Youth Athletes United Looks to Add 3 New Connecticut Locations by the End of 2022

Youth Athletes United, the largest multi-sport education program in the country with 314 units, coaches sports, nutrition and muscle groups in a preschool-based program. The multi-brand franchisor behind Soccer Stars, Amazing Athletes, TGA Premier Sport and JumpBunch is now expanding into the Connecticut market.

With an already strong presence in New England, and a home base in New York City, this expansion effort is well timed as more than 27,000 people moved out of New York City and into Connecticut in 2020 alone. And these relocated families are seeking a familiar brand, Youth Athletes United, because of its combined decades of experience and dedication to bringing an unmatched curriculum to their children.

John Erlandson, Co-founder and President of Youth Athletes United, understands the need for movement as it relates to children. With an extensive background in both the sports and fitness industries, paired with a degree in exercise physiology from Temple University, he has been a key piece in the brand’s growth.

“When this opportunity came along for Youth Athletes United, it was really an opportunity to bring all of my skill sets together,” said Erlandson. “My sales background, my exercise physiology background, my love of kids and the ability to own a business and bring those skills of franchising and licensing intellectual property all under one roof with myself and my partner driving the strategy.”

Erlandson is well-aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has altered how children play organized sports. Smaller organizations have closed their doors and the competition has gotten narrower, but certain “socially distanced” and outdoor sports like soccer, golf, and tennis have seen a spike in popularity. The impact of the pandemic has been felt in the form of families moving to less-crowded communities as well — with Connecticut specifically being a hot spot.

“One of the focuses for us is tangential markets. We're very big in New York City, Westchester, and Long Island,” said Erlandson. “And with COVID, there are a lot of people moving out of the city and moving to the Connecticut area. So we are in Connecticut already. JumpBunch is already there. But we just think it's an obvious opportunity to expand because there are a lot of parents and kids that experienced Youth Athletes Unites living in other areas around New York City.”

Erlandson stated that with the influx of big-city families moving to Connecticut and the generally affluent communities that are present in the state, “there’s the potential to have some of the more premium offerings, and it checks all the boxes of another great place to expand.”

Currently, there are two JumpBunch units and a corporate Soccer Stars unit in the state of Connecticut, and the company aims to open another three units in the state by the end of 2022, whether they be Soccer Stars, Amazing Athletes or TGA Premier Sport.

In an era where parents are spending massive amounts of money on their children, youth sports present a near-recession-proof opportunity. Many schools and even daycare centers are incentivized to prioritize academic work, leaving physical education largely neglected. Youth Athletes United’s model addresses this gap in the curriculum.

As reported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “adolescents who play sports are eight times more likely to be physically active at age 24 than those who do not play sports,” making the skills taught by the Youth Athletes United team a part of the foundation for healthy habits that can last a lifetime. The same report credits youth sports with increased life skills, leadership qualities, self-esteem and lower rates of anxiety and depression.

“Before we established Youth Athletes United, there was little to no modernization to our industry, whether in the curriculum, the technology or the product itself,” said Youth Athletes United co-founder and CEO Adam Geisler. “We’ve found new and unique ways to service curriculum and activities that haven’t been done before that allow us to meet families where they are rather than force them to meet at one singular location. So whether we're doing private groups at people’s homes, or we're running classes inside of malls or at the local field, we look at how we can continue to provide more programming content to more kids to reach our million-kids-a-year goal for our business.”

Erlandson foresees “hypergrowth” in the next couple of years for Youth Athletes United’s target market of Connecticut.

“We expect to have at least five total units in Connecticut by the time it's all said and done,” said Erlandson. “We also see these units being some of our top-performing units as well because they are very dense, high-income areas.”

Amazing Athletes currently offers two franchise programs: The total investment to begin operation of this franchised business for the Complete AA Program ranges from $43,650 to $64,950, including between $35,450 and $43,450 that must be paid to the franchisor. The total investment to begin operation of this franchised business for the Basic Package ranges from $33,450 to $51,950, including between $27,950 and $33,450 that must be paid to the franchisor. For more information, visit *