Those who feel fulfilled by their membership experience remain loyal to the club for years.
77% of parents who have the most overall satisfaction with their club report being very likely to recommend the club to other parents compared to just 22% of those with less satisfaction with their club.
72% of highly satisfied parents have been with their club for two or more seasons, compared to just 58% of less satisfied parents.
82% of parents report having high expectations for the technology their club utilizes to manage the club experience.
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
If you have 500 parents in your club, we’ve learned that 215 of them are less-than-pumped about their club experience. Only 125 of those are likely to remain for another season. And only 47 are likely to recommend the club to their friends and neighbors. Lost opportunity, anyone?
Those expectations are
not consistently being met.
There is clear opportunity for improvement in the youth sports club experience.
of parents report being just somewhat satisfied or unsatisfied with their club experience.
43%
of parents report being very satisfied with the technology used by their clubs to manage player registration and payments, communication, schedules, and calendars/events.
44%
ONLY
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
When well over a third of your customer base does not feel very satisfied by your offerings, you’ll find yourself constantly fighting an uphill battle to convince parents to sign on for another year. It’s well known that acquiring a new customer is substantially more expensive than retaining a happy one.
What happens on the
field is always top of mind for parents, but…
…the technology clubs use to communicate with parents and the tools that allow
parents to manage their membership have a significant impact on satisfaction levels.
98% of parents surveyed who are with clubs that use an app for registration, communication, club forms, evaluations, and schedules agree that the opportunities, services, and benefits that they receive from their club program are worth the money they pay.
Parents from $100k+ households are 2x more likely than all others to list technology and apps used by a club as a top reason to stay with a club for additional seasons.
32% of parents report that they would be most willing to pay additional member fees for better club technology or apps used by the club for registration and communication.
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
A parent’s most frequent and important interactions with your club are often through communication apps, registration software, and scheduling tools. If clubs don’t invest in the right club management technology, their businesses will feel the negative impact of a dissatisfied membership base.
Club management tech is
failing to meet parent needs.
We found extensive dissatisfaction when clubs aren’t using parent-facing technology effectively.
Only 44% of parents report being very satisfied with the technology their club uses (while 82% have high expectations).
56% of parents indicate club management technology is an area in which improvement is needed.
Over one-third have experienced last-minute event changes (such as field location or practice time) in the last year.
28% of player families have missed entire communications from staff members at their club.
100% of parents using more than one app experience club-related frustrations more frequently than those using only one.
💡 KEY TAKEAWAY
Forcing parents to use clumsy tools or to download three different apps is a surefire way to introduce unnecessary pain into their daily club experience. Choosing modern, intuitive, and user-friendly club management software is an investment in the happiness of your customers and the growth of your business.
The bottom line
Parents and players have more choices than ever in how to spend their recreational time and money. A subpar member experience will no longer be tolerated. The path to happy parents, increased word-of-mouth, and higher member retention starts with streamlining club operations.
About PlayMetrics
Conquer the chaos of your club management workflow with PlayMetrics and become shockingly efficient. Our Club Operating System acts as the single source of truth for everyone in your organization, helping you optimize daily operations and transform your business in ways that weren’t possible before. Trusted by the most forward-thinking youth sports clubs, PlayMetrics allows everyone from directors to parents to remain on the same page with modern financial, operational, coaching, and communication tools.
About PlayMetrics
Conquer the chaos of your club management workflow with PlayMetrics and become shockingly efficient. Our Club Operating System acts as the single source of truth for everyone in your organization, helping you optimize daily operations and transform your business in ways that weren’t possible before. Trusted by the most forward-thinking youth sports clubs, PlayMetrics allows everyone from directors to parents to remain on the same page with modern financial, operational, coaching, and communication tools.
Methodology
Ascend2 benchmarks the performance of business strategies and the tactics and technology that drives them. With a custom online questionnaire, our “The State of Youth Sports Clubs & Parent Expectations” survey was fielded during the month of September 2022. We collected responses from 507 parents throughout the United States who self-identified as being a parent to at least one child between the ages of 8 and 17 years old who participates in a club sport. Those sports included soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, ice hockey, basketball, baseball, softball, gymnastics, competitive dance, swimming, field hockey, and more.
PLATFORM
COMPANY
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