NBC Sports Group’s SportsEngine Launches Largest Youth Sports Directory in North America
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SportsEngine, an NBC Sports Group company, is launching North America’s largest youth sports directory, where parents can search and compare youth sports programs in their areas. Available today, just in time for kids heading back to school, the SportsEngine.com directory contains more than 100,000 youth sports listings spanning across 20 different sports for youth and amateur athletes.
By entering a few simple details, including what sport or organization the user wants to search, their postal code, and their child’s gender and age, parents have access to programs across the US and Canada at their fingertips.
“For parents, finding a quality, trustworthy program for their kids from among thousands of choices available is a daunting task,” says Justin Kaufenberg, SportsEngine CEO. “The SportsEngine.com youth directory provides parents with a curated list of conveniently-located options based on their child’s age, interest, and location. SportsEngine’s mission has always been to make youth sports a rewarding experience for athletes, parents, volunteers, administrators, families, and fans. While we already have the most highly-rated toolset for organizations to run their programs, the evolution of our company is now making sure that parents and kids can find the best program that is best for them.”
SportsEngine.com aims to grow sport participation among youth, a commitment reflected in its support of the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, which mobilizes stakeholders to build healthy communities through sports. Offerings on SportsEngine.com include no and lower cost programs from the YMCA and Boys and Girls Clubs of America, as well as listings for thousands of local clubs and associations. In addition to season play listings, many national governing bodies are including ‘Try for Free’ programs.
In addition, the directory helps these organizations recruit athletes for their programs. USA Hockey, which has used SportsEngine’s Sport Life Management services for five years, is one of the national governing bodies joining SportsEngine.com at launch.
“Helping grow the game of hockey at the grassroots level is incredibly important to us,” says Cam Eickmeyer, Director of Internet and Content Development, USA Hockey. “Every year, USA Hockey sponsors several ‘Try Hockey’ events. This year, we are excited to include our events in November and March in the newSportsEngine.com directory. We think this will provide another easy way for parents to find out about our events and register with their local club for ‘Try Hockey Day.’”
Parents can visit SportsEngine.com today to find a program for their young athlete.