When most people think of adult amateur athletics, they think of non-competitive beer leagues where the “athletes'” main goal is to escape their wife and kids for a Sunday afternoon. However, two Valley companies are attempting to erase this stigma by creating adult sports leagues with a degree of professionalism, and business acumen. When Michael LeCocq and Carlos Yniguez purchased what would become the Canoga Park-based Victory Adult Baseball League in 2002, the games were played on rocky baseball diamonds, the field gates were often locked and the struggling league only had 16 teams. “Carlos was an astute businessman and I worked at a uniform company (Victory Custom Athletic Inc). We put two and two together and turned it into the powerhouse adult baseball league in Southern California,” co-CEO, LeCocq said. “It had been like a park league. Now we have guys being drafted out of the league. Scouts even come to watch our games.” Thanks to the work of LeCocq and Yniguez, the league has increased to 43 teams. Within a year, the Victory League expects to have 65 teams, making it one of the five largest adult baseball leagues in the nation. In order to entice prospective weekend warriors, the league has added perks such as mid-season all-star games played at Lancaster’s Jethawk Stadium and championship games played at Dodger Stadium or Angels Stadium. Each team in the league has a manager and plays their regular season games at high schools and junior colleges across the Valley. The fees aren’t cheap, running $300 per player, but LeCocq and Yniguez are determined to capitalize on the wide number of former college and high school baseball players determined to still play competitive baseball in a well-run league. “We’ve got a staff to help us run the league. If you play for anybody but us, good luck in having a secretary pick up the phone if you have a question. We have a staff and a board for the league. We run it like a business,” LeCocq said. “There’s a lot of guys who want to play baseball, but not in a beer league. We plan to expand in the next year to include Orange County, San Bernardino, Ventura, San Gabriel and the Apple Valley.” Uniform business LeCocq and Yniguez have also used the league as an effective springboard for their uniform manufacturing business. “The league is a great marketing tool for the uniform company. We’ve expanded our league membership to 1,000 members and we’ve established relationships with many of the coaches in the area. Approximately 50 percent of the players in the league are also coaches,” LeCocq said. Also tapping into the amateur adult athletics market is I9 Sports, an amateur adult sports league based in Brandon, Fla. I9 has already begun making headway in the Valley, awarding a San Fernando Valley franchise to local businessman, Myron Hammond. The franchise based in Northridge will cover adult flag football, adult softball and golf. The company’s first league (adult softball) will begin on May 1 and will feature an 8-game season with two weeks of playoffs. Fees are $65 per player or $525 per team. Like the Victory league, I9 promises a higher degree of professionalism than the average adult league. Statistics and team standings and news will be posted on a website and the league will name all-stars, as well as give out team and league most valuable player awards. Founded by Frank Fiume, I9 began franchising last year and has already awarded 36 franchises. Fiume expects to have awarded 70 franchises by the year’s end. The cost of a franchise ranges from $23,000 to $51,500 depending on the size of the territory. The fee covers training and marketing materials, exclusive territory rights, ongoing support, proprietary software, a website, branded marketing material and local promotion of their franchise with a local public relations firm. In addition, I9 negotiates rates in terms of everything from insurance to supplies for its franchisees. Sports business “I had been running leagues as a hobby and found out that they were a business. They have the ability to generate a handsome profit. There is a high level of dissatisfaction with Parks and Rec leagues and people want to play in a well-run operation,” I9 CEO, Fiume said. “People buy the franchises because they want to invest in their own home-based business with low startup costs and low overhead. We don’t have any franchise respective competition. Our franchises are building a brand name.” I9 franchisee and area director for the San Fernando Valley, Myron Hammond, had an M.B.A. from Pepperdine and was looking aimlessly around the Internet one day when he discovered an ad for I9. Deciding that it was a good business opportunity, he decided to purchase a franchise from Fiume in January. “I wanted to get into the sports business. I saw a great opportunity to get started on the ground floor and build a successful business and leverage that into other opportunities,” Hammond said. “I really try to live up to our motto: we bring professionalism to amateur sports. We currently have a state of the art website and we pride ourselves on working closely with the venue owners.” Though the franchise currently has just two employees, Hammond has high hopes for his incipient franchise. “My goal is to be the best sports league management company in the Valley. I want to create all kinds of sports programs and also take a lot different approaches that the competition doesn’t do,” Hammond said. “We’re going to do new types of tournaments, clinics, leagues for seniors, leagues for those just out of college, whatever the people want. I want to use this to get to the next level. I have a vision of creating a big sports academy in the Valley. Success breeds success.”
