Soccer Shots, an organization of youth soccer clinics at schools and public spaces in the US and Canada, is giving brands an opportunity to build relationships with new and experienced sports families.

• National and global brands are connecting with Soccer Shots families on the web, and with the orange Soccer Shots jersey that arrives in the mail.

Organizations like Soccer Shots are a way for brands to gain a presence in front of sports parents that is very favorable to businesses that support their children’s athletics.

• Nearly two-thirds (63.0%) of US parents have children in youth sports, according to a February EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey.
• Sports parents rate youth sports sponsorships as more likely to capture their attention than any other channel, including pro sports and TV ads, per a November and December 2025 survey taken by sponsorship agency Priority Partnerships and YouGov Sport.

This broad, attentive audience, however, is divided across a fragmented, hyperlocal youth sports landscape. Soccer Shots, through its network of franchise partners, connects some of the dots.

Youth sports sponsorships’ advantages

Many parents of youth athletes are receptive to brands that sponsor youth sports. That’s because youth sports is a lifestyle that affects many family decisions and purchases.

• Some 84.2% of sports parents say being a sports parent significantly influences their purchase decisions, and 41.5% say it does so “a great deal,” per the EMARKETER/DICK’S Media survey.

Youth sports sponsorships connect brands with parents around an activity central to their lives, but they are hard to run at scale because youth sports organizations are fragmented and local. When brands do reach parents this way, though, the parents are willing to listen and act, the Priority Partnerships/YouGov Sport survey found.

• Some 79% of parents said they pay attention to brands that sponsor their child’s youth sports program, according to the survey. And nearly as many will engage with the brand (74%), and trust the brand (59%).
• A full 67.3% of parents said they’d purchase a brand that sponsored their child’s youth sports program, the study found.

“There is even more data now to reinforce [the case that] youth sports is more effective than pro sports to connect with parents,” said Dan Scheinman, president of Priority Partnerships, who helps launch Soccer Shots sponsorships.

Sponsorship experience

Soccer Shots began franchising to multiple states in 2005, and since then it has expanded to over 300 locations in North America, providing 600,000 young athletes annually with soccer workout programs.

Although brands have approached Soccer Shots for years about sponsorship opportunities, only recently has a solid strategy for a national campaign come into play, according to Jason Webb, co-founder of Soccer Shots, and vice president of strategic partnerships at Stronger Youth Brands.

“There was this premise that if we had the right brand partners, we could do some neat things together,” said Webb. “We weren’t just looking for an advertiser, we were looking for a real integrated partnership where there would be value for the families we work with and that we serve, value for our franchise partners, and for the brand at a national level.”

Finding the right partners

Soccer Shots has recently deployed sponsorships with national brands that are looking to connect with sports families in the early years of youth athletes’ careers.

In April, Procter & Gamble’s Downy Rinse became the Official Laundry Partner of Soccer Shots. And online estate planning company Trust & Will became a partner at the beginning of the year, with plans to launch a community grants program to fund underserved communities.

Sponsors are mentioned in welcome emails, on websites, in packets accompanying the orange jersey, and on other touchpoints, according to Megan Bruton, vice president of marketing and communications at Stronger Youth Brands. There is also space on jerseys reserved for sponsors.

“I think we’re in this unique spot to not sell space, but to introduce brands to families,” Bruton said. “For the right partner who really understands we’re creating a long-term relationship and not just an impression, that’s who we’re looking for.”

Building long-term connections that fit natively with a child’s sports program can still eventually lead to a purchase. Some 80% of respondents to the Priority Partnerships/YouGov Sport survey said that between two products of similar cost and quality, they’d purchase the one that sponsored their child’s sports team.

“We’re trying to give that whole 360-degree visibility to families and provide value, so everything should feel mutually symbiotic to families, to brands, to us, and not feel like it’s a sales pitch,” said Bruton.

This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.