How do you grow a sports training business from Miami training sessions to seven locations worldwide? Coleman Ayers figured it out—and the answer isn’t what most trainers expect.
What started as court rentals and one-on-one sessions has become By Any Means Basketball, a global brand reshaping how young athletes experience the sport. Coleman has over 400,000 YouTube subscribers, a network of facilities, and a business model that lets his coaches take weeks off without everything falling apart.
In this episode of the CoachIQ Podcast, Coleman breaks down the systems, pricing strategies, and content approach that made it possible to grow his sports training business at scale—and why chasing viral content might be the wrong move for your local operation.
In this episode
- Why combining training with AAU creates a better athlete experience (and stronger business model)
- The systems that let Coleman’s coaches step away from daily operations—and how to grow your sports training business without burning out
- How to price your services based on value, not what competitors charge
- Why 500 local followers beats 1 million random views
- The “binge bank” content strategy for coaches who hate creating content
From Miami facility to seven locations worldwide
Coleman’s journey started like many trainers—passionate about basketball, eager to make an impact. But around 2021, something shifted. Opening a facility in Miami marked his transition from basketball trainer to business operator—a shift that required thinking differently about scheduling, payments, and client relationships.
“That kind of marked the transition at least personally from like a basketball trainer to also somebody who is very interested in the business side,” Coleman explains. “And then from there, just through some lucky breaks, started traveling internationally.”
Those international trips changed everything. Seeing how European clubs operated—the holistic approach, the federation oversight, the emphasis on development over tournament results—gave Coleman a blueprint for something different.
The result? Adapt Academy, a program that combines training and club basketball under one roof. It’s the “anti-AAU” approach, designed to address the pain points parents kept bringing to his Miami facility: too many games, too much money, too much pressure on 12-year-olds.
The holistic model: why training-only has limits
Not every market needs the all-in-one approach. Coleman is clear about that. Some cities have thriving training cultures where parents prioritize skill development and pay premium rates for it.
But in markets like Miami and San Diego, Coleman noticed a ceiling. Parents would invest in training, but club basketball always came first. The priority was always AAU—even when parents complained about the experience.
“There was only so much that we could provide to them when we knew that the priority was always going to be club basketball,” Coleman says. “So we go, ‘Hey, why don’t we combine these things where we take the positives of Europe and beyond and the positives of American basketball and put them all together in one?'”
The key insight: it’s not about choosing between training revenue and club revenue. It’s about recognizing which model serves athletes best in your specific market—and building systems to deliver that experience at scale.
This mirrors what Tyler Leclerc discovered scaling his Massachusetts facility—the breaking point where market limitations forced a strategic pivot.
What systems do you need to grow a sports training business?
Ask Coleman about the biggest mistake he sees trainers making, and his answer is immediate: no systems.
“A lot of trainers run their businesses like services. They don’t have SOPs, they don’t have systems in place, they don’t have different methods through which you can take time off their plate, make more money, scale the business further.”
This isn’t abstract theory. Coleman spent two years investing in robust systems across all By Any Means locations. The payoff? His trainers can take weeks off—actual vacations, time with their kids, opportunities to build their personal brand—without the business grinding to a halt.
“It honestly more than helps. It changes everything,” he says. “To the point where most of our trainers can take weeks off from being physically in the business and travel and go on vacation or spend more time with their kids.”
The connection to coaching quality matters here too. When coaches aren’t drowning in administrative work, they have time to actually learn and improve their craft. Coleman admits he went through a six-month to year-long stretch where business overwhelm prevented him from studying basketball—the very thing that drew him to this work.
Automated scheduling and payment processing aren’t just conveniences. They’re what create the space for coaches to keep developing as coaches while running sustainable businesses. A solid client management system ties it all together—tracking athlete progress, managing leads, and keeping communication organized in one place.
Pricing: stop copying your competitors
If systems are the foundation, pricing is the architecture. And most trainers get it completely wrong.
“Take an average of everyone else around you and then bump it down a little bit so that people train with you,” Coleman says, describing the common approach. “Which is the opposite of what we want to do.”
His alternative framework starts by ignoring competitor pricing entirely:
- What are competitors actually offering?
- What else can you offer beyond that?
- How can you do the overlapping parts better?
- What price reflects that value—regardless of what others charge?
This isn’t about pricing people out. Coleman’s team includes trainers whose entire mission is helping athletes who can’t afford training. But here’s the insight: sustainable scholarship programs require profitable core businesses.
“The people who can pay are happy to pay. They want to pay for this,” Coleman explains. “That allows you to then go and start a nonprofit and then scholarship athletes through this.”
Building a strong pricing structure—one that reflects actual value delivered—is what funds the impact work. You can’t give away what you haven’t built.
Once you’ve set your pricing, automated payment processing ensures you actually collect what you’re owed—no more awkward Venmo requests or chasing down late payments.
How content helps you grow a sports training business (without going viral)
Coleman has over 400,000 YouTube subscribers. His Instagram following spans the basketball world. He’s a legitimate content creator.
And he’s telling you that strategy probably isn’t right for your local training business.
