The 5-Channel System Driving 30–40% of Evaluations
ETS has a partner ecosystem that most youth sports performance brands cannot replicate. The director-coach dual role is the structural advantage: the same person builds all five relationships, and that authenticity compounds over time.
Credibility
Media amplification
Trust networks
Values alignment
Clinical referrals
Data credibility
Volume access
Institutional trust
Seasonal demand
Team-level referrals
All partner channels converge on the same entry point
No competitor has this combination. D1 Training has some pro athlete endorsements — not investments. Parisi has the "130+ NFL Draft Picks" credential. Neither has a faith-based cultural foundation that opens church doors. Neither has VALD force plate data that gives a PT a clinical reason to refer. Neither has a director-coach who can present as both a credentialed S&C professional AND the person who will actually coach the athletes.
The director-coach dual role is the partner ecosystem's structural advantage. Matt trusts the director because the director knows his kids by name. Rachel trusts the director because the director explains bilateral asymmetry in clinical terms. The school AD trusts the director because the director has a CSCS and a master's degree. The same person, building all five relationships.
Zero competitors have a faith-based cultural foundation. 5–20 churches per facility service area, each with 200–2,000 families. Cost: near-zero. Cannot be replicated by a franchise model.
VALD force plate reports sent back to referring clinicians create a data loop no other youth training facility provides. Every report is a marketing asset that costs nothing.
12+ pro athletes who wrote checks, not endorsement deals. Kirk Cousins, Chad Greenway, Adam Thielen — investor-owners, not spokespeople.
Partners are not all created equal. A church that sends 30 families per year needs different support than a league that provides a single seasonal mention.
Deep integration, co-branded, exclusive
10+ evaluation referrals per quarter OR strategic value that justifies dedicated investment (pro athlete media reach, health system credibility)
Management: Director, monthly check-in
Pro athlete investors, large churches (500+ families), health systems with multiple PT clinics, school districts with 3+ schools, regional sports organizations with 200+ athletes
Regular referrals, incentivized, formalized
3–9 evaluation referrals per quarter
Management: Director, quarterly check-in
Mid-size churches (200–500 families), individual PT clinics, single schools, individual club teams, local businesses with youth sports parent customer base
Occasional, relationship-based, grassroots
Active referrer — at least 1 evaluation referral per quarter
| Trigger | Action |
|---|---|
| Tier 3 delivers 3+ referrals in a single quarter | Invite to Tier 2 — formalize the relationship |
| Tier 2 delivers 10+ referrals in a single quarter | Invite to Tier 1 — develop a joint partnership plan |
| Tier 2 delivers 0 referrals for 2 consecutive quarters | Tier reassessment — identify barriers, move to Tier 3 if no activity after outreach |
| Tier 1 delivers fewer than 3 referrals for 2 consecutive quarters | Quarterly review — adjust joint plan, discuss tier adjustment if pattern continues |
| Any partner generates a complaint or brand misrepresentation | Immediate conversation — resolution or partnership termination |
Each partner type serves a different function, reaches a different segment, and requires different enablement. Click each tab for the full activation playbook.
Credibility, media amplification, social proof
What makes this different from a typical endorsement deal: These athletes wrote checks. They are investor-owners, not spokespeople. Kirk Cousins did not film a commercial for a fee. He invested capital because the model aligned with his values. This is the difference between "endorsed by" and "invested in" — and parents can feel it.
Grand opening appearances, media interviews, social posts. 1–2 per year per athlete.
Share facility content from personal accounts. 1–2 posts per month during season/off-season.
"Kirk Cousins-backed youth training facility opens in [city]" — earned media ETS could never buy.
Matt does not care about celebrity. But a man who talks about faith and family investing his own money — that is a values alignment signal.
The structural moat — values alignment, trust networks, youth ministry integration
Zero competitors are here. Not D1 Training. Not Parisi. Not Athletic Republic. Not a single competitor in the 107 analyzed has a faith-based cultural foundation that opens church doors authentically. ETS has Proverbs on the wall, phones in the bucket, and "iron sharpens iron" as a cultural governing phrase.
This is not a marketing angle. It is the reason Matt Hargrove's men's group friend says "You should check out ETS." That sentence — unprompted, unpaid, untrackable — is worth more than any campaign.
"Pastor [Name], my name is [Director Name] and I recently opened ETS Performance, a youth athletic training facility in [City]. I wanted to introduce myself because our facility is built on a faith-based foundation — we have Proverbs on the wall, phones go in a bucket when athletes walk in, and our culture is built around 'iron sharpens iron.'"
