Open Door Sports

What Open Door Sports does

Open Door Sports (ODS) is a Maryland-incorporated nonprofit organization founded in 2017 by Sarah Albus and Mike Worden, headquartered in Kensington, MD. ODS delivers free after-school and summer sports programming for children and young adults with special needs (ages 6-26), with a unified-sports model that pairs participants with peer buddy volunteers in grades 6-12. The organization's portfolio includes Youth Programs (soccer, basketball, tennis, yoga, t-ball, bocce), Young Adult Programs (flag football, basketball, pickleball), a competitive Game Day Program, a Changemaker Club for off-field social engagement, and a Peer Buddy Volunteer Program that issues Student Service Learning hours. Programs are delivered on-site at partner schools across Montgomery County, including Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Tilden Middle School, Katherine Thomas School, Rock Creek Forest Elementary, Holy Redeemer Catholic School, and Flora Singer Elementary.\n\nODS operates as a donor- and event-funded nonprofit rather than a revenue-generating enterprise. Operating budget support comes from the annual ODS Open golf tournament at Argyle Country Club, additional pickleball tournaments and annual celebration events, individual donations processed through Network for Good, a tiered corporate sponsorship program ($5,000 Platinum down to $500 Bronze) with logo placement on the website and player t-shirts, and foundation grants. All participant programming is provided at no cost to families. The organization runs with a small core staff led by Executive Director Sarah Albus (former Division I Vanderbilt soccer player and NSCAA licensed coach with 30 years of coaching experience), supported by Development Director Nanci Sundel, Youth Program Director Mary Carpenter, and additional head and summer coaches.\n\nThere is no proprietary technology platform; program administration, registration, and donation processing rely on standard web properties, email, Instagram, and the Network for Good donation portal. ODS's strategic positioning rests on talent (credentialed coaches with special-needs expertise), embedded school-district relationships, and the unified-sports peer-buddy model that surveys indicate is the most impactful aspect of participation for both players and volunteers.

Name

Open Door Sports

Legal name

Open Door Sports Inc.

Website

https://opendoorsports.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Open Door Sports is a Maryland-based nonprofit founded in 2017 that provides free after-school and summer unified sports programming for children and young adults with special needs (ages 6-26), delivered on-site at Montgomery County, MD partner schools and supported through donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation grants, and fundraising events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adaptive and Inclusive Youth Sports Programs

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (71394), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth & Scholastic Sports Organizations (K–12, AAU, Club Leagues) (MPAKACAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recreational & Intramural Sports Programs (MPAKACAG), Local Amateur Clubs & Community Sports Organizations (MPAKACAE), Amateur & Grassroots Sport Associations (Community/Youth Governing Orgs) (MPAKAFAF)

Keywords

• Adaptive youth sports
• Special needs athletics
• Inclusive sports programs
• After-school sports
• Unified sports leagues

Headquarters

HQ city

Kensington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Fundraising Events: ODS is significantly dependent on fundraising events for operating budget. Major annual events include the ODS Open golf tournament, pickleball tournaments, and an annual celebration. The 2026 ODS Open is scheduled for September 28, 2026 at Argyle Country Club.
2. Individual Donations: Accepts donations from individuals, families, and community members to support free programming. Donations can be made through Network for Good platform.
3. Corporate Sponsorships: Annual corporate sponsorship program with Platinum ($5,000), Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels ($5,000-$500). Sponsorships include event benefits and logo placement on website and player t-shirts.
4. Foundation Partnerships: Partnerships with foundations that provide grant funding to support operations and programming.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Open Door Sports (ODS) is a nonprofit organization that provides free, high-quality after-school sports programming for children and young adults with special needs in Montgomery County, MD. Its offerings include Youth Programs (soccer, basketball, tennis, yoga, t-ball, bocce) for ages 6-21, Young Adult Programs (flag football, basketball, pickleball) for ages 16-26, the competitive Game Day unified sports program, Changemaker Club off-field social activities, and the Peer Buddy Volunteer Program pairing students with players. All programming is delivered free of charge at partner schools and community facilities.

