Welcome to Sports Facility Expert – your one-stop shop for building, running and growing your sports facility
How to Create a Training Program for Your Team
If your facility hosts its own sports teams (such as select soccer, elite baseball, or all-star cheerleading) you know that most of your practice time is often spent on team strategy, preparation for upcoming events, and other sport-specific drills. Time spent on pure physical conditioning has its place, too, but it’s usually taken care of at the beginning or the end of […]
Indoor Baseball Facility Layout: Best Practices
I’ve had a lot of great experiences working with baseball facility owners when they’re just starting out. Because of the conversations I’ve had with these owners, I know that indoor baseball facility layout is a big concern. Many are proactive enough to look for baseball facility scheduling software long before they open – sometimes before […]
Preventing Theft at your Sports Center
Being a victim of theft is always painful. It feels very personal, whether the thief steals from you directly or from your sports center. Potential stolen assets range from physical products (such as candy bars from the concession stand) to data (such as client contact information). Even if you haven’t been stolen from yet, you […]
Make Your Sports Team Budgets Public
At this point in the season, you’re probably busy completing budgets, schedules and rosters for the spring sports teams that your facility sponsors. I have an unconventional suggestion as you start a new season: Share your completed budget with all your players and their parents. Benefits of A Public Budget You might worry that this […]
Advice for Students Who Want to Become Sports Facility Owners
I’ve received a few emails recently from students seeking advice on how to best prepare to open their own sports facility in the future. I’m always impressed when students are proactive about their careers and take the extra step to connect with others to try to seek help. That is already a sign of future […]
The Right Way to Give Free Lessons
Getting your sports facility noticed can be difficult, especially if you’re just getting started. Many prospective clients will only respond to your marketing if they know they’ll get a great bargain. The possibility of gaining long-term customers is usually worth the cost of giving away some free services initially, but only if you take the […]
Baseball Facility Best Practice: Umpiring Clinics
Most of the sports facility managers I talk to on a regular basis are always looking for new programming ideas. In particular, baseball and softball facilities are usually looking for ideas. Typically, they’re at risk for over-relying on rentals – which is one of the top contributors to sports center failure. If you’re struggling to […]
Give “Heroes Without Capes” Special Recognition at Your Facility
One of our newest eSoft Planner clients is doing something special at their sports facility. It’s a great idea that promotes a sense of community and also helps out their local citizens. So, I wanted to share it with you. The Athletic Edge, a new sports facility in Tunnel Hill, Georgia is offering a discount […]
How to Purchase Equipment for Your Sports Facility
There are always plenty of equipment options available that could improve your facility’s image and service range. Whether you’re considering state-of-the-art performance analysis machines or something as simple as real leather baseballs for your batting cage, you can use the following steps to analyze whether or not the purchase will be a good investment for your facility. Step 1. […]
Sports Facility Programs for Parents of Young Children
Most of the programming at sports facilities tends to be for school-aged kids, because that age group is typically the most active in sports. However, as I mentioned in another post about sports facility fitness programs for adults, it’s important to offer diverse programming so your facility stays busy all day and year long. One […]
How to Host a Showcase at Your Facility
College showcases are an increasingly popular way to connect high school athletes and college coaches. Showcases can also be a powerful tool to show high school athletes that your facility is tuned in to their needs and to the college recruiting process. If you’re interested in hosting your own showcase, here are a few first […]
Why Sports Facilities Fail
As you know, I connect with the owners of small sports facilities across the country regularly because they use eSoft Planner sports facility scheduling software. Unfortunately, over time I’ve noticed a high turnover rate with new facilities: Many just don’t stay open more than a few years. When owners call to tell me that they won’t need […]
How to Create a Sports Management Internship at your Sports Facility
As I mentioned in my post on hiring sports facility instructors, your staff has the potential to make or break your business. In the sports instruction industry in particular, competition for clients can be fierce. Most sports facility owners can recall a time when a instructor left abruptly and took their dedicated clients with them. […]
Team Management Tip: Give Players Perks
Relationships with local teams are a great way to generate business for your sports facility. Part of developing those quality relationships with teams, whether they rent your facility space for practice or are hosted by your facility directly, is giving their players special perks.
Your Sports Facility’s Business Plan: The Exit Strategy
This is the fifth and final post in a series on creating a business plan for a sports facility. In past weeks, we discussed creating a sports facility business objective, creating a sports facility marketing plan, creating a sports facility operations plan and a sports facility finance plan. It’s always more fun to create your […]
Throwing Velocity Camp Program
Throwing ability is one of the components of a 5-tool baseball player. There is a strong demand for Throwing Velocity Camps in the baseball community, especially in the fall and early winter as players gear up for school team tryouts or the upcoming season. Building a complete Throwing Velocity Camp program from scratch, including all […]
Your Sports Facility’s Business Plan: The Finances
This is the fourth in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility. In the past weeks, we discussed creating a sports facility business objective, creating a marketing plan, and creating an operations plan. Next week, we’ll discuss how to add an exit strategy to your sports facility’s business plan. […]
Your Sports Facility’s Business Plan: The Operations
This is the third in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility. In the past weeks, we discussed creating a sports facility business objective and creating a marketing plan. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll discuss how to add details on finances and an exit strategy to your sports facility’s […]
Your Sports Facility’s Business Plan: The Marketing
This is the second in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility. Last week, we discussed creating a sports facility business objective. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll discuss how to add details on operations, finances and an exit strategy to your sports facility’s business plan. Now that you have […]
Your Sports Facility’s Business Plan: The Mission
This is the first in a series of posts on creating a business plan for a sports facility. In upcoming weeks, we’ll discuss how to add details on marketing, operations, finances and an exit strategy to your sports facility’s business plan. Thinking of opening a sports facility? You need to start by making a business […]
Does Your Sports Facility Need a Facebook Page?
As I’ve mentioned before, social media should play a big role in your sports facility’s marketing plan. However, owners of smaller facilities might still wonder if staying up to date on social media is worth their precious time and resources, especially if they already have a business web site or just aren’t comfortable with the world of Facebook. Is it really worth it?