Key Takeaways
- Coaches’ Voice will serve more than 3,000 coaches across Surf Nation’s 70+ clubs, a network the announcement says reaches over 45,000 players.
- Each coach receives two tools: a certificated CPD education platform and an animated Session Planner preloaded with the Surf curriculum.
- Surf Nation covers the entire cost, extending the no-charge model it has run for member clubs through two years of Football Focus.
- Coaches’ Voice, founded in 2018, already serves 100,000+ coaches and 3,000 clubs worldwide, according to its company description.
Surf Nation, the San Diego-based youth soccer network, has signed a multi-year partnership with London-based Coaches’ Voice that gives every coach across its 70+ clubs access to the Coaches’ Voice education and session-planning platforms, according to a joint announcement dated August 24, 2026. The youth soccer coach development agreement covers more than 3,000 coaches and, per the announcement, touches more than 45,000 players across North America. Financial terms were not disclosed.
What Every Surf Coach Gets Under the Agreement
The announcement describes two platforms delivered inside a dedicated Surf environment.
The first is the Coaches’ Voice Education Platform, which carries masterclasses, courses and certificated continuing professional development (CPD) from professional coaches. Surf’s own Football Focus content will sit alongside that library.
The second is the Coaches’ Voice Session Planner, an animated session design tool. Per the announcement, the Surf curriculum is built directly into the planner, with ready-made sessions across age groups available from day one.
Beyond the core platforms, selected Surf coaches will be invited into Coaches’ Voice specialist courses in areas such as scouting and analysis. The two organizations also plan to co-produce content, which the announcement says will bring Surf’s coaching voices to the Coaches’ Voice global audience.
The agreement covers coaches at every level of the network, from grassroots teams through Surf’s elite tier.
Two Years of Football Focus Set the Foundation
The partnership extends Football Focus, the coach development program Surf Nation launched two years ago on the stated principle that better coaches make better players. Surf funds the program in full, and member clubs pay nothing for it, per the announcement.
Andy Prosser, Director of Surf Nation, framed the deal as a continuation of that spending. “We need to keep investing in our football focus program and this is another exciting step in that journey,” Prosser said, adding that coaches need to find CPD enjoyable and need a trusted network to collaborate, learn and share ideas.
Gary Curneen, Surf Nation Director of Football, said the partnership is a step forward in how the network connects learning, content and session design, and that every Surf Nation coach will receive free access to the platform.
Surf Nation, per its company description, has operated for over 49 years, claimed more than 30 national championships and contributed over $18 million in charitable donations.
How Big Is Coaches’ Voice’s Coaching Footprint?
Coaches’ Voice was founded in 2018 and, according to its company description, serves more than 100,000 coaches and 3,000 clubs across North America, Latin America, Europe and beyond. The company works with national associations, leagues and clubs on coaching plans, tools and ongoing education.
David Sciama, Founder of Coaches’ Voice, said the company looks to partner with the most ambitious football clubs and cited Surf’s commitment to coach education as the reason for the deal.
For a platform that counts clubs in the thousands, a single agreement that adds a 70-club network and 3,000 coaches in one signature is a sizable block of North American users.
Surf Pays, Clubs Don’t: The Football Focus Model Scales Up
The structure of this deal matters as much as its contents. Surf Nation is absorbing the cost of a third-party coaching platform for 3,000-plus coaches rather than passing it to member clubs, the same approach it has taken with Football Focus since launch. That keeps the coaching benefit uniform across the network, whether a club sits at the grassroots level or the elite tier.
The announcement leaves several details open. It gives no dollar figure, no length for the multi-year term and no rollout date. What it does state is the priority: Prosser said it is now important to hit the ground running for the benefit of Surf’s coaching staff, and the co-produced content puts Surf coaches in front of an audience of more than 100,000 peers worldwide.
Source: Surf Nation, Mikayla Carson, August 25, 2026, https://surfsoccernation.com/2026/08/25/surf-nation-and-coaches-voice-launch-multi-year-partnership-spanning-65-clubs-3000-coaches-and-impacting-more-than-40000-players-across-north-america/
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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.
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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.
