February may be the shortest month of the year, (even with the leap day!), but there was no shortage of updates to the Upper Hand app. Here’s the highlights.
2024 Wrapped UP: Upper Hand Year in Review
2024 has been a year where innovation took center stage. Across the youth sports training industry, we’ve seen remarkable transformations as businesses embraced new ways to engage and support athletes, streamline their operations, and drive results that matter both on and off the field.
Your commitment to progress and excellence has been nothing short of inspiring.
At Upper Hand, we’ve been proud to be a small part of that game plan.
This year, we’ve introduced a number of changes and updates designed to enhance your operations, make better decisions, and deliver more positive client experiences. 271 to be exact.
But innovation isn’t just about technology; it’s also about stories. Stories of determination, creativity, and impact. This year, we’ve seen you not only adapt but thrive, turning challenges into opportunities and consistently raising the bar for what it means to lead in the youth sports industry. You’ve brought to life new programs, expanded your offerings, and inspired a new generation of athletes to aim higher and think bigger.
As we reflect on a year filled with progress, we want to celebrate you—the coaches, owners, and leaders who put innovation in motion every single day. Thank you for challenging us to keep evolving, keep creating, and keep pushing the boundaries of what we can achieve together.
While we don’t have the space to dive into every single win from this past year, we’ve Wrapped UP some of the highlights.
Upper Hand WRAPPED: 2024
From new program offerings to a new client booking experience, our team prioritized not only your experience in the app, but the experience of your biggest asset: your clients.
Let’s first take a look back at some of the biggest features new to the Upper Hand app in 2024.
We launched a lot of new features this year, but Marketing Campaigns was truly a home run.
This year, our team diligently worked to bring new capabilities to the Upper Hand app. One of those “big” wins was the introduction of Marketing Campaigns. With this new feature, you’re able to truly market your programs and business via email through the Upper Hand app, from converting new leads to nurturing longtime clients. Add prospective clients as “leads” to the software, and create marketing groups based on certain criteria (like purchase history, birthday, and more!). To learn more about this feature, click here!
We said hello to tiered memberships
Another big win for our customers was the launch of new Tiered Memberships. This updated membership creation workflow enables our customers to build out multiple tiers within a single membership. When it comes to selling memberships to your clients, we understand the importance of creating a clean, user-friendly experience.
Now, whether you want to break down your memberships into levels based on payment cadences, benefits, commitment length, or other criteria, you can now do this without cluttering your membership experience in Upper Hand.
We made even more updates to the Upper Hand app.
In addition to these features, we also launched a number of other exciting updates throughout the year. Here are a few of the highlights:
- Membership Upgrades
- Select a reason for why a client is cancelling their membership, and add any additional notes regarding the cancellation reason.
- Edit or remove a pending membership cancellation.
- Allow clients to submit a request to cancel, suspend, upgrade, or downgrade their membership. This feature was built in response to the FTC’s new “Click-to-Cancel” regulations.
- Camp and Clinic Updates
- Registration fields are now cloned when cloning an event. This will save significant time when building out new events that resemble your previous ones, for example seasonal camps that follow a similar format.
- Much like you can “protect your trip” when you book travel, clients can now opt to protect the purchase of a camp or clinic.
- Easily navigate to the event check in pages for your camps/ clinics (or any event) via the Calendar Card.
- Classes Upgrades
- Filter classes by day of the week for clients to see what is available on the days that work best for them.
- Or, filter classes by location, enabling your clients to further refine their search.
- Payment Enhancements
- Manage payment plans for your teams, camps, and clinics, from updating a billing date for a specific client to editing a future payment plan amount or canceling a payment plan payment altogether.
- Accept ACH payments in the software, providing another way to pay.
- The Ledger Report now lists what payment method a payment was completed by, for example cash, check, or credit card.
- Collect client billing addresses during checkout, as credit card companies continue to crack down on fraud prevention measures. And, as an added bonus, collecting billing addresses can also lower credit card feeds.
- Apply an account credit to the first payment of one of your recurring payments, like payment plans and memberships.
- Client Experience Upgrades
- Have clients RSVP for upcoming sessions, giving you a better indication of attendance heading into a clinic, session, or practice.
- View and download a copy of a client’s signed waiver from their client profile page.
- And, easily identify which clients are still missing a signed waiver from Point-of-Sale.