"I'm not reaching out to sell anything. I'd love to invite you for a tour of our facility so you can see what we're building and how we develop young athletes — physically and in character. If you have families with kids in youth sports, I'd also love to offer a free Youth Group Night where your youth group can experience a training session."
"Would you be open to a visit sometime in the next couple of weeks?"
Quarter-page print + PDF. Not a coupon — a quiet introduction.
Email template + print. Director personalizes with church name.
One-page event template: schedule, setup, talking points.
15 slides: "Developing Character Through Youth Sports." ETS branding on final slide only.
Business card size, includes church name for tracking.
One-page: Proverbs wall, phone bucket, training floor, VALD station, cross-age mentorship.
Matt hears about the evaluation event from the youth pastor on Sunday. His wife Sarah looks up ETS on Instagram and sees Proverbs on the wall, real training footage (not highlight reels), and a director who knows kids' names. Matt brings all three kids on Saturday. The director walks him through force plate data for each child. His 13-year-old daughter's bilateral asymmetry is flagged. The director explains what it means and how they address it. Matt enrolls all three before he leaves. $657/month. He tells his men's group on Wednesday.
If a church partner ever feels like they are being marketed to rather than partnered with, the relationship is over. The director's authenticity is the asset. The faith foundation must be real because it IS real — and any church leader will detect the difference between genuine cultural alignment and a customer acquisition tactic within five minutes of a facility tour. The director who fakes it will lose the church and never get it back. The director who lives it will have the pastor sending families unprompted.
Clinical referral pathway, data-driven credibility, bidirectional value
Rachel's buying trigger is not an ad. It is a colleague in her sports PT network who sends a patient to ETS and receives a VALD force plate report back — in clinical terms she recognizes. Per location: 20–50 PT clinics, each seeing 2–5 youth athletes per week. If 10 clinics refer just 2 athletes per month, that is 20 evaluation bookings per month from clinical channels alone.
Identify all PT clinics, sports medicine practices, and pediatric orthopedic offices within 15 miles. Send clinical one-pager + personal note. Schedule drop-in visits (2–3/week). Bring anonymized VALD sample report. Not a sales meeting — a professional introduction.
For any referring clinician, send the athlete's VALD assessment report back (with consent). Host first "Lunch and Learn" at a high-interest clinic: 30 minutes on deceleration training + ACL prevention. Key message: "70% of ACL injuries happen during deceleration. We measure it. When your patient is ready, we provide the data you need."
Clinics with 3+ referrals formalize as Tier 2. Establish bidirectional referral agreement (ETS refers injuries to clinic, clinic refers post-rehab to ETS). Create shared referral form. Quarterly data summaries to each referring clinician.
VALD specs, bilateral asymmetry metrics, re-test schedule, director credentials. No marketing language.
Real assessment with patient data removed. Shows what clinicians will receive.
20 slides, clinical format. Cites AOSSM, BJSM, PMC/NIH research.
Print pad + digital. Tracks referrals in both directions.
Documents the Mayo Clinic research partnership for institutional credibility.
Aggregate + individual athlete updates sent to referring clinicians.
Volume access, team training contracts, ages 11–14 entry point
A single middle school has 200–600 student athletes. A single high school has 300–1,000. An athletic director who trusts ETS can introduce the program to every sports team, every pre-season, every year. The free assessment offer is the door-opener — it costs the director 2–3 hours and produces reports the coaching staff has never seen.
$50–100/athlete for 8-week block. 10–20% convert to individual memberships.
HIGH referral pipeline$25–50/athlete or free as loss leader. 5–15% convert to evaluations.
MEDIUM referral pipelineAD/coaches recommend ETS. Standard Tier 2/3 incentives.
LOW-MEDIUM referral pipelineSeasonal demand spikes, tournament presence, coaching education
Youth sports follows a seasonal calendar. Each season produces a 3–4 week window where parents actively seek pre-season training. Leagues control communication to 200–2,000 families at once. A league evaluation day can generate 15–30 registrations and $8K–$25K in year-1 revenue.
Named as league's official provider. Logo on website/comms. Discounted rate for league families. Credibility through institutional endorsement.
VALD assessment station at events. 5-minute mini-assessments. Face-to-face contact with 100–500 parent-athlete pairs in one day.
60-minute workshop for volunteer coaches on age-appropriate training. Director positioned as local S&C authority. Coaches become referral sources.
Saturday morning, 15–20 evaluations. 25–35% conversion. At $219/month avg and 75% retention, each converted family = ~$2,600 year-1 revenue.
