Helping Sports Organizations Scale Without Losing Their Culture

Ryder Sports Advisory works with founders, operators, and leadership teams in sports that are growing fast and starting to feel strain behind the scenes. We build the structure, clarity, and systems needed to scale without losing what made the organization successful in the first place.

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Ryder Sports Advisory partners with founders, operators, and investors across sports who are navigating periods of growth and change.

ABOUT RSA

Led by longtime sports executive Mike Ryder, RSA is built on more than 15 years of operating experience across youth sports organizations ranging from local clubs to national platforms. As a former Vice President at 3STEP Sports, Mike helped oversee a portfolio of more than 20 brands representing approximately $60M in annual revenue, leading operational growth, leadership development, and founder transitions across rapidly scaling organizations.

Many organizations eventually reach an inflection point:

Demand is growing. Teams are expanding. New programs are launching.

But behind the scenes, internal systems often haven’t evolved at the same pace.

Processes live in people instead of systems. Ownership becomes unclear. Founders become the center of too many decisions. Growth starts creating friction rather than momentum.

That is where RSA comes in.

Through advisory engagements, operational strategy, and fractional leadership support, Ryder Sports Advisory helps organizations build stronger systems, create leadership clarity, and establish the structure needed to scale responsibly, without losing the culture and community that made them successful in the first place.

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Our Services

  • Drawing of a tactical play diagram with Xs and Os connected by arrows, representing a strategic movement or plan.

    Operational & Growth Advisory

    We work directly with founders, leadership teams, and stakeholders to identify operational friction, clarify ownership, and strengthen the systems needed to support sustainable growth.

    For many organizations, growth creates complexity before it creates efficiency. New programs, additional teams, and expanded offerings can expose gaps in communication, accountability, and decision-making.

    RSA helps create the structure and visibility needed so leadership teams can spend less time reacting and more time leading.

    • Leadership structure and role clarity
    • Meeting cadence and accountability systems
    • Revenue and program alignment
    • Multi-location operational consistency
    • Growth bottleneck identification

  • Black background with a yellow upward arrow and a yellow X symbol.

    Fractional COO / Operating Partner

    For organizations navigating rapid growth, leadership transitions, or founder bottlenecks, RSA steps in as an embedded operating partner.

    This is not advisory from a distance. It is hands-on ownership of the systems, structure, and operational rhythm required to run the business effectively.

    The goal is simple: build an organization that scales beyond one person.

    • Leadership team structure
    • Cross-functional accountability
    • Founder dependency reduction
    • Operational playbooks and systems
    • Weekly leadership cadence and scorecards

  • Diagram of a sports strategy with two X's and one O, and an arrow showing movement from the O towards a goal.

    Growth & Organizational Readiness

    Growth opportunities only create value when the organization is ready to support them.

    Whether preparing for expansion, investment, acquisition, or strategic partnerships, RSA helps organizations strengthen the operational foundation behind the business.

    This includes clarifying ownership, creating consistency across teams and locations, and ensuring systems can support the next phase of growth.

    • Organizational structure assessment
    • Role and responsibility clarity
    • Multi-site consistency
    • Founder transition support
    • Growth and investment readiness

Ways We Partner

  • Most organizations don’t have a demand problem. They have a clarity problem.

    As organizations grow, leadership structures, communication, and operating systems often struggle to keep pace. RSA’s 90-Day Diagnostic is designed to identify where growth is creating friction and build a roadmap for what comes next.

    This process provides leadership teams with visibility into what is working, where bottlenecks exist, and what needs to change to support the next phase of growth.

    Deliverables include:

    ✓ Organizational and leadership assessment
    ✓ Founder bottleneck analysis
    ✓ Operational pressure point review
    ✓ Leadership structure recommendations
    ✓ Ownership and accountability mapping
    ✓ Growth priorities and next-step roadmap

  • For founders and leadership teams who need an experienced operating partner but not a full-time executive, RSA provides ongoing advisory support designed around growth-stage challenges.

    These engagements create space to think strategically, solve operational challenges, and maintain momentum as the organization evolves.

    Typically includes:

    ✓ Leadership strategy sessions
    ✓ Organizational planning support
    ✓ Structure and role clarity guidance
    ✓ Founder and leadership coaching
    ✓ Operational problem solving
    ✓ Strategic decision support

  • For organizations experiencing rapid growth, leadership gaps, founder dependency, or major transition periods, RSA can step in as an embedded leader.

    This goes beyond strategy conversations. The focus is creating operational rhythm, leadership accountability, and the systems needed to run the organization effectively.

    Typically includes:

    ✓ Weekly leadership team meetings
    ✓ Scorecards and accountability systems
    ✓ Operational system implementation
    ✓ Staff leadership and communication frameworks
    ✓ Growth and expansion planning
    ✓ Cross-functional ownership and execution support

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Meet Coach Ryder

Mike Ryder is a sports industry operator with more than a decade of experience helping youth sports organizations grow and professionalize.

Most recently, Mike served as Vice President at 3Step Sports, one of the largest private equity-backed youth sports platforms in the industry. In that role, he led operational growth, leadership development, and founder integration efforts across a portfolio of more than 20 brands representing approximately $60M in annual revenue.

Prior to 3STEP, Mike played a key role in the national expansion of 3d Lacrosse, helping launch and grow regional club businesses while building coaching systems, programming infrastructure, and operational playbooks across multiple markets.

Throughout his career, one theme remained consistent:

Founder-led organizations often reach a point where growth creates complexity. The systems, communication, and structure that worked early on no longer scale.

That challenge ultimately became the foundation for Ryder Sports Advisory.

Today, Mike works with founders and leadership teams to build stronger organizations through operational systems, leadership clarity, and sustainable growth strategies—helping organizations scale without losing the culture and community that made them successful in the first place.

Mike also currently serves as Varsity Boys Lacrosse Coach at Berkeley Preparatory School, keeping him closely connected to the athlete and family experience that remains at the center of youth sports.

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Experience Highlights

  • Vice President, Portfolio Operations

    Regional General Manager

    Senior Director, Club Operations

  • Founder & Director, 3d Florida
    Director, Colorado
    National Director, Camps and Individual Products

    • IMG Academy

    • The University of Tampa

    • University of Colorado-Boulder

    • Kent Denver School

    • Berkeley Preparatory School

    • 20+ Youth Sports Brands Supported

    • $60M+ Platform Revenue

    • Founder-Led Club Operations

    • Private Equity Platform Leadership

    • Leadership Development & Organizational Design

Let’s Connect

If you’re building, scaling, or navigating growth in youth sports, I’d welcome the conversation.

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