Speakers and Content

Meet our Summit Emcees: Matt Crist and Deano Farshbaf

Matt Crist, Senior Director, Global Franchise Development and Deano Farshbaf, Director, Franchise Business Support for Little Kickers will be our event emcees.

Get ready for lots of energy and fun as they keep us engaged and guide us through our time together.

General Sessions

Ricky Kalmon

Ricky Kalmon is a mindset expert, motivational speaker, and author who delivers high-energy and motivational keynote programs. His programs are inspirational and offer compelling, applicable tools anyone can use in personal and professional development.

Kalmon reveals how our mindset can be the greatest tool in achieving new heights, reducing stress, increasing productivity and potential. Ricky Kalmon’s mindset message and techniques will change the way you live, work, and think.

SYB Leadership Update

The Stronger Youth Brands Leadership Team shares important milestones and updates for the community.

Breakout Session Topics*

*Subject to change

Sessions for Both Brands

Social Media Ad Workshop and Marketing Trends

Presenter: Cristen Metzger, Digital Marketing Manager

What we’ll cover: This workshop will focus on how to use social media advertising more effectively while understanding the key marketing trends shaping enrollment, brand awareness, and digital engagement. Attendees will gain actionable insights into creating and optimizing social media ads, sharpening overall digital marketing skills, and applying current trends in ways that work at the local market level.

Who should attend: Franchise owners, directors, and team members who manage or support social media advertising and want to improve ad performance and enrollment results in their local market.

Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing with AI

Presenter: Kelly Kautz, Principal Strategist, Data and Digital, JPL

What we’ll cover: AI is becoming a bigger part of how people find local businesses online. In this presentation, we’ll talk through simple, practical ways franchisees can use AI to support their local marketing. We’ll cover why keeping your local website information accurate and detailed matters more than ever, and how built-in AI tools from platforms like Google and Facebook can help improve paid advertising performance. The goal is to give you a clear understanding of what’s available now, what’s coming, and how to be ready as things continue to change

Who should attend: Franchise owners and team members involved in local marketing, advertising, or website management.

Curriculum and Coaching: Beyond the Session (PRACTICAL)

Presenters: Kyle Gisser and Olly Porteous, SYB Curriculum Team

What we’ll cover: Join the Curriculum and Training team from Stronger Youth Brands in a joint practical breakout. You will dive into coaching beyond games and skills, focusing on the children’s interests and needs. We’ll cover differentiation for both group and individual needs, as well as how to make the most of the theme to uncover key curricular principles to coach with maximum impact for young children.

Who should attend: Active coaches who are directly involved in session delivery and want practical tools to improve coaching impact.

Preparing for Difficult Conversations with Confidence

Presenter: Neibaur McCarrey, Soccer Shots Owner

What we’ll cover: Difficult feedback conversations don’t have to feel overwhelming. In this session, you’ll learn a simple, practical framework — the SBII+ model — to help you prepare, stay focused, and guide tough conversations with confidence. We’ll break down each step, talk through real examples, and practice the model with your peers so you leave with a tool you can use right away.

Who should attend: Franchise owners and team leaders who manage people and regularly navigate performance feedback, accountability, or sensitive conversations.

From Hands-On to High-Impact: Empowering Your Team for Sustainable Growth

Presenter: Rob Morrison, Little Kickers owner

What we’ll cover: Learn how to build a strong, empowered team that can confidently run day-to-day operations, allowing you to step back, think bigger, and accelerate your business growth. This session will explore practical frameworks for delegation, leadership development, and creating the systems your team needs to thrive independently.

This session is designed for franchisees who want to work on their business, not in it. This will free you to focus on growth, strategy, and long-term success. If you’re ready to scale your territory with a more self-sufficient staff, this presentation will give you the practical tools, structure, and mindset needed to make it happen.

Who should attend: Franchise owners who are ready to step out of day-to-day operations and build a self-sufficient team that supports sustainable growth.

