Beyond Soccer

What Beyond Soccer does

Beyond Soccer is a sports-based youth development nonprofit founded in 2011 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, that uses soccer as the engagement vehicle for youth ages 5-19 (Pre-K through 12th grade). The organization operates an integrated portfolio of programs: year-round Lawrence Youth Soccer travel and in-city leagues, indoor Winter Futsal & Tekkers, a summer Soccer & Wellness Academy, free evening Summer Nights programming at multiple Lawrence locations, school-day enrichment at five-plus partner schools (Guilmette, Arlington, Hennessy, Esperanza Academy, and Bellesini Academy), plus adjacent product lines covering nutrition and fitness (Health Kicks! using Boston Children's Hospital's FitKit), academics and tutoring (Academic Overtime), female-focused resiliency programming (Beyond Resilient Girls, built with the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport and Wellesley Centers for Women), and a youth employment and leadership pathway (Summer Youth Jobs, Junior Coaches, Coach Mentors). The Coach Mentor model, in which former players return as paid staff, is the operational backbone and is staffed entirely by program alumni; named staff include Executive Director Stephanie McArdle, Director of Soccer Development Chris Marin, Impact Coordinator Declan Murphy, Communications Director Oriagna Inirio, and Academic Overtime Coordinator Will Inirio, several of whom grew up in the program.

The technology stack is light and standard for a small nonprofit: WhatsApp for family communications, Constant Contact for email, PayPal for fee collection, and Google Calendar and Google Forms for scheduling and registration. The differentiated intellectual property sits in curriculum and program design rather than software: the Beyond Resilient Girls curriculum, the Fuel-for-Performance nutrition classes, and trauma-informed coaching practices delivered via the Coach Mentor pathway. Revenue is overwhelmingly grant-funded rather than transactional: program fees are nominal at $40 per participant with waivers available (the bulk of revenue derives from 60+ foundation, corporate, and government funders, including the New Balance Foundation, Cummings Foundation, Good Sports, Boston Children's Hospital, the Women's Fund of Essex County, the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, the DCR Summer Nights grant of approximately $20,000, and MassHire YouthWorks wage offsets). The organization is governed by an 11-person Board of Directors led by President Nina Leach and Treasurer Brian O'Connor and operates year-round programs serving approximately 600 youth in the regular season, with 3,000+ lifetime participants since inception.

The 15th-anniversary milestone in 2026 underscores the organization's transition from a single-city after-school program to an internationally recognized sport-for-good brand, supported by quantified outcomes such as a 12% year-over-year increase in winter futsal participation (334 youth), 42.0 and 32.3 percentage-point HFZ fitness score gains across fall and spring travel team participants, and a first-ever appearance by five Beyond Soccer teams in the Essex County Youth Soccer playoffs.

Name

Beyond Soccer

Legal name

Beyond Soccer Lawrence

Website

https://beyondsoccerlawrence.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Beyond Soccer is a Lawrence, Massachusetts nonprofit founded in 2011 that uses soccer to deliver youth development programs for ages 5-19, integrating sports, health, academic, and leadership offerings through a Coach Mentor pipeline of program alumni.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Services

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620), Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers (713940)

SIC

Services-Membership Sports & Recreation Clubs (7997), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Local Amateur Clubs & Community Sports Organizations (MPAKACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recreational & Intramural Sports Programs (MPAKACAG), Arts, Sports & Recreation-Based Youth Development Nonprofits (BPAGADAJ), Cause, Community & CSR-Linked Sports Partnerships (Foundations, Youth Programs) (MPAKALAJ)

Keywords

• Youth soccer programs
• Youth development services
• Sports-based mentoring
• After-school enrichment
• Community youth services

Headquarters

HQ city

Lawrence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grants: Primary revenue source from private foundations including New Balance Foundation, Cummings Foundation, Good Sports, and over 60 other funders and partners listed on their website
2. Individual Donations: Charitable donations from individuals, with a $15 for 15 campaign matching donations up to $25,000 for their 15th anniversary
3. Program Fees: Program fees of $40 per participant with fee waivers available for families who cannot afford the cost
4. Government Grants: Funding from government sources including DCR Summer Nights grants and MassHire YouthWorks program for youth employment

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Beyond Soccer is a nonprofit sports-based youth development organization that uses soccer to deliver year-round programs connecting Lawrence, MA youth (ages 5-19) to leadership, healthy living, and academic achievement opportunities. Core offerings include travel and in-city soccer leagues, winter futsal, summer enrichment camps, in-school programs, health and wellness education, academic tutoring, and a youth employment/Coach Mentor pathway, supported by foundation grants, government funding, individual donations, and low program fees.

