Velocity Sports Performance

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Velocity Sports Performance Franchise Systems, LLC d/b/a Velocity Sports Performance

Type	Private, Federal/Selective State Regulated
Founded	1999
Headquarters	Orange County, California
Key people	J. Todd Anderson, CEO Jim Bax, Chairman Mark DeGorter, COO Loren Seagrave, CPO/Founder
Industry	Franchising
Services	Sports Performance Training
Website	http://www.velocitysp.com/

Velocity Sports Performance is a performance training franchise that specializes in training athletes in every sport, at all ages and all skill levels, providing the opportunity to improve speed, agility, mobility and flexibility, and energy systems, while reducing the risk of sports-related injuries. As of 2005, Velocity claims that it is the largest national provider of youth sports performance training in North America.

As of 2007, there are over 50 training centers located in the United States, over 2 in Canada. Currently, Velocity operates 6 "company owned" centers.

While Velocity Sports Performance did not originate the sports performance training concept for all athletes, their rapid growth is thought to have led to other chains following suit by focusing on the youth market and/or changing their training target niche and name. Frappier Acceleration Sports Training began the niche of training youth athletes in 1990 but changed it's name and marketing approach in 2007 to Athletic Republic. Catz Training and Parisi Speed School began offering performance training franchises in 2005; D1 Sports Training began in 2003, and Top Dawg Sports began franchising training centers in 2007.

Besides Athletic Republic (whose business model is program licensing/equipment sales versus traditional franchising), all the other competitors are less than 20% the size of Velocity in terms of the number of dedicated training centers operating as of 2008. In multiple articles and interviews, there is a claim by Velocity management that "210" franchisees had been sold by 2004 but this number has yet to be verified.

Documented performance improvements of Velocity trained athletes are very positive and the franchisor recognized tremendous growth and expansion from 2003-2008 .

1 Notable Franchisees
2 History/Ownership
3 Marketing/PR
4 Partners
5 Coaches/Trainers
6 Business Model and Support Concerns
7 References

[edit] Notable Franchisees

Steve McKinney	Chuck DeBus	Charles Dimry	Randy Craig	Steve Smith
Michael Timpson	Bryce Salvador	Bill Franzen	Jim Host

[edit] History/Ownership

1999-2006

Velocity Sports Performance was founded by three individuals: David Walmsley, Richard Kissane, and Loren Seagrave. Walmsley (CEO through 2006) and Kissane (President through 2005) are no longer with the company nor are they owners but Seagrave remains as an employee in the role of Founder of the company.^[1]

2006
In 2006, John Woods, an Atlanta businessman and franchise owner of several Velocity Sports Performance franchises in the southeast led a group who purchased Velocity Sports Performance Franchise Systems. Mark Scott, who was part of the buyout group, was appointed CEO to replace Walmsley. In October of 2006, Troy Medley, a California businessman and regional developer of Velocity Sports Performance in Southern California was named CEO to replace Scott and Florida businessman James 'Jim' Bax, who was also part of the buyout team, was named Board Chairman.^[2]
2007
In 2007, the corporate and field support operations of the franchisor moved from Georgia to California. Although Woods resigned from the board and has divested of all of his franchises, he still remains a minority owner along with other members of the 2006 buyout group. In 2007, several new investment groups injected capital into the franchisor, including a group represented by J. Todd Anderson, a Southern California businessman and attorney. Anderson's group claims to hold a controlling interest in the company but this fact (and other information regarding the ownership makeup entering 2008) has not been officially verified as of December, 2007.
2008
On January 17, 2008, the company announced that Todd Anderson was replacing Troy Medley as CEO. Medley announced that he was returning to his Irvine, CA franchise and would be opening additional Velocity locations in 2008.

NOTE: As of December, 2007, an updated UFOC has not been filed in the state of California. The last filed UFOC for Velocity covered FY 2005-2006.

[edit] Marketing/PR

Velocity Sports Performance has benefited from a large amount of PR by virtue of the industry they serve and the popularity and interest in youth, high school, college and professional sports in North America. Velocity has received a great deal of free press coverage from events like baseball's Mitchell Report to professional football's annual NFL Combine. This exposure, along with the "grassroots" efforts of the local franchisee in each market, represent the bulk of Velocity's current marketing efforts.

[edit] Partners

Velocity Sports Performance lists several national and international brands as their "partners" on several areas of their web site. As of January, 2008, those partners are:

Nike, Inc.
Gatorade
CSA Prepstar
SPARQ
scout.com

As of January 2008, additional information is needed regarding the details of these partnerships.^[3]

[edit] Coaches/Trainers

Velocity coaches hold certifications from several organizations including the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Several notable sports performance trainers or "'Sports Performance Directors'" include Rhett Larson and Matt James.

On January 22, 2008, UCLA announced that Mike Linn, an alumni and former starting football lineman and VP of Program Design at Velocity Sports Performance, had joined the UCLA training staff as head of football Strength and Conditioning, reuniting with Head Football Coach Rick Neuheisel.

[edit] Business Model and Support Concerns

Since 2004, several franchise industry and small business journalists have questioned the viability of Velocity's business model and cited Velocity as an example of the problems franchisee/investors can encounter with new franchise concepts.

The multiple closures, resales by original investment groups for a fraction of their original investment (citation needed) and outright failures of centers underlines that the original business and sales model, and initial investment/capital requirements promoted in the first years of the franchise offering were invalid and vastly underestimated.

Since the quality of the Velocity training product and the business acumen/previous success of the franchise owners has not been called into question to date, issues that are speculated to be the main causes of the closures and resales include:

1. The initial business/sales model.
2. Profitability and stable business model claims made by former and present franchisor executives^[4]^[5].
3. The ongoing franchisor management/ownership turmoil.

Recently, the validity of claims by Velocity management and ownership in multiple publications and UFOC's regarding the number of franchises and development areas sold, the timing of center openings, the revenue generated by Velocity network, and average location revenue are being called into question.

The The Wall Street Journal ran an article titled, "Pitfalls People May Face When Buying a Franchise" which highlights some of the concerns and issues facing Velocity franchises and includes quotes from Velocity franchisees and employees.