Build It

Nik, John and Dave spoke about the biggest challenges facing college graduates entering the sports management field, and how lower league soccer clubs can come to a mutually beneficial partnership with local educational institutions to provide experience in the field.

Madyson is Director Of Corporate Partnerships at Chattanooga Football Club. She joined John and Nik to talk about building relationships with businesses in your community, the importance of the personal touch.

Jentry has nearly a decade of experience working with sports organizations, and knows what it takes to streamline, maximize effectiveness and increase revenue. He nearly always has a budget, so we challenged him on what he do without one! https://www.linkedin.com/in/jentrymullins/

Join Nik and John as the chat with Brandon Jaltz from Temecula FC. From English nonleague soccer trials, through battles with local youth soccer teams, and how important community support is to his bigger mission. Brandon talked about the challenges of running a club and ensuring the support is engaged every day. difficulties of dealing with membership models as TFC try to gain additional investme...

Now the dust has settled on the club's inaugural season in the MWPL, how is Zach feeling? Was it all worth it? What lessons has he learned?

Michael Bochel is a freelance Sports Marketing Consultant and former Head of Digital at the Scottish FA who volunteers with his hometown club, Nairn County. Michael recently launched his own podcast, where he shares his experiences of helping out the club in his own spare time. We got Michael on the podcast because not only does he know his marketing, he knows how to get results on a volunteer bud...

Andy Hayes talks. A lot. The sound quality on this episode is pretty poor, sadly. This is mainly due to Nik forgetting to plug his microphone in. So apologies for that.

All good things must come to an end. So, too, must poorly produced podcasts. Back for an unprecedented third appearance on the pod, John & Nik begrudgingly welcomed Andy Hayes back to Build It Towers. There's a lot of talk about administration. And dick bags. If you're Andy's mother, might want to give this one a miss. We'll be back in the Fall. Maybe the Winter. First, we have soccerballs to...

From July last year, new NCAA legislation cleared student-athletes to pursue name, image & likeness deals. As a result, every college athlete in the United States – across all divisions and sports - is now able to make money from endorsements and through a variety of other ventures, over-and-above the scholarship they receive from the college. According to ESPN, it is estimated that a typical...

Dennis is a guest we have wanted to have for a long time. His "Open Source Soccer" concept was a catalyst for so many in US lower league soccer today, including ourselves. In this conversation, we talk set up nightmares, on-field success, off-field trials, and there is an unseemly amount of talk about folding t-shirts.

#HerGameToo is a campaign started in 2021 in the UK. It is run by a group of female football fans aiming to raise awareness of sexism in the game. In this episode we speak with Jenn Ramczyk as she works to launch the campaign in the US. Find out more  #hergametoo Jenn : @jenns_design https://www.facebook.com/hergametoo/ https://www.hergametoo.co.uk

We spent an hour in the company of Christian Franek, who heads up Palm Beach Breakers. We speak about their super-distinctive lines of merch, what it takes to progress from local rec leagues to a national system like NISA, and what exactly day to day management of an amateur club looks like. Strap in!

Listen in as John and Nik talk with Ivaldo Basso of @SteelCityFC1 Ivaldo is a straight talker who pulls no punches about what growth the club looks like for his club.

Our guest this week is Jesse Cole, founder of Fans First Entertainment and owner of the Savannah Bananas, an independent baseball team playing in the Coastal Plain League. The Bananas have been awarded Organization of the Year, Business of the Year and won the CPL Championship in their first year.  Fans First Entertainment has been featured on the INC 5000 lists as one of the fastest growing...

Our guest this week is Arik Housley of Napa Valley 1839. Having robbed DKCU of a place in the next round of the Copa Insignia, we connected to discuss the club, the community, and how to grow a club in the current environment. Full disclaimer here, technical issues which may or may not be related to my idiocy, meant that we are missing the first couple of minutes of the conversation. Apologies for...

Our guest today is Dorian Lair, General Manager of Snohomish County Football Club, situated to the North West of Seattle, Washington. Fun fact, the movie War Games, which listeners of a certain age will be very familiar with, was filmed in art in Snohomish High School.

We spend a lot of time in US non-league soccer thinking about the playing side. If you club is going to be sustainable long term, and if it is going to be something your community gets behind, then you need an army of volunteers. There is only so much you and your founder group can do. If you have fans, you have volunteers. And if you have volunteers, you have fans. But where do you find them, how...

After untold technological issues, we're back. For how long, lord knows. So get us while we're good* The OVPL is the premier Adult Amateur soccer league in the IN, KY, OH, PA, WV region. Player development is a central focus of the League, as the league strives to promote the region at a national level. Along the way, we learn about what it takes to actually run a league, what clubs are looking fo...

Minneapolis have become the poster child for a lot of non league clubs in the US. From starting out as a tribute to an old high school teacher, to their recent announcement of fielding a team in USL2, they have worked hard to engage their local community and to give players a year-round program. Jon Bisswurm has been there since Day One, and we are grateful to him for taking time to chat about all...

How do we ingrain amateur soccer into the community as it is in the  other established soccer nations? Bill Marth has literally written the book. We talk the evolution of amateur soccer, and how the way amateur soccer can be reformed to grow the game, and foster sustainability and merit-based league play. Buy the book here

The Online Rule covers the best practices in digital marketing in sport.

Offside Marketing offer sports marketing services for teams looking to increase their awareness, marketing infrastructure and ticket sales.  Jason worked with Cleveland Soccer Club of the NPSL to assist with early marketing efforts and to help build team awareness for their first season. Offside Marketing was also the presenting sponsor for the 2021 Lower League eCup.   Jason offers expe...

Lewes FC have led the way in community ownership for over a decade now. In this episode we hear about the trials and the tribulations of such an operation. How do you engage an ambivalent community? How do you prioritize between winning on the pitch, and succeeding off it? Stuart doesn't have all the answers, but it was great to hear things aren't any easier over there!

This week we are joined by Zac Hines, commissioner of the First Flight Football League. The First Flight League is a full season men's adult development league in North Carolina. Founded in 2020, the league gives a competitive home for numerous  clubs, players, and coaches looking to continue developing their skills  with a desire to continue playing after youth, high school, college or...

Anyone who is anyone in non league soccer knows about Steve's work. For nearly a decade Steve has been an informed voice in the community, telling untold stories and amplifying unheard voices. Today we get a little deeper into the man himself as we talk merch, politics, unity and business plans. It's a long and wide-ranging chat which we hope you enjoy.