Sports Training Services

Industry Profile Report

Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters

Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.

Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.

Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.

Industry Profile Excerpts

Industry Overview

The 17,500 sports training service providers in the US offer instruction in athletic activities The industry includes personal trainers, which operate independently from a sports facility. Firms may specialize in a particular sport or exercise, such as tennis or yoga, or provide general athletic training.

Competition From Alternative Providers

Sports training service providers compete with a variety of alternative sources, including fitness clubs, recreation centers, schools, other types of camps (academic, scouting), and videos (YouTube, DVDs).

Industry size & Structure

The average sports training service provider operates out of a single location, employs 8-9 workers, and generates about $446,000 annually.

    • The sports training services industry consists of about 17,500 firms that employ about 157,000 workers and generate $7.8 billion annually.
    • The sports training services industry is fragmented; the top 50 companies account for 19% of industry revenue. In the nonprofit sector, the top 50 companies account for 30% of sector revenue.
    • Small, independent organizations account for the vast majority of the industry. Large organizations offer services through local chapters.
                                Industry Forecast
                                Sports Training Services Industry Growth
                                Source: Vertical IQ and Inforum

                                Recent Developments

                                Jun 2, 2023 - Low Entry Barriers Encourage New Business Formations
                                • A personal training service is one of the 10 best businesses to start with $10,000 in 2023, according to Forbes Magazine. The entry barrier is minimal, as an owner can operate as a sole proprietor during the early stages. There are no mandatory educational requirements for personal trainers, but most trainers hold a certification from The American College of Sports Medicine or The National Strength and Conditioning Association. An increasingly sedentary lifestyles that make staying in shape more challenging is a key driver of demand for personal training services, according to Forbes.
                                • The number of Americans who participated in at least one sport or fitness activity increased for the fifth consecutive year in 2022, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Participation in group fitness-based activities continued to struggle with some signs of recovery. About 237 million people in the US (77.6% of Americans ages 6 and older) participated in at least one sport or fitness activity in 2022, which is a 9.2% increase from 2017 and a 1.9% increase from 2021.
                                • Many health club-based activities were not back to 2019 participation rates, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Of the 24 fitness activities tracked, eight had an increase in participation in the past three years: Pilates training (11.6%); yoga (10.4%); kettlebells (6.5%); dance, step, and other choreographed exercise to music (5%); barre (3.8%); free weights (dumbbells/hand weights) (3.3%); walking for fitness (3%) and free weights (barbells) (1.1%). The gym-based activities with the biggest decreases in participation from 2019 to 2022 were group stationary cycling (-36.9%), cross-training style workouts (-31.7%), boot camp style training (-24%), stair climbing machine (-24%) and cardio kickboxing (-21.3%).
                                • "Long COVID" may negatively affect demand for sports training as athletes struggle to recover. The definition of long COVID has not yet been set. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security, uses the term to refer to people who have an episode of COVID-19 that wasn’t very severe – meaning they weren’t ICU patients – and are left with some deficiencies in their ability to perform their activities of daily life when compared to pre-infection. Long COVID also takes different forms, with a long list of symptoms that overlap with countless other maladies, making it difficult for medical experts to set a care plan. Sports training may be difficult or impossible for an extended period as a result of these issues.
                                Get A Demo

                                Vertical IQ’s Industry Intelligence Platform

                                See for yourself why over 60,000 users trust Vertical IQ for their industry research and call preparation needs. Our easy-to-digest industry insights save call preparation time and help differentiate you from the competition.

                                Build valuable, lasting relationships by having smarter conversations -
                                check out Vertical IQ today.

                                Request A Demo