Product overview

Open Door Sports is a nonprofit organization providing free quality sports programs for individuals with special needs. The portfolio consists of Youth Programs (ages 6-21) offering soccer, basketball, tennis, yoga, t-ball, and bocce; Young Adult Programs (ages 16-26) featuring flag football, basketball, and pickleball; the Game Day Program for competitive unified sports; Changemaker Club Events for off-field social activities; and the Peer Buddy Volunteer Program pairing students with players. All programs are provided at no cost to participants and operate primarily in Montgomery County, MD schools during the academic year with summer programming options.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Youth Programs After-school sports programs for kids with special needs ages 6-21 and peer buddy volunteers in grades 6th-12th, offering soccer, basketball, tennis, yoga, t-ball, and bocce classes at local Montgomery County, MD schools.
• Young Adult Programs Developmental sports programs for young adults with special needs ages 16-26, featuring flag football, basketball, and pickleball in a safe, encouraging cooperative team environment.
• Game Day Program Competitive, real game-like sports experience for advanced players with special needs, available in both youth (soccer, basketball) and young adult formats, featuring unified teams with both players with and without disabilities.
• Changemaker Club Events Monthly off-field social activities that foster relationships between players and peer buddies, including art classes, bowling, theatre outings, holiday lights shows, and other community-building events.
• Peer Buddy Volunteer Program Structured volunteer program pairing middle and high school students with ODS players for entire seasons, building friendships and providing SSL (Student Service Learning) hours for time spent in the program.
• ODS Open Golf Tournament Annual flagship fundraising event featuring an 18-hole scramble golf tournament with BBQ lunch, beverages, contests, and post-round happy hour, held at Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, MD.
• ODS Honor Wall Tribute program where donors can honor ODS players, peer buddies, or coaches with a $50 donation highlighting qualities like kindness, determination, leadership, or perseverance, featured on the Honor Wall in celebration of ODS's 10th anniversary in 2027.

Quantifiable outcome

• Year-over-year surveys show the player-peer buddy relationship is one of the most impactful aspects of ODS participation for both players and peer buddies

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Player Progression Academy (PPA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017PPA supported the founding of ODS and continues to be a strategic partner. Mike Worden, who founded PPA in 2012, co-founded ODS with Sarah Albus in 2017. Jamie Davin, Executive Director and Co-founder of PPA, serves on the ODS Board of Directors. PPA provides expertise in sports programming delivery.
• Montgomery County SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerODS partners with numerous schools throughout Montgomery County, MD to deliver programs on-site. Partner schools include Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Tilden Middle School, Katherine Thomas School, Rock Creek Forest Elementary, Holy Redeemer Catholic School, Flora Singer Elementary, and others.
• Corporate SponsorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCorporate sponsors provide annual funding at Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze levels ($5,000-$500). Sponsors receive event benefits and logo placement on ODS website and player t-shirts.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Little League Challenger Division: Little League's Challenger Division is an adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities. It targets a similar demographic to ODS (youth with disabilities) using a buddy/assisted play model, though focused exclusively on baseball.
• National Wheelchair Basketball Association: NWBA governs wheelchair basketball across age divisions including youth programs, comparable to the basketball portion of ODS's portfolio. Both organizations run community-based, free or low-cost programs with volunteer-driven delivery for participants with disabilities.
• Miracle League: Miracle League builds and operates accessible baseball fields and programs for children with disabilities. It shares ODS's focus on inclusive team sports, free participation, and community volunteer engagement, though it concentrates on baseball rather than ODS's broader multi-sport model.
• Special Olympics: Special Olympics is the largest global nonprofit providing year-round sports training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Like ODS, it offers unified/inclusive sports formats, peer partner involvement, and free or low-cost access — making it the closest mission-aligned peer.
• Achilles International: Achilles International transforms the lives of people with disabilities through running and walking programs with volunteer guides. It is comparable to ODS through its disability-focused adaptive sports model and reliance on volunteer guides, though focused on endurance sports rather than team sports.
• Move United: Move United (formerly Disabled Sports USA) is a national nonprofit network delivering adaptive sports opportunities across many disciplines. It is comparable to ODS in serving individuals with disabilities through community-based sports programs, though at much greater national scale and breadth.
• TOPSoccer (US Youth Soccer TOPSoccer): TOPSoccer is a community-based training and team placement program for young athletes with disabilities, run through US Youth Soccer's network. It overlaps directly with ODS's youth soccer programming and uses a buddy volunteer model — a near-functional equivalent for the soccer-specific slice of ODS.

Emerging players

• Best Buddies International: Best Buddies pairs individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with peer volunteers for one-to-one friendships, a model directly analogous to ODS's peer buddy program. While Best Buddies operates more broadly across schools and workplaces rather than sports, its pairing model and SSL-hour-driven volunteer pipeline mirror ODS's core engagement approach.

Broad incumbents

• YMCA of Metropolitan Washington: The regional YMCA operates inclusive youth sports, swimming, and after-school programs across the same DC-metro geography as ODS. It competes for the same volunteer, school-partnership, and corporate-sponsor dollars, while offering adaptive programming at a broader portfolio scale.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of America: BGCA is a national youth-development nonprofit with after-school programming that increasingly includes adaptive/inclusive sports offerings. It is comparable as a school-and-community-based youth programming operator in the same donor and volunteer ecosystem as ODS, though its mission is broader than sports.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/opendoorsports
• Facebookfacebook.com/OpenDoorTeam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/open-door-sports-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Open Door Sports