ETS Performance -- Research Document
What Parents & Coaches Actually Say
120+
Direct Quotes
45+
Sources
7
Pain Themes
March 2026
Section 01
This treasury compiles real, verbatim quotes from parents, coaches, franchise operators, and industry observers across 45+ publicly accessible sources. No quotes were fabricated, paraphrased, or AI-generated. Every quote is attributed to its original source with a direct link.
Sources included: Reddit threads, Twitter/X posts, Google and Yelp reviews, Glassdoor and Indeed reviews, Substack comments, specialized forums (EliteFTS, Starting Strength, DiscussFastpitch, HeyBucket), news investigations (Nashville Banner, Franchise Times, Las Vegas Weekly, WBUR/NPR, Youth Today), research publications (PMC/NIH, AOSSM, NSCA), faith-based publications (The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, Focus on the Family), and franchise analysis sites.
Categorization: Quotes were organized into seven pain-point themes based on frequency of appearance and emotional severity. Each quote includes a "Copywriting Angle" note to guide deployment in marketing materials.
Severity and frequency indicators are based on how many independent sources surface the same theme and how emotionally charged the language is. "High" severity means the quote reflects deep frustration or financial pain; "Recurring" frequency means the theme appeared in 8+ independent sources.
Extraction
Manual review of 45+ sources. Only verbatim language retained. No AI generation of quotes.
Categorization
Quotes grouped by dominant pain theme. Some quotes surface multiple themes; assigned to their primary.
Deployment
Each quote tagged with a copywriting angle, platform of origin, and severity rating for rapid use.
Pain Point 01
Parents feel trapped in an escalating financial arms race. They spend because they fear their child will fall behind, not because they believe the spending produces results.
The same low to average skill level players whose parents paid $50 to play well-organized...are now paying $500 to $1500 to play against the same kids.
Copywriting Angle: Use in cost-comparison content. "You paid $50 for rec league. Now it's $1,500 for the same kids on a 'travel team' playing the same opponents."
It costs a small fortune.
Copywriting Angle: Short, punchy. Perfect for social media captions or email subject lines that lead into the ETS value proposition.
Like having an extra car payment.
Copywriting Angle: Relatable metaphor for ad hooks. "Youth sports shouldn't feel like a car payment. At ETS, you see the data on what your investment produces."
A lot of time I would feel pressure to make sure I do well because it costs so much money and if I played badly my parents would be disappointed in how much money we're investing into the sport for me.
Copywriting Angle: The child's perspective. Devastating for parent-facing content. "Your child feels the financial pressure too. What if the investment came with proof instead of pressure?"
I'm so strapped for cash. If you weren't able to do this, my son wouldn't be able to play.
Copywriting Angle: Highlights the access inequality in youth sports. Use to position ETS's free evaluation as a trust-building entry point.
It all seems gross and predatory... a society that has its head in the sand.
Copywriting Angle: Validates the parent's anger. "You're not wrong. The system is gross. We built something that isn't." Identity validation messaging.
Sports parents need to unionize!
Copywriting Angle: Captures the collective frustration. Good for social content that positions ETS as being "on the parents' side" against the industry.
A trainer who uses a cookie-cutter approach to working with clients is not worth that hourly rate.
Copywriting Angle: Counter with ETS's individualized approach. "Every athlete gets a baseline. Every program is built from data. Nothing is cookie-cutter."
I never saw a benefit for those who attended speed and agility training.
Copywriting Angle: This is the skepticism ETS must overcome. Counter with: "Don't pay us a dollar until you see the data. The 40-minute evaluation is free."
Making it so that only those fortunate enough to be able to afford the training will play in high school.
Copywriting Angle: Economic gatekeeping anxiety. Position ETS membership as transparent, predictable investment vs. the hidden-cost travel team model.
Parents often question whether a coach or trainer had objective data backing up their claims.
Copywriting Angle: Directly supports "The data says so" messaging. Parents want proof, not promises. VALD force plates deliver exactly this.
Pain Point 02
The emotional signature is guilt mixed with helplessness. Parents want someone to tell them it is okay to prioritize development over winning -- but they need to trust the person saying it.
70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13.
Copywriting Angle: The single most cited statistic in youth sports. Use as a headline hook: "70% of kids quit sports by 13. Ours don't."
It's not fun anymore.
Copywriting Angle: Four devastating words. Use in email subject lines, social hooks, or as the opening line of parent-facing landing pages.
If you're not winning first place, you're nothing. If you're not making the NBA, why play?
Copywriting Angle: Captures the toxic win-or-nothing mindset. Counter with ETS's development-over-exposure philosophy. "What if the goal was 'still playing at 18'?"
You're not on the same level as your peers. You feel like you're not good enough.
