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The Ecosystem · by John Leitch

How we hit £250k a year with one or two sales calls.

1 or 2sales calls in eight years running my academy. Families came to us already knowing who we were, because they'd met us somewhere else first: at school, at a workshop or at a camp.

Everything we ran fed into something else. That's the ecosystem. This is the whole setup, part by part, and what to copy for your academy.

£20k+per month
£250kper year
350players a week
6venues
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The whole thing on one page

Every part fed the next.

Schools and workshops brought kids in. Facebook pushed families to the website to book classes, camps and events. The staff made sure the sessions were worth coming back to.

Low cost to high cost

Two anchors, and a way in at the bottom.

Workshops at the bottom to get kids in. Tots and Academy were the anchors. The rest sat around them. Prices are per month.

1-2-1s
Individual coaching
£140
GKs
Goalkeeper sessions
£60
Advanced
For the best players
£49
Academy
Anchor
£49
Small groups
Small group sessions
£46
Tots
Anchor · Saturdays
£36
Workshops
The easy way in
Free or £7
↑ High cost, fewer kidsLow cost, more kids ↓

Plus camps every holiday and events on top.

The seven parts

What we did, and what to do.

01

Schools

We were in schools Monday to Friday. That's where most kids first met us.

What we did

  • School coaching at Gilcomstoun Primary and the International School of Aberdeen.
  • Sessions with Huntly Community FC.
  • After-school clubs across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. ISA ended up becoming one of our venues.

What to do

  1. Start with the three schools closest to your venues.
  2. In Scotland, get on your Active Schools provider list. It's easier than emailing head teachers.
  3. At every school session, tell the kids about your classes and next camp.
Where owners go wrongTrying to make big money from schools. They're there to get kids in.
02

Workshops

Workshops were free or £7. Easy for any parent to say yes to.

What we did

  • Mindset workshops. 850 players went through them.
  • Free or £7, so there was no reason not to come.
  • Every workshop pointed families to our classes and camps.

What to do

  1. Run a free or cheap workshop on something parents care about.
  2. Get every parent's details.
  3. Tell them about your next class or camp before they leave.
Where owners go wrongRunning free stuff with no next step.
03

Classes

Classes were the engine. Tots and Academy were the anchors.

What we did

  • Tots £36 and Academy £49, the two anchors.
  • Around them: Advanced £49, small groups £46, GKs £60 and 1-2-1s £140.
  • Six venues, monthly subscriptions through ClassForKids. Fridays at Fives ran 12 sessions back to back.

What to do

  1. Pick two anchors: one for the youngest kids, one for the core ages.
  2. Put families on monthly subs instead of pay-as-you-go.
  3. Only add new classes once your anchors are full.
Where owners go wrongPay-as-you-go. You end up chasing the same parents every week.
04

Camps

A camp every school holiday.

What we did

  • Camps every break: October, Christmas, Easter and summer.
  • New families tried us at camp without signing up to anything.
  • Class families had something to do in the holidays, so they stayed with us.

What to do

  1. Run a camp every holiday. No gaps.
  2. Keep the price easy to say yes to.
  3. On the last day, offer camp families a place in your classes.
Where owners go wrongLetting camp families go home with nothing else booked.
05

Events

Events gave kids something to look forward to and parents something to talk about.

What we did

  • Festivals with loads of kids. One had 250 players.
  • Festivals were £12, or £8 for members, so being a member was always worth it.
  • 15 pro sessions and a Barcelona trip.

What to do

  1. Give members a cheaper price than everyone else.
  2. Film everything and post it.
  3. Use every event to point families back to your classes.
Where owners go wrongEvents with no link back to your classes.
06

Marketing

Facebook pushed everything to the website. We only spent £300 on ads.

What we did

  • Facebook all the time: sessions, camps, events and player wins.
  • Everything pointed to the website to book.
  • £300 on ads. The rest was content, Google reviews and word of mouth.

What to do

  1. Post from the pitch every week.
  2. Have one place parents go to book.
  3. Only put ad money behind things that already work.
Where owners go wrongGoing quiet when classes are full, or expecting ads to fix a weak offer.
07

Staff

None of it works without good people. The sessions have to be great.

What we did

  • Admin, so I wasn't doing everything myself.
  • Coaches trained properly, with a full staff training programme and development plans.
  • The same standard at every venue, from Tots to Advanced.

What to do

  1. Get admin help earlier than you think you need it.
  2. Write down what a good session looks like and hold every coach to it.
  3. Watch sessions, not just the numbers.
Where owners go wrongDoing everything yourself until the sessions start to slip.

Your academy

Where are you losing families?

Write down what you've got for each part. Leave it blank if you've got nothing. Wherever it's blank is where you're losing families. Send it and I'll WhatsApp you the one gap I'd fix first.

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02
03
04
05
06
07

Your answers go to me only. I'll reply on WhatsApp, usually the same day.

Want this in your academy?

This is what I do with academy owners.

We look at what you've got, find the gaps and build the rest. Book a free 20-minute call and we'll go through yours.

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The ASCEND app, 2 live group calls a month, the members WhatsApp and the full library.

 The Ecosystem · done for you
£400 / month

I run your ads, your systems chase every enquiry and bill every member, and you get a monthly one-to-one with me.