Introduction to Connecteam: Simplifying Operations for Soccer Shots and Little Kickers

Presenter: Rochelle Shvarts, Strategic Partnerships – Connecteam

What we’ll cover: In this introductory session, we’ll walk through how Connecteam helps youth sports organizations streamline their day-to-day operations in one simple platform. From staff scheduling and time tracking to communication and task management, Connecteam is designed to help program owners spend less time on admin and more time growing their business.

We’ll cover the core features that many Soccer Shots and Little Kickers franchises are already using to manage coaches, coordinate schedules, and keep teams aligned. Whether you’re exploring Connecteam for the first time or just want to understand how it can support your operation, this session will give you a clear overview of how the platform works and how it can benefit your team.

Connecteam Best Practices: How Top Soccer Shots & Little Kickers Franchisees Use the Platform

Presenter: Christina Williams & Tali Shashua – Connecteam

What we’ll cover: This session will focus on practical strategies and best practices from Soccer Shots and Little Kickers franchises currently using Connecteam led by our Customer Success team. We’ll walk through a live demo highlighting how successful operators are using the platform to streamline scheduling, improve communication with coaches, and keep operations running smoothly across multiple locations.

We’ll also share real-world workflows and tips that help franchises save time, reduce administrative work, and keep their teams engaged. This session is ideal for current Connecteam users looking to get more value from the platform, as well as those who want to see how other franchises are successfully implementing it in their day-to-day operations.

Sessions for Little Kickers

Effectively Including Families During Sessions

Presenter: Laura Mellor-Bachman, Director Product Development

What we’ll cover: How do we best interact with families during sessions? It is a question with many answers and opinions. During this breakout, we will break down ways to interact with children’s family members before, during, and after the session to best support their Little Kicker, keep them connected to the brand, and keep them raving fans!

Who should attend: Franchise owners, operations managers, and coaches who regularly interact with families and want to strengthen parent engagement before, during, and after sessions.

Kickstarting Excellence: Creating a World-Class Coach Onboarding Experience

Presenter: Jay Clinton, Country Manager, Canada

What we’ll cover: Join us to explore the winning game plan for turning new coaches into confident, high-quality leaders on the pitch! We will explore a structured 30-60-90 day onboarding roadmap designed specifically to support the 'Play Not Push' philosophy. Discover how to move away from paper checklists and use modern digital tools to ensure every coach is safe, compliant, and confident on the pitch from Day 1. It’s time to stop winging it and start winning with a standardized process that scales.

If you are tired of chaotic hiring processes or worried about maintaining high coaching standards as you grow, this playbook is for you. It is especially beneficial for those looking to modernize their management style and cut down on administrative time.

Who should attend: Franchisees, Head Coaches, and Operations Managers who are looking to improve retention and consistency across their locations.

Financial Benchmarking and Profitability

Presenter: Jessica Hewitt, National Franchise Solutions Advisor, ProfitKeeper

What we’ll cover: In this session we’ll learn tools offered by ProfitKeeper to analyze your business performance, average spend and margins.

Who should attend: Franchise owners and operations leaders responsible for budgeting, forecasting, and profitability.

Sessions for Soccer Shots

Marketing Cloud Workshop

Presenter: Sarah Heckman, Communications Manager

What we’ll cover: How to market a season in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

Who should attend: Franchise partners, directors and team members responsible for implementing marketing cloud

Consistency and Letting Go: Expectations of Children During a Session

Presenter: Laura Mellor-Bachman, Director, Product Development

What we’ll cover: In this breakout, we will explore what developmentally appropriate behavior looks like during a Mini, Classic, and Premier session. Then use that knowledge to discuss ways to adapt the session delivery to keep children engaged and active throughout. The goal? Maximum enjoyment and low stress for children, families, teachers, and Coaches.

Who should attend: Coaches, head coaches, and operations leaders who support session delivery and want clearer, developmentally appropriate expectations for children across all program levels.

Financial Benchmarking and Profitability with Profit Keeper