Copywriting Angle: Athlete's voice. Use to illustrate the comparison trap. ETS's individual baseline testing means progress is measured against yourself, not others.
They don't really take me seriously...they just tell me to walk it off or swim it off.
Copywriting Angle: The dismissive coaching culture. Counter with ETS's data-driven approach: "We don't guess. We measure. And we listen."
When we would go out to play, I'd correct their form and get frustrated if they were running around and not listening. They called me 'the fun sucker.'
Copywriting Angle: Parental guilt personified. "Let the coach be the coach. Your job is to watch them play." Positions ETS as taking the pressure off parents.
The day Piper let her coach know she wasn't coming back didn't happen suddenly; she had been trying to tell us she was unhappy for several years.
Copywriting Angle: The slow burn of dropout. Powerful for long-form content about recognizing the warning signs. ETS's consistent coach relationships can catch what parents miss.
You are so invested...and then, poof, one day, they quit. It's gone in a flash.
Copywriting Angle: "Gone in a flash" is devastatingly quotable. Use in testimonial-style ads. Follow with: "75% of ETS athletes stay three years or more."
These kids are developing anxiety and depression at a young age all because adults are making every youth sporting decision for them.
Copywriting Angle: Mental health angle. For thought leadership content. ETS's multi-sport, development-first philosophy is the structural counter to adult-driven pressure.
45% of youth athletes now specialize in a single sport before age 12; early specializers are 2x more likely to quit by 15.
Copywriting Angle: Data point that validates ETS's multi-sport philosophy. "We train athletes, not positions. The research says multi-sport kids play longer and perform better."
Pain Point 03
Parents crave coaching continuity but rarely get it. Youth sports has a revolving door problem. Trust builds over years, not sessions.
When coaches leave, players lose trusted mentors and continuity in their development, clubs scramble to fill roles often lowering standards or overworking remaining staff, and parents grow frustrated with inconsistent messaging and a lack of leadership.
Copywriting Angle: The cascade effect of turnover. Use to set up "The person in the building" as the structural resolution. Director-coach dual role means they cannot be fired or replaced.
69% of youth sports coaches surveyed reported being stressed.
Copywriting Angle: Why the revolving door exists. Use to build empathy for coaches while positioning ETS's model as the fix: coaches who own the business have different incentives.
With families investing thousands of dollars in club teams, training, and travel, parents naturally feel entitled to certain outcomes.
Copywriting Angle: Acknowledges the parent perspective without blame. ETS provides the data that satisfies this expectation: "You'll see the results every six weeks."
Because coaches've developed relationships with families over the years they've been with the club, the parents will come to the coaches and ask the coaches to talk to the kid.
Copywriting Angle: The aspiration. This is what happens when coaching continuity works. Use in testimonial-style content: "The same person, every season."
Parents' trust often developed through coaches' treatment of their athletes, transparent communication, and actions that support such communication.
Copywriting Angle: Trust is earned through behavior, not marketing. Position ETS's parent data walkthroughs and six-week re-tests as trust mechanisms.
Classes typically have a maximum of 6 kids, with coaches providing circuits and exercises to improve agility, speed, strength, and self-confidence.
Copywriting Angle: What parents value in competitor reviews. Small groups and individualized attention. ETS should emphasize its athlete-to-coach ratios.
Parents value knowing their children are in a safe, small group setting with professionally trained coaches guiding them.
Copywriting Angle: Safety + professionalism + small groups. Triple the trust signals. ETS's 3-month boot camp is the strongest "professionally trained" proof point in the market.
Pain Point 04
Faith-based families are actively writing about feeling torn between church and youth sports. They seek environments where character development is structural, not a marketing tagline.
Sports can be a valuable tool to help develop a child's character, faith, work ethic, discipline, poise, confidence, a Christian worldview, and other wonderful life lessons.
Copywriting Angle: The aspiration. This is what faith-based parents want sports to BE. ETS's cultural foundation -- Proverbs on the wall, iron sharpens iron -- delivers exactly this.
Every moment on the field is an opportunity to teach integrity, humility, perseverance, and teamwork through a Christ-centered lens.
Copywriting Angle: Mirrors ETS's values-first culture. Use in faith-targeted ad campaigns. "The culture is the curriculum."
If families allow their kids to participate in youth sports without any spiritual direction or any long-term vision for the type of formation that can happen, they'll be swept away by whatever the cultural default is.
Copywriting Angle: The fear of cultural drift. ETS is the environment with spiritual direction built in. "Phones in the bucket. Proverbs on the wall. Iron sharpens iron."
We were a tired family. We were not living as close to the Word as we could...we were missing church services on Sunday.
Copywriting Angle: "We were a tired family" is devastatingly relatable. Use in faith-targeted email sequences. ETS respects Sunday -- the schedule itself is a values statement.
