i9 Sports® Adds Industry Leader to Winning Team

RIVERVIEW, Fla., Jan. 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- i9 Sports, the nation's first and largest youth sports league franchise, announced today the appointment of Chris Snyder, a respected industry veteran with deep ties to the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the national effort to reshape the future of youth sports, to the company's Vice President of Operations position.

"Chris' extensive experience in youth sports, coach development, and sports programming will exponentially increase our capability to lead the reinvention of youth sports across the nation," said Brian Sanders, president and CEO of i9 Sports. "His positive, enthusiastic leadership style and proven ability to drive change in the industry make him an invaluable addition to our
i9 Sports team."

Based on providing an experience that focuses on fun, quality instruction, good sportsmanship, and convenience for families, i9 Sports has served over 2.5 million kids in over 975 communities across the nation. Despite the pandemic, i9 Sports has added 31 new franchise locations in the last two years and expects even stronger growth in 2021. This success can be attributed to the organization's unique model that enables individuals to make a difference in the lives of children and earn a living doing something they love.

As the VP of Operations, Snyder will oversee the franchise system's operational processes, sports programming, and coaching resources, helping franchisees achieve their financial goals by delivering an unparalleled experience to the kids and families they serve.

"I am beyond excited to be part of this amazing organization and look forward to working with current and future i9 Sports franchise owners to help them succeed," Snyder said. "There is no other youth sports organization that even comes close to delivering the experience already provided by i9 Sports, and we're going to take it to a whole new level! The brand is poised for massive growth and my goal is to continue building a brand that will one day serve every U.S. community so all kids have access to a high-quality sports experience."

Before joining i9 Sports, Snyder served as Director, Coaching Education for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) where he led the Coaching Education Department working with all 50 National Governing Bodies of Sport and numerous Paralympic sports organizations. Under Snyder's leadership, the department's focus was to build the best coaches and sport programming in the world. The team emphasized coaching education, leadership, pipeline development, high-performance coaching methods and best in class programming.  He has also been influential in driving quality coaching across the country through efforts like implementing the USOPC Quality Coaching Framework, which was established to illustrate the key elements of quality coaching to better the athlete sport experience in the United States. 

Snyder's roots in youth sports run deep as he led the American Development Model (ADM) program for the USOPC which instituted long-term athlete programming across the 50 National Governing Bodies of Sport. He was a founding member and leader in the Aspen Institute's Project Play and spearheaded the USOPC's joint effort with Nike to create the national How to Coach Kids program. This background makes Snyder the perfect fit for his new role at i9 Sports.

ABOUT i9 SPORTS

Based in Tampa, Florida, i9 Sports is a purpose-driven franchise business with a mission to Help Kids Succeed in Life Through Sports™. It is the nation's first and largest youth sports league franchise offering recreational leagues, camps and clinics for boys and girls ages 3-14 in today's most popular sports like flag football, soccer, basketball, baseball, volleyball, and ZIP Lacrosse™. i9 Sports has reinvented youth sports by replacing a high pressure, adult-centered model with a child-centered model that puts fun first. With over 2.5 million registrations in over 975 communities from New York to Hawaii, i9 Sports is ranked in Entrepreneur's prestigious list of top 500 franchises, featured as a top 100 Game Changer by Franchise Dictionary, and selected as a Project Play Champion by the Aspen Institute for taking meaningful actions to encourage multi-sport sampling and helping grow national youth sports participation rates. For more information, visit www.i9sports.com or www.i9sportsfranchise.com.

Media Contact:
Ashley Davidson
Fish Consulting
adavidson@fish-consulting.com  
754-888-6307

SOURCE i9 Sports