“Personal brand equals a powerful business brand automatically—that’s the fallacy,” Coleman says. “I learned this personally when I opened up in Miami and realized that nobody was coming to train with me because of the x amount of followers that I had on Instagram or YouTube.”
The distinction he draws: personal brand content is designed to spread globally. Business brand content is designed to convert locally. They require completely different approaches.
For local business content, Coleman recommends:
Identify 3-4 content pillars specific to your business. At By Any Means facilities, that might be culture, rentals, and training. Each pillar addresses specific pain points your local market cares about.
Focus on trust-building content over viral content. Testimonials, transformation videos, behind-the-scenes culture—the stuff that might feel “boring” but that parents on Facebook actually respond to.
One content angle that consistently converts: showing the economics behind your model. Parents respond when they understand why group training delivers better value than individual sessions at a better price point.
Reframe your metrics entirely. “I would rather have 500 views from 500 people who are our ideal customer profile versus a million views from people who aren’t even in our local market.”
The binge bank approach for busy coaches
What if you hate creating content? Coleman has a framework for that too.
Think of your Instagram as a digital storefront—not a daily content machine. Create nine great videos that showcase who you are, where you train, why you care. They can be six months old. It doesn’t matter.
“At least you have that presence,” Coleman says. “I’m a parent, I’m like, ‘Okay, what facility is this?’ I can go to the Instagram and it’s kind of like a website.”
This pairs well with having a proper coaching website—another digital storefront that works for you around the clock. Or take it a step further with a branded mobile app that lives on parents’ phones and keeps your business top of mind. Combined with even modest paid advertising ($150 to $200 per month on a high-performing video targeting your local market), you get visibility without the content creation grind.
Then, as profit margins grow, you can reinvest in a content creator who comes in twice a month and produces the four videos you need. Scale the content operation as the business supports it, not before.
What actually fulfills Coleman about this work
Seven locations. Hundreds of athletes. A global brand. But when asked what’s most fulfilling, Coleman doesn’t talk about numbers.
“For me, it’s helping other people like myself who are passionate about basketball, youth development, and business… develop legit full-time careers out of this to the point where they can not only feed their family, but live good lives.”
He gets specific: coaches moving into nicer houses, taking vacations they couldn’t afford before, having the flexibility to invest in their own development. This freedom comes from building businesses that don’t require their presence every hour—something that becomes possible when scheduling and client communication run automatically.
“Seeing these things not only encourages me that they are impacting more athletes, but that this is a very scalable way to help develop quality coaches who over time change the lives of thousands of athletes.”
It’s the ripple effect. Impact 100 athletes directly as a coach, or impact 100 coaches who each impact thousands. The math favors building systems that help other coaches succeed.
The youth basketball ecosystem problem (and what could fix it)
Coleman doesn’t hold back on the state of youth basketball in the United States. The lack of regulation, the barrier to entry for AAU programs, the coaches who take the check over upholding their standards—he’s seen it all.
His diagnosis: USA Basketball and similar federations aren’t doing nearly enough to vet programs, educate coaches, or ensure quality experiences for young athletes.
“Baseline, AAU programs should be vetted by somebody at USA basketball. They should have to go through an actual education process,” Coleman argues. He took the USA Basketball coaching course recently for a live period tournament. “I just clicked through it and it took me 30 minutes and I learned absolutely nothing.”
The contrast with European models is stark. In most European countries, coaching youth at different levels requires progressive licensing—almost like a college course. Programs are vetted. Standards are enforced.
Coleman isn’t naive about the challenges of implementing this in American youth sports. The fragmentation, the capitalism, the sheer scale of the industry make consolidation difficult. But he believes even partial solutions could dramatically improve the youth basketball experience.
For individual trainers, the takeaway is simpler: be the program in your market that upholds actual standards. When you’re tempted to take a problematic client for the monthly fee, remember what it costs your culture and reputation long-term.
Key takeaways to grow your sports training business
Build systems before you try to scale. The time you invest in SOPs, automation, and documented processes pays dividends when you want to take a vacation—or open a second location.
Price based on value, not competition. Understand what you’re offering, do it better than anyone else, then price accordingly. Stop racing to the bottom.
Local content beats viral content for local businesses. Five hundred engaged followers in your city matter more than a million random views. Focus on trust-building content that converts.
The binge bank works. If content creation overwhelms you, create nine great videos and treat your social media like a digital storefront rather than a daily show.
Impact multiplies through systems. Helping other coaches build sustainable careers extends your impact far beyond what you could achieve training athletes directly.
Ready to build the systems that grow your training business?
Coleman’s success comes back to one thing: systems that free coaches from administrative overwhelm so they can focus on what matters—developing athletes and building sustainable careers.
CoachIQ helps sports coaches implement the scheduling automation, payment processing, and client management systems that make scaling possible. With automated reminders and communication tools, you reduce no-shows and stay connected with athletes between sessions. Schedule a free demo to see how these systems could help you grow your sports training business.
Connect with Coleman:
- Instagram: @byanymeansbasketball
- For coaching ideas: @byanymeanscoaches
- For business growth: @byanymeansbusiness
- YouTube: By Any Means Basketball
Related reading:
