Roger and Jamie Linn both grew up in Las Vegas, NV, but had family in New Mexico and wanted to re-locate here, so they bought some property in Tijeras. It took a few years to work out the career changes needed to make the move, but they decided to use Roger’s background in sports to take on a franchise with i9 Sports, a company that provides high-quality programs for kids in flag football, soccer, t-ball, basketball, cheer, volleyball, tennis, and multi-sports youth leagues.
Roger told us, “I was a quarterback in college and high school and went on to play arena football. When my career was done, we kind of needed to figure out what we're going to do with life.”
I9 Sports Albuquerque recently celebrated their 13-year anniversary and have been franchise of the year three times. Jamie told us, “We felt like there was a gap here in Albuquerque. It seems to go from very basic recreation, if you were getting it at school, to competitive team sports. There was nothing for kids who just wanted to play and didn’t yet have a particular sport in mind.”
There’s no try-outs or pressure in the programs. The kids get a chance to try a variety of sports to find out which one they like best, which encourages continuing attendance. There is also an emphasis on equal participation so there’s no one who is doing a lot of bench-sitting. Kids can join the programs as young as age three and continue to age 14. All instruction and play are age-appropriate, and safety is a priority.
One of the biggest issues in playing youth sports is the time commitment. The regular practices, games, and tournaments can tie up the kid’s and the parent’s schedules. A lot of kids get burned-out and don’t find it fun anymore. Studies have found that if a kid stops playing sports by age 12, there is a good chance that they’ll be inactive in physical recreation for the rest of their life. i9’s programs are once per week, with practice and games occurring on the same day, eliminating a heavy schedule and commitment.
Another interesting element of the i9 programs is the participation of parents as coaches, enhancing the family experience with sports. Parents are schooled in coaching through clinics. Conducting practice drills also gives the parents some exercise opportunity. Extensive background checks are performed on anyone interacting with the kids and are some of the most thorough and frequent in the state.
Roger and Jamie set up a non-profit to contribute to the community. Jamie said, “We feel there's no way to do sports justice in the community if you're not making sure that everybody can participate. If you can find a way for them to participate and at the same time making sure to give back to all the schools as much as you can. Any kind of involvement that we can do because we don't just do sports. We try to help in any way that a kid asks us for assistance with an extracurricular we will do our very best to step in, so we've sent entire classrooms to the zoo and the planetarium.”
Two things are paramount in i9’s programs…sportsmanship and safety. Each week there is a sportsmanship lesson and i9 Albuquerque promises the kids and the parents a positive atmosphere that builds character. Safety instruction is given, and appropriate protective gear is always used. Jamie told us, “Our mantra is helping kids succeed in life through sports, so we've made it our job to make them good people first and love sports as part of that.”
i9 Sports can be contacted at 3501Moon St. SE ABQ, 505.312.4999, leagueoffice280@i9sports.com
We feel there's no way to do sports justice in the community if you're not making sure that everybody can participate.