NBC Sports Next Partners with Stronger Youth Brands

NBC Sports Next has announced a multi-year partnership with Pennsylvania-based Stronger Youth Brands, a youth sports and enrichment brand platform.

SYB will utilize features offered by NBC Sports Next’s SportsEngine Motion technology platform. The initial phase of the partnership will focus on Soccer Shots, which currently enrolls more than 600,000 children, ages 2-8, throughout franchises in 43 states and two Canadian provinces.

Soccer Shots, started in 2005, introduces sports to kids through an age-appropriate soccer curriculum. Its programs are operated by coaches and available through childcare centers, pre-schools, primary schools and public programming. The partnership will expand later in 2024 to also include Little Kickers, an international SYB brand that operates more than 250 franchises around the world.

This is NBC Sport Next’s second partnership with a soccer brand, as US Youth Soccer began using the SportsEngine technology in March 2023.

“We’re excited to begin our new partnership with Stronger Youth Brands, which is helping enrich the lives of young children and their families across North America through their trusted and engaging soccer programming,” said Brett MacKinnon, senior vice president and general manager of youth and recreational sports, NBC Sports Next. “Every Soccer Shots franchise will simplify the management of their business by using our versatile SportsEngine Motion technology, helping them to focus on what matters most, coaching kids and creating a rewarding experience.”

SportsEngine serves more than 30,000 small and medium-sized youth sports organizations, tournaments, the USOPC and Governing Body community, amateur and professional sports leagues. Soccer Shots plans to utilize the platform’s cloud-based features, including registration and automatic billing, while providing customer experience with a mobile app designed for families and administrators.

“After a robust search, we are thrilled to have partnered with NBC Sports Next as we continue on our path to providing premier youth enrichment opportunities to children and families around the globe,” said Kevin Stumpf, president of Stronger Youth Brands. “We are confident that with the SportsEngine Motion technology as part of our enterprise tool kit, we will simplify not only the day-to-day tasks for our franchise partners but also for our team members and the families we serve.”