Key Takeaways
- Mazda built its national youth sports program around volunteer coaches, a group its CMO says gets more criticism than recognition on the sidelines.
- TeamSnap says it reaches 30 million-plus parents, players, and coaches, giving Mazda a way into a system with no organizing body.
- Brad Audet said success will be measured by coaches recognized and lives impacted, not cars sold, and Drew Cary called it a multi-year commitment.
- Mazda is carrying the same “joy of movement” idea into youth cycling through a multi-year NICA partnership announced Sept. 16, 2026.
Mazda North American Operations made its move in youth sports marketing this fall by going after the coach. Its Coaches Who Move Us program, launched Sept. 16, 2026 with TeamSnap, surprised five coaches with new Mazda CX-90s on Good Morning America. It opened public nominations through Oct. 18, and it offers any youth coach $250 off a new Mazda plus a matching $250 donation to their team, according to Mazda. On the Jr. Sports Marketing podcast, Mazda Chief Marketing Officer Brad Audet and Head of Communications Drew Cary walked through the thinking behind it. Five lessons stood out.
Find the Open Lane in Youth Sports Marketing
Cary said Mazda’s team studied what other brands were doing before building anything. “It is a crowded space,” he said. The brands they saw, per Cary, clustered in two areas: access to youth sports, and high-end performance built around the biggest tournaments and elite players. Coaches, and the joy of playing, were open.
Size shaped that choice. Cary noted Mazda is a big company globally but “one of the smaller brands from a market share standpoint” in the U.S. That means its programs have to work hard and create a ripple effect.
“We didn’t see any other brands doing this like we wanted to,” Cary said.
Audet put it plainly for other marketers: “It’s easy to write a check. It’s really hard to actually do meaningful things.” Entering a fragmented market, he said, takes a challenger spirit plus patience and persistence.
Why Did Mazda Build a Youth Sports Program Around Coaches?
Both executives described coaches as a multiplier. “We want to support the few who move the many,” Cary said. “Coaches are a really great example of that.”
Audet used a simple image. Give someone an apple and only they have it. Give them an idea or a belief and they can pass it on. “That’s the magic of what coaching does,” he said.
He also pointed to a recognition gap. Coaches often “don’t get the recognition,” Audet said. “In fact, they get just the opposite on the sidelines.” The nomination format answers that directly, with families putting forward the coaches they believe go beyond the role.
Tie the Program to What the Brand Already Stands For
Audet traced the program back to Mazda’s roots in Hiroshima, Japan, and the community rebuilding that followed the city’s devastation. That history, he said, shapes Mazda’s promise to uplift the people it serves. “We fundamentally believe in the joy of movement,” Audet said. “And sports is all about movement.”
Cary connected it to the product. Mazda is “not about zero to sixty time,” he said, but about the connection to the drive. Kids leaving sports because it stopped being fun is, in his words, “a problem with the journey.”
Mazda’s launch release cites Project Play data showing 27.3 million youth athletes ages 6 to 18 in organized sports. It also cites a 2026 Aspen Institute survey finding the average kid quits organized sports by age 13 because pressure takes the fun out. Audet added the coaching side: intimidation for new coaches, a lack of time, and not enough female coaches.
Reach a Fragmented System Through a Platform, Then Go Local
“The fundamental challenge with junior athletics right now is that there is no organizing body for it,” Audet said. He estimated there are roughly seven million youth coaches, all reached locally. Getting to them, he said, takes a platform.
TeamSnap filled that role. The company says it has powered more than 19,000 organizations and more than 30 million parents, players, and coaches. It also says brands have invested more than $20 million in youth sports sponsorships through its platform. Audet called it “the backbone for a lot of engagements that teams have.” Cary said TeamSnap also connected Mazda to people and organizations in specific markets.
The platform is the starting point. Cary said the longer-term plan runs through Mazda’s dealers, positioning local dealerships as hubs for nearby teams and tournaments so the program is “more than just a logo on TeamSnap.”
Measure People Impacted, Not Units Sold
Asked how Mazda evaluates the program, Audet started with what it is not. “This isn’t about selling cars,” he said. His first priority is making coaches feel meaningfully recognized. His second is getting more people to coach, including work with TeamSnap on helping newcomers past the intimidation.
“If we take care of the people, the people will take care of Mazda,” Audet said. He added that he does not expect the program to suddenly sell “a hundred thousand cars.”
The program does include a purchase incentive in the $250 discount and $250 team donation, but both executives framed the return as long term. Cary said Mazda wants this to be “a really long program” that builds equity in youth sports, not a short campaign.
From the Bench to the Bike Trail
Audet said the same joy-of-movement idea extends to youth cycling, citing work with Trek. On Sept. 16, 2026, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) named Mazda its Official Automotive and SUV Partner nationwide and Presenting Sponsor of NICA Regional Events in a multi-year partnership, per NICA. Audet said cycling gives dealers another route into grassroots activations, though it does not yet have a recognition component like the coaches program.
Coaches Who Move Us nominations closed Oct. 18. Mazda’s next youth sports moments come on the trail, starting with NICA’s Eastern Regionals in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Oct. 24 and 25. Fayetteville, Arkansas, follows on Nov. 7 and 8, then St. George, Utah, on Nov. 14 and 15.
Source: PR Newswire, September 16, 2026, https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mazda-launches-coaches-who-move-us-a-nationwide-initiative-created-to-champion-the-joy-in-youth-sports-and-celebrate-selfless-community-coaches-302881028.html
Source: Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, September 17, 2026, https://www.bicycleretailer.com/announcements/2026/09/17/mazda-named-nicas-official-automotive-and-suv-partner
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Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
