Check for youth soccer programs in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties, and you’ll find no fewer than 10, including offerings from the Wilmington Hammerheads Youth Football Club, the Wilmington Family YMCA and a variety of other nonprofit sports organizations. 

This year there is a new, for-profit player on the field: i9 Sports, a Florida-based company that offers recreational programs in soccer, flag football, basketball and baseball.

“Our territory stretches from Jacksonville south to Carolina Beach,” said Jay Mechtly, the local franchisee along with his wife, Danielle. “There are about 80,000 children 14 and under, and just under half of them don’t play any organized sports. We’re looking at that as our opportunity; we’re looking at increasing overall participation with added locations and added sports.” 

i9 Sports, now in its first season in the Wilmington area, brings its soccer program to what some describe as an already crowded field.

One big player is the program run by the Hammerheads’ nonprofit youth organization. With an enrollment of about 1,500 boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in the club’s open-to-all recreational program and another 700 in its more demanding classic program, the Hammerheads can tap the resources of the for-profit pro team to enhance its offerings.

Another large program for kids aged 3 to 18 is Pleasure Island Soccer Association (PISA), which draws primarily from central and southern New Hanover County, according to president and CEO Mike Bennett.

“We are arguably the largest youth sports organization in the county,” Bennett said, quoting participant numbers of about 3,400 combined for its spring and fall seasons in 2015.

Bennett questions how i9 Sports will be competitive in New Hanover County with soccer, which he characterizes as “the one sport where there is already maybe too much supply.”

“There are established programs already. Access to fields is already a battle,” he said. “I don’t know of a geographic area that’s not already being served.”

The Mechtlys, however, decided to kick off their franchise in New Hanover County. They secured the use of fields at Coastal Christian High School and Noble Middle School for the current soccer season, which began Jan. 28 and runs through February, and for the summer season. 

Jay Mechtly said i9 Sports’ enrollment for its inaugural soccer season was about 100 players aged 5 through 14 – “pretty good – what we expected,” he said, adding that registration for soccer and upcoming flag football and baseball seasons is currently between 400 and 500.

Next fall i9 Sports plans to add Leland and Jacksonville soccer fields.

The for-profit i9 Sports soccer program costs a player $109-$149 per season: the earlier you register, the lower the price is, according to company officials. The Hammerheads’ minimum season cost per player ranges from $50 to $85, depending on the player’s age. 

As part of its marketing to parents, each program emphasizes that it teaches values as well as skills. Having fun and getting playing time are also important in appealing to players and parents.

“We’re trying to create a culture; teach boys and girls to be good people … to learn to be a teammate, be honest, eat right and treat your body right,” said Carson Porter, executive director of the Hammerheads’ youth organization. 

PISA, established by parents in 1993, has a business plan that Bennett says is more about creating a “family atmosphere” and positive experience for its young players, all of whom are guaranteed playing time.

“We have a strict policy on conduct and sportsmanship,” he said, adding that PISA’s program is a “good experience for kids, affordable for parents and very well organized.”

“Our two pillars are fun and safety. We offer non-contact sports, we promote concussion awareness and we don’t allow heading in soccer,” said i9 Sports' CEO Brian Sanders. “We are recreational in nature; we have no travel teams, no drafts, no tryouts. We offer equal playing time.”

i9 Sports touts its convenience, including an online and mobile communications system for parents to keep in touch with coaches and with each other.

The Mechtlys’ children played in an i9 Sports league when the family lived in Fort Worth, Texas. Upon returning to Wilmington the couple looked for a franchise opportunity and saw it in the company. They liked the program’s organization, philosophy and family-friendly schedule, which means practices are held on game days.

“We had four kids under 10, and convenience was key for us,” Danielle Mechtly said. “There are no midweek practices. It was 8 to 2 on Saturday and over and done with.”

It doesn’t matter whether a program is run for profit or as a nonprofit, Sanders said. 

“What participants care about is the experience,” he said. “If we don’t provide a top-notch experience, people won’t come back and we cease to exist.”