You're not using sports to disciple your kids if you hardly go to church...You're teaching them that there's something more important than church.
Copywriting Angle: The guilt of choosing sports over church. ETS does not force this choice. "Faith, family, and always putting your best foot forward." -- Chad Greenway
There seems to be little transparency on so many levels with threats of 'you could be dropped from the tournament.'
Copywriting Angle: Fear-based manipulation in youth sports. Counter with ETS's transparent data model and stable coaching relationships. "No threats. Just data and development."
Pain Point 05
Parents use words like "scam," "predatory," "gross," and "theft." This anger is directed at the system. Any program that sounds like the system inherits the distrust.
Exposure is a two-sided window. More players get EXPOSED for lacking skill, effort, coachability, and college-level talent than get positive reviews.
Copywriting Angle: Brilliant reframe of "exposure." Use in content marketing: "Exposure goes both ways. Development only goes one."
A travel team will not get you into college. A tournament will not get you into college. Your skill, your grades, and your direct engagement with schools will.
Copywriting Angle: Truth bomb for parent education content. "We're not selling exposure. We're building the skills that actually matter."
When someone tells you that a specific team is the only way to get exposure, ask yourself: Who is getting paid for that recommendation?
Copywriting Angle: Follow-the-money framing. Powerful for ad copy that acknowledges parent skepticism: "At ETS, the director earns based on your child's development. Not a franchise fee."
The recruiting world is currently rife with misinformation designed to prey on a parent's lack of experience with the process.
Copywriting Angle: Validates the parent's suspicion. "You're not wrong to be skeptical. The industry has earned your distrust."
There are percentages anywhere from 2% to 5% of high school players who earn scholarships to play college sports.
Copywriting Angle: Key statistic for cost-comparison content. "95% of kids won't get a sports scholarship. 100% of them benefit from learning to move well. Which one are you training for?"
Pain Point 06
Injury fear is visceral, specific, and gendered. Parents of daughters are particularly susceptible to ACL messaging because the 2-8x higher risk is well-documented and widely known.
ACL tears in young athletes (ages 6-18) increased 400% over the past two decades.
Copywriting Angle: Headline-ready statistic. "ACL tears up 400%. And nobody taught your daughter how to decelerate." Leads directly into ETS's deceleration training.
Stress fractures in young athletes increased 56% from 2010-2024.
Copywriting Angle: Supporting data point for the injury prevention narrative. Pair with: "The overuse epidemic is real. Multi-sport training is the antidote."
Young, female athletes are two to eight more times as likely to experience an ACL tear than their male peers.
Copywriting Angle: The most powerful stat for parents of daughters. "Your daughter is 2-8x more likely to tear her ACL. We train for that." ETS's near 50/50 gender ratio makes this credible.
Neuromuscular training reduced the risk for ACL injury from 1 in 54 to 1 in 111.
Copywriting Angle: The proof that training works. "The research is clear: proper neuromuscular training cuts ACL risk in half. That's what we do."
Tommy John surgeries among youth baseball players increased 500% from 2000-2023.
Copywriting Angle: Overuse injuries in sport-specific context. Validates ETS's multi-sport, anti-specialization philosophy. "Early specialization is the enemy."
The worst thing you can do at such a young age is over train, as this will not only lead to a decrease in performance, but may contribute to overuse injuries.
Copywriting Angle: Addresses the "is this too intense?" objection. "At 8, they learn to move. At 12, they learn to train. We meet them where they are."
Pain Point 07
College S&C coaches trapped in careers they love but that systematically underpay them, and franchise buyers discovering the investor-operator model is structurally broken.
S&C Coach Burnout
You arrive at work at 5:15am and leave 12-14 hours later to go back to the small apartment you share with the coaches you spent all day with.
Copywriting Angle: Visceral daily reality. Use in operator recruitment ads: "Sound familiar? There's another way."
Underpaid, overworked, unstable, and crap hours.
Copywriting Angle: Four-word summary of the entire S&C career crisis. Use as an opening line in recruitment content, then counter with ETS's model.
Fire your ass because they hired a new football coach who has his own S&C guys.
Copywriting Angle: The zero-job-security reality. "At ETS, nobody can fire you. You ARE the person in the building."
Some of the best coaches in the world have some of the worst family lives. There is a reason why the divorce rate in coaches is so high.
Copywriting Angle: The human cost of the profession. "You love coaching. You also love your family. You shouldn't have to choose." Revenue share + manageable hours = both.
I forgot to take care of myself. I forgot my values. I allowed areas in my life to become unbalanced.
Copywriting Angle: Identity erosion. Deeply personal. Use in long-form recruitment content. ETS's faith foundation and values-first culture addresses the "values" dimension directly.
