The Operating Partner for Youth Sports
Assess. Execute. Connect the right specialists.
One partner, inside your business, who owns what comes next.
Ryder Sports Advisory partners with founders, operators, and investors across sports who are navigating growth.
ABOUT RSA
I've spent 15+ years inside youth sports — coaching, running club operations at 3d, then as Vice President at 3STEP Sports, where I oversaw operational performance across a portfolio of 20+ brands and roughly $60M in annual revenue. I've seen this industry from the field level and the platform level, and the same pattern shows up at both.
Many organizations eventually reach an inflection point.
Demand is increasing. Teams are growing. New opportunities emerge.
Yet behind the scenes, communication becomes more difficult. Decision-making slows down. Accountability becomes inconsistent. Founders find themselves involved in too many day-to-day decisions, and the systems that once worked begin showing signs of strain.
The challenge is rarely a lack of effort.
More often, it is a lack of clarity, structure, and alignment.
That is where RSA comes in.
I embed with leadership — usually starting with an Operations Diagnostic — and build the structure and operating rhythm your business needs at its next stage, without sacrificing the culture, relationships, and values that made it successful in the first place.
HOW IT WORKS
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Assess
Every engagement starts with the Operations Diagnostic — a few weeks embedded inside your business, reviewing financials, program economics, staffing, systems, and governance. You get a written assessment of where the business actually stands and what to do about it, in plain language you can act on. Flat fee, defined timeline.
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Execute
For youth sports businesses that want a partner in the work, RSA stays on as an embedded operating partner. This is not advisory from a distance — it's hands-on ownership of the structure, staffing model, and weekly operating rhythm, alongside your leadership. The goal is simple: build an organization that scales beyond one person.
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Connect
When a finding sits outside the operating lane — finance, legal, insurance, technology, facilities — RSA brings in a vetted specialist and manages the handoff. One partner, start to finish
WAYS TO ENGAGE
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The starting point for nearly every engagement. A few weeks embedded inside your club or event business — reviewing the financials, the programs, the people, and the systems — ending with a written assessment of where the organization actually stands and a sequenced roadmap for what comes next.
Deliverables:
✓ Financial visibility and program-level economics — what's actually making money
✓ Organizational and leadership assessment, including founder bottlenecks
✓ Operating systems and pressure point review
✓ Structure, ownership, and accountability recommendations
✓ Risk and compliance gaps
✓ 30/60/90-day roadmap with owners assignedFlat fee. Defined timeline. Ends with a decision, not a binder.
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For clubs and event operators navigating rapid growth, founder dependency, or major transitions, RSA steps in as an embedded operating partner to drive the roadmap alongside leadership.
This goes beyond strategy conversations. The focus is operational rhythm, leadership accountability, and the systems needed to run the organization effectively — built with your team, not handed to them.
Typically includes:
✓ Weekly leadership cadence, scorecards, and accountability systems
✓ Structure, staffing model, and role clarity
✓ Operational system implementation
✓ Growth and expansion planning
✓ Specialist coordination — managing the network lanes a roadmap opens up -
For founders and leadership teams who want an experienced operator in their corner without an embedded engagement. Space to think strategically, pressure-test decisions, and keep momentum as the organization evolves.
Typically includes:
✓ Monthly leadership strategy session
✓ Board or ownership meeting support
✓ Structure and role clarity guidance
✓ Founder coaching and strategic decision support
Meet Mike Ryder
I started in youth sports the way most people in it do — coaching. College programs first, then high school, then into full-time club operations. That path matters, because everything RSA does is grounded in what clubs and events actually feel like from the inside, not from a slide deck.
At 3d Lacrosse, I founded and built 3d Florida from the ground up, after serving as Director in Colorado and National Director of Camps and Showcases — launching programs, building coaching systems, and owning the operational infrastructure to run them across markets. When 3d was acquired into 3STEP Sports, I moved to the platform side, ultimately as Vice President of Portfolio Operations across 20+ brands and roughly $60M in annual revenue.
Field level and platform level. I've run the club, and I've been the one reviewing its P&L — which is exactly the combination this work requires.
That experience became Ryder Sports Advisory. Today I partner with founders and leadership teams at clubs and event businesses to build organizations that perform at the next level without losing the culture and community that made them worth building.
I also serve as Head Boys Lacrosse Coach at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa, FL— because staying close to the athlete, parent, and coach experience is the point of all of it.
Coaching Experience:
University of Colorado- Boulder · University of Tampa · IMG Academy
Kent Denver School · Berkeley Preparatory School
The Network
Some problems sit outside the operating lane. When a diagnostic surfaces a finding in finance, legal, or facilities, most leaders end up searching for specialists on their own. RSA clients don't.
I maintain a vetted network of specialists who work in youth sports every day. When your roadmap calls for one, I make the introduction, brief them on your situation, and manage the handoff.
Club & Event Finance
Accounting, tax, nonprofit compliance, and CFO-level financial visibility.
Technology
Registration, scheduling, payments, and the platform stack that runs your operation.
Legal & Insurance
Contracts, coach classification, liability, and the coverage gaps most organizations don't know they have.
Facilities & Venues
Development, financing, and the field-space question every growing club faces.
Sponsorship & Revenue
Partnerships and commercial strategy, especially for event operators.
M&A & Transitions
When a platform comes calling, or a founder starts thinking about what's next.
You stay focused on running the organization. I own finding the right people. Any referral arrangement is disclosed before an introduction is made.
Let’s Connect
If you’re building, scaling, or navigating growth in youth sports, I’d welcome the conversation.