Partner-sourced members cost 3–10x less than paid-channel members. ETS can afford generous referral incentives and still achieve a CPA that is half of what paid channels deliver.
| Partner Tier | Per Converted Referral | Alternative | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | $50 cash | 10% of first 3 months revenue (~$65) | No cap |
| Tier 2 | $25 cash | $25 service credit (bidirectional) | No cap |
| Tier 3 | Merch pack (~$30) | $25 gift card | No cap |
| Member Family | 1 free month ($219) | $50 account credit | No cap |
| Contract Type | Pricing | Partner Share |
|---|---|---|
| 8-week pre-season block | $50–100/athlete | T1: 15% | T2: 10% | T3: referral fee only |
| On-site assessment day | $25–50/athlete or free | No share (lead generation investment) |
| Ongoing seasonal contract | $75–150/athlete/month | T1: 15% | T2: 10% |
$100 gift card + handwritten thank-you from director
$250 + automatic tier upgrade conversation
$500 + "Community Partner of the Quarter" recognition
Welcome merch pack for the new T3 partner, regardless of conversion
Ready-to-use materials for each partner type. Every activity must be executable by a director who coaches 15–20 hours per week and has no marketing team.
ETS Performance
Youth Athletic Training. Built on faith, measured by data.
Free 40-minute evaluation for your family.
[Director Name], Director-Coach
[Phone] | [Address]
The partner ecosystem only works if the director executes it alongside 15–20 hours of weekly coaching. Total partner time: 2–3 hours per week. Small, recurring, relationship-driven.
Confirm any new partner-sourced evaluations scheduled this week. 15 min
Drop-in at PT clinic, email to league admin, or follow-up with church youth leader. 30–60 min
Attend one church event as a community member — not in ETS branded gear, as a person. 90 min, monthly
Send reports to referring clinicians. Call partner-referred families who booked evaluations. 30 min
1 post or story featuring in-facility culture, partner event, or athlete progress for partner sharing. 15 min
Research: identify top 10 churches, 20 PT clinics, all schools, top 5 leagues within 15 miles.
Outreach begins: intro letters to churches/schools. Drop-in visits to PT clinics (2–3/week). Contact league admins.
Schedule facility tours for pastors + ADs. Host first clinical lunch-and-learn. Confirm pro athlete for grand opening.
Distribute church bulletin inserts. Confirm school assessment dates. Finalize league evaluation day. Prepare referral cards.
Pro athlete social posts. Pastor/youth leader tours completed. First league coaching workshop delivered.
Grand opening with pro athlete. Church families invited. Clinical partners invited for facility tour. Media coverage.
First church evaluation event. First school assessment day. Process first clinical referrals. Distribute referral cards to T3 partners.
Formalize T2 partnerships. Launch first league evaluation day. Begin quarterly referral tracking and payouts.
Every director needs these materials regardless of partner type.
Tri-fold brochure + PDF. Programs, VALD tech, director-coach model, pro athlete investors. A fact sheet, not a marketing brochure.
Business card size, packs of 50. "Your family was referred by [Partner Name]." Unique code/QR per partner.
Photo, education, certifications, boot camp completion, "why I chose ETS." What a pastor, PT, or AD reads before saying yes.
5 per pack, one per persona: faith-focused, data-focused, multi-sport, multi-child, first-time athlete.
10–15 co-brandable graphics per quarter. Culture photos, data visualizations, director quotes. Partners can share directly.
Simple spreadsheet or CRM tag system. "How did you hear about us?" field on every evaluation booking form.
How to review and grow the partner ecosystem each quarter. Seasonal alignment is critical — youth sports follows a predictable calendar.
How to track and attribute evaluations from each partner channel. The ROI math is straightforward when measurement is in place.
| Metric | Month 3 | Month 6 | Month 12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Tier 1 partners | 1–2 | 3–5 | 5–8 |
| Active Tier 2 partners | 3–5 | 8–15 | 15–25 |
| Active Tier 3 referrers | 10–20 | 25–50 | 50–100 |
| Partner-sourced evals/month | 5–10 | 10–20 | 15–25 |
| Partner evals as % of total | 10–15% | 20–30% | 30–40% |
| Eval-to-member conversion | 30–40% | 35–45% | 35–45% |
| Revenue from partner members | $2K–5K | $5K–12K | $10K–20K/mo |
| Church partnerships active | 2–3 | 5–8 | 8–12 |
| Clinical partnerships active | 3–5 | 8–12 | 12–20 |