Tag Archives: nwsl

NWSL Rookie of the Year Trinity Rodman Partners with Youth Athletes United

Youth Athletes United, one of America’s fastest-growing multi-sport programs, with 291 territories nationwide and more than 200,000 children instructed each year, continues to catch on in communities throughout the U.S. The multi-brand franchisor includes Soccer Stars, Amazing Athletes, TGA Premier Sports, Little Rookies Baseball and JumpBunch. Now, the 2021 U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year, Trinity Rodman, a former Amazing Athlete’s program participant, will be a Brand Ambassador for all of the Youth Athletes United programs.

“Trinity has an authentic tie to our brand, as Amazing Athletes was one of the multi-sport programs she took as a child, and knows first hand how sports impact childrens’ lives and development,” said Adam Geisler, CEO of Youth Athletes. “We are thrilled to have her as an ambassador as we continue to grow our brands.”

Rodman, now 19 years old, plays forward for the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and is the youngest player ever drafted in league history. The 2021 NWSL Rookie of the Year, Rodman was named to the NWSL’s Best XI First Team and recently made her USWNT debut during the 2022 SheBelieves Cup. The professional soccer player says she paved her way to success through consistent training, proper nutrition and knowing the value of teamwork — all values that Youth Athletes United teaches its young athletes in its multi-sport programs.

“Sports have always been a part of me and my family’s life,” said Rodman. “Experiencing different sports at an early age is what allowed me to find my passion for soccer. To be able to take my experiences and partner with Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars to impact kids all across the country is very exciting. I hope I can inspire more youth athletes to continue to be active and follow their own path in sports.”

Since 2006, Amazing Athletes — the nation’s premier multi-sport education provider — has offered year-round programming that introduces kids to the fundamentals of 10 sports and helps them master six key areas of motor development and physical literacy. With expert coaches operating in top schools and facilities across more than 32 states, Amazing Athletes is on a mission to keep kids active with engaging content that teaches them about life skills, teamwork and nutrition.

For over 20 years, Soccer Stars has been one of the nation’s most popular youth soccer programs for children ages 1–16. The youth soccer program is set in a fun, non-competitive environment, with additional development and travel programs. Soccer Stars’ crib-to-college programming introduces young athletes to the fundamentals of soccer with a unique, age-specific curriculum designed to improve soccer skills, build self-confidence and develop socialization skills.

Youth Athletes United will utilize Rodman as a Brand Ambassador through live and dedicated social media, video content, local franchise clinics, and personal appearances. Matt Stefan, Director of National Marketing, noted that Amazing Athletes and Soccer Stars will hold Rodman-co-branded clinics and classes for franchisees to encourage more young players to participate in youth sports offered by the brands.

Rodman and Youth Athletes United will also work alongside franchisees in a concerted effort to help drive more free Soccer for All programs to communities that do not have access or exposure to soccer or multi-sport programs.

“We believe that every kid is an athlete,” said Stefan. “With 20-plus-years of experience creating fun, engaging content, our goal is to impact more than one million kids a year through our programs. Ultimately, we want to encourage children not only to participate in sports, but to help them find their passion that keeps them playing and staying active. With Trinity joining us as a Brand Ambassador, sharing her success and showing the impact youth sports can have, we’re on the right path.”

Washington Spirit Announce Partnership with RealResponse For Secure Reporting, Feedback, Monitoring

The Washington Spirit have partnered with RealResponse (@RealResponseHQ), the award-winning leading safe and secure feedback, monitoring and anonymous reporting platform for athletic teams and organizations.

RealResponse will allow both players and staff in the organization to anonymously report feedback and concerns. In addition to the league as a whole, the Spirit will join OL Reign and Racing Louisville as the only clubs directly affiliated with RealResponse.

“RealResponse allows our players and staff to communicate concerns or feedback in a way that respects their privacy and creates accountability for the organization,” said Spirit President Ben Olsen. “We worked with the team captains to make sure this platform aligns with the needs of the players, and look forward to the ways in which RealResponse will help drive our organization forward.”

“We are humbled to be an integral part of the Washington Spirit’s investment in the wellbeing of their players and staff,” said David Chadwick, the founder of RealResponse. “We commend the Spirit management for how they collaborated with their player leadership as a part of this selection process, and making sure that they were aligned on the best solution to meet their needs. We are continually seeing how important it is to be proactive in this critical area, and we welcome the Washington Spirit for recognizing the need and making this commitment by implementing RealResponse. This will be a year where we believe the NWSL and women’s sports are prime for unprecedented growth, and the Spirit taking this major step for confidential and accessible feedback sends a great message to all involved about how important the voice of the players is to the organization.”

While RealResponse’s partnership with the league allows players to anonymously communicate concerns or feedback  with the league directly, the Spirit’s partnership will allow for that level of  communication and organizational accountability  at the club level.