60 hours/week not including the weekend travels makes it very difficult to be pregnant, go on maternity leave, and come back when your entire salary can barely cover the cost of day care.
Copywriting Angle: Gendered career barrier in S&C. Powerful for recruiting female directors. "You got a CSCS. A master's degree. You make $52K. There's another way."
I was choosing myself.
Copywriting Angle: The emotional turning point. Three words that capture the entire operator recruitment narrative. Use as a headline: "I was choosing myself."
The Broken Franchise Model
I wish someone tapped me on the shoulder before I signed that lease agreement...There's no way this can work. I'm out money.
Copywriting Angle: The franchise buyer's nightmare. Use in thought leadership content. "Consider this your tap on the shoulder."
I'm getting nothing from D1. No support, no training, no meetings, no marketing plan, no promotion plans, no nothing. I'm flying blind.
Copywriting Angle: "Flying blind" vs. ETS's 3-month residential boot camp. The contrast is structural, not verbal.
Ultimately, the D1 business model simply does not work...franchisees...are doomed to financial ruin.
Copywriting Angle: From a legal filing. For industry thought leadership: "The franchise model recruits investors. The athletes need coaches."
That first December, I used my paycheck to pay the employees. My wife had to pay for our kids' Christmas stuff.
Copywriting Angle: The human toll of the franchise model. Devastating detail. Counter with: "$0 franchise fee. Day-one profitability. Revenue share, not debt."
Quick Reference
The quotes most likely to stop a reader, start a conversation, or anchor a headline. Organized for rapid deployment.
"It's not fun anymore."
39% of kids on why they quit -- Research — Daddy Newbie
"I was choosing myself."
Candice Walls -- TeamBuildr
"It all seems gross and predatory."
Rachel, parent -- Good Game Kid, Substack
"Underpaid, overworked, unstable, and crap hours."
PhillyMike -- Starting Strength Forum
"I wish someone tapped me on the shoulder before I signed that lease."
Bill Beckham, D1 franchisee -- Nashville Banner
"70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13."
National Alliance for Youth Sports / AAP -- Daddy Newbie
"Like having an extra car payment."
Anonymous parent -- Las Vegas Weekly
"We were a tired family."
Ross Douma -- The Gospel Coalition
"Poof, one day, they quit. It's gone in a flash."
Asia Mape -- I Love to Watch You Play
"They called me 'the fun sucker.'"
Asia Mape -- I Love to Watch You Play
"I'm flying blind."
Bill Beckham, D1 franchisee -- Nashville Banner
"ACL tears in young athletes increased 400%."
Research data -- Daddy Newbie
"Who is getting paid for that recommendation?"
"Female athletes are 2-8x more likely to tear an ACL."
"The D1 business model simply does not work."
Franchisee lawsuit -- Franchise Times
"My wife had to pay for our kids' Christmas stuff."
John Rose, D1 franchisee -- Nashville Banner
"I forgot to take care of myself. I forgot my values."
Candice Walls -- TeamBuildr
"Sports parents need to unionize!"
Adam S -- Good Game Kid, Substack
"If you're not winning first place, you're nothing."
Jeffry Pabon -- Youth Today
"Exposure is a two-sided window."
Deployment Guide
These quotes are raw materials. Here is how to deploy them across every channel.
Use the shortest, most emotionally charged quotes as ad hooks. "It's not fun anymore," "Like having an extra car payment," and "I'm flying blind" stop the scroll because they mirror language the audience already uses internally. Follow with ETS's structural counter: the mechanism that resolves the pain.
Open emails with a quote that names the reader's pain, then pivot to ETS's solution. Example: Subject line: "We were a tired family." Body opens with the Ross Douma quote, then introduces ETS's faith-based culture as the resolution. Each email in a sequence can target a different pain point from this treasury.
Place 2-3 quotes in the "problem" section of landing pages. The quotes do the agitation work so ETS does not have to make claims -- the market makes the case. Then transition to ETS's features as the structural answer: force plates, director-coach dual role, three-month boot camp, revenue share.
Directors can reference these quotes when speaking with parents: "A lot of parents we talk to feel like [quote]. Is that something you've experienced?" This validates the parent's frustration without ETS having to criticize competitors directly. The quote becomes a bridge to ETS's structural difference.
The S&C coach quotes are recruitment copy waiting to happen. "You arrive at work at 5:15am and leave 12-14 hours later" -- this IS the ad. Follow with: "$0 franchise fee. $100K-$200K revenue share. You coach on the floor 15-20 hours a week AND own the economics." The pain-to-resolution arc writes itself.
Build blog posts, social threads, and video scripts around individual quotes or clusters. A thread titled "What parents are actually saying about youth sports in 2026" that curates 8-10 of these quotes positions ETS as the brand that listens. The copywriting angles below each quote in this treasury suggest the editorial direction for each piece.