Product overview

Beyond Soccer is a sports-based youth development organization offering a portfolio of interconnected programs centered on soccer as a vehicle for youth development. The core offerings include Lawrence Youth Soccer (travel and in-city leagues), seasonal Futsal programs (Winter Futsal & Tekkers), Summer Enrichment (Soccer & Wellness Academy and Summer Nights), and year-round Health Kicks! wellness programming. Supporting programs include Academic Overtime (tutoring and scholarship support), Beyond Resilient Girls (resiliency curriculum), Leadership & Youth Jobs (employment pathway), and In-School Programs (school-day enrichment). The Coach Mentor Program serves as the operational backbone, with former players staffing nearly all programs through a youth employment pathway. A signature Paul "Lefty" Wennik Outstanding Character Scholarship supports college-bound seniors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Summer Nights: Evening futsal and soccer programming offered at no cost during summer months, run by Coach Mentors at multiple locations including DCR Riverfront Park and SLE/Breen School courts.
• Lawrence Youth Soccer
• Soccer & Wellness Academy
• Beyond Resilient Girls
• Academic Overtime
• Health Kicks!
• Paul Lefty Wennik Outstanding Character Scholarship

Products and services

• Lawrence Youth Soccer

Quantifiable outcome

• HFZ fitness scores increased by 42.0 percentage points in fall and 32.3 percentage points in spring for travel team participants
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, important and minor.

• Boston Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides FitKit resources for the Fuel for Performance nutrition education program. Conducts annual fitness evaluations using HFZ scoring to measure participant health outcomes.
• Mass Youth SoccercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState soccer federation partner for travel league competition, referee development, and the Mass Youth Soccer Festival. Co-hosts World Cup celebrations at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
• Lawrence Recreation DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity partner for joint programming including National Day of Play collaborations, soccer clinics, and community events.
• Lupoli CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides weekly access to state-of-the-art turf field at The Pavilion at Riverwalk - described as the best field in the region with 1,200-car parking garage.
• Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport (CHJS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in developing the Beyond Resilient Girls curriculum and training Coach Mentors in trauma-informed sports practices.
• Wellesley Centers for WomencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner (Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab) evaluating program impact on girls' resilience, leadership, and long-term sport engagement.
• Dream Big!importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time partner providing access to the Annual Dream Big! Female Leadership Conference at UMass Boston for Beyond Soccer student-athletes.
• Lawrence YWCAimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for indoor futsal programming, expanding access to quality indoor competition and connecting Lawrence youth with peers from surrounding communities.
• Essex County Youth Futsal League (ECYFL)importantStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeague partner for indoor futsal competition, with the potential to connect Beyond Soccer teams with regional competitors.
• Merrimack CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner providing service learning students for tutoring and connecting with men's soccer program for mentorship.
• Everyone's A PlayerimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner that facilitated equipment donations including cleats through connections like Whirlaway Sports.
• Bellesini AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew school partner for 2025/26 school year, hosting in-school programming as part of Beyond Soccer's school-day enrichment efforts.
• The Boys & Girls Club of LawrenceimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity organization partner for youth programming and collaborative events in the Lawrence area.
• Merrimack Valley YMCA-LawrenceimportantStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner for youth programming and collaborative activities.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Street Soccer USA: National nonprofit leveraging soccer for social impact including homelessness, reentry, and youth development across U.S. cities. Comparable soccer-based youth-development methodology with measurable outcomes focus.
• Soccer Without Borders: Nonprofit using soccer as a vehicle for newcomer and refugee youth integration in multiple U.S. cities. Comparable sport-for-social-impact model with year-round programming and integrated academic/leadership supports.
• Boston Scores: Boston-based nonprofit using soccer, poetry, and service-learning for urban youth development. Most direct comparable — co-hosted Festival 26 with Beyond Soccer and operates a near-identical sport-plus-youth-development model in Greater Boston.
• Sport dans la Ville: France's leading sport-for-social-inclusion nonprofit using soccer for youth employment and leadership in underserved communities. Co-developed Festival 26 with Boston Scores; structurally analogous program model.
• America SCORES: National nonprofit combining soccer with poetry, creative writing, and service-learning for elementary and middle school youth in under-resourced communities. Operates an identical sport-plus-education model across multiple U.S. cities.
• Grassroot Soccer: Global health-focused nonprofit using soccer to educate and engage youth in HIV prevention, health, and life skills. Direct comparable on using soccer as a delivery vehicle for integrated health and leadership outcomes.
• DC SCORES: Washington DC nonprofit combining soccer with poetry and service-learning for elementary and middle school youth. Closest U.S. analog to Beyond Soccer's integrated sports/education/community-service model.

Emerging players

• Playworks: National nonprofit leveraging recess and play to build social-emotional skills in elementary schools. Adjacent in mission (sport/play-based youth development in low-income communities) with partial geographic overlap.

Broad incumbents

• Laureus Sport for Good: Global foundation funding and convening sport-for-development programs worldwide. Functions as both funder and network hub in the same sports-based youth development category as Beyond Soccer.
• Right To Play: Global nonprofit using sport and play for education and child development across 15+ countries. Broader incumbent operating in the same sports-based youth development space with international scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/BeyondSoccer
• Facebookfacebook.com/BeyondSoccer
• Instagraminstagram.com/beyondsoccerlawrence
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@beyondsoccerlawrence
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/beyond-soccer-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Beyond Soccer