- Filter the Browse Events page by sport type, season, age range, or other to help clients easily find the programs that are of interest to them.
- Send SMS/ Text messages to clients to share upcoming events, reminders, and other important information
- UX/UI Updates
- Between the birthday indicator, membership status, missing waivers, or outstanding payments, the calendar can have a lot going on! A new calendar legend will help you remember what each icon means at a glance.
- A timeline indicator on the calendar also makes it easier for you to keep track of the live time while in your calendar view.
- Easily see all of the clickable elements on a Client Profile Page. Any time you see an icon or text that is clickable, you will see an indication that you are able to click for more information.
This year, we relied on data to make better business decisions.
Upper Hand AI reached new heights, building on a strong foundation laid over the past year. As the industry’s first dedicated data analytics platform for sports and adjacent industries, Upper Hand AI has continued to push boundaries, revolutionizing how owners analyze data and drive growth.
From delivering advanced reporting tailored to small and midsize businesses to providing enterprise-level insights for leading franchises, we’ve empowered organizations of all sizes to see deeper, act smarter, and scale faster.
What began as a vision to make data accessible for our customers has evolved into a dynamic platform that transforms raw numbers into powerful, actionable intelligence. By equipping business owners with the tools to identify trends, optimize operations, and unlock new opportunities, Upper Hand AI is setting a new standard for data-driven success in the sports industry.
Mondays averaged the highest revenue/ transactions over any other day of the week.
Data from our customers shows that Mondays consistently lead the week in both average revenue and transaction volume. This strong performance indicates that customers are highly engaged at the start of the week, likely driven by a mix of planning ahead, securing spots, and taking action after the weekend. On average, Monday revenue approaches $900, with transaction counts also peaking compared to other days.
This insight highlights an opportunity to further capitalize on early-week momentum. By strategically focusing marketing efforts, promotions, or outreach on Mondays, we can amplify this strong start and maintain engagement throughout the rest of the week.
We found as much diversity in pricing as we see in number of sports.
This year’s pricing trends showed just how diverse the sports world can be. Premium sports like equestrian and diving led the way with higher membership and event pricing, reflecting their specialized nature. Meanwhile, activities like archery and athletics remained more budget-friendly, offering accessible options for participants of all levels.
From niche sports to team favorites, the data highlights a wide range of opportunities for athletes, coaches, and families alike. No matter the sport, there’s a place for everyone to play, compete, and grow.
Top performers turned customers into champions – more transactions, more value, more growth.
This year, top performers set themselves apart by maximizing every opportunity to engage their customers. They achieved higher revenue per customer and revenue per transaction, while also driving more frequent transactions and attracting a larger base of unique customers each month. This combination of volume and value highlights a key strategy: top performers not only brought in more customers but kept them coming back and spending more.
In contrast, bottom performers saw lower transaction frequency and customer engagement, which limited overall growth. The takeaway is clear—when businesses focus on building strong customer relationships and increasing transaction value, they unlock the potential for greater revenue and sustained success.
Consistent transactions fueled steady growth across the board.
This year, average revenue per transaction remained impressively steady, with minimal fluctuation month to month. This consistency is a strong indicator of customer reliability and purchasing patterns, helping businesses plan with confidence. By maintaining steady transactional value, our customers can count on predictable revenue streams to support their operations and future growth.
The takeaway? Stability creates opportunity. When transaction values hold firm, businesses can focus on strategies to increase transaction frequency or attract new customers to build on a reliable foundation. Consistency provides the perfect springboard for scalable growth, helping you turn steady revenue into sustained success.
While we had a plethora of data to explore within our AI offering, we also explored a number of other platforms that can make life easier.
With the proliferation of accessible AI tools on the market, our team has been committed to educating our community on how they can take advantage of what is out there. As a result, our team introduced a recurring webinar series. Upper Hand’s AI Wisdom Wednesday workshops are held on the second Wednesday of each month, and dive into an AI tool, use case, or topic. Click here to sign up for our next session in the new year, or take a look back at our previous sessions!
Not only did we celebrate our product growth, we also celebrated our customers.
To kick off 2024, we announced the inaugural UPLIFT Sports Business Competition. We believe that every business has a story worth sharing, and there are so many remarkable stories of resilience, strength, and overcoming adversity that deserve to be amplified.
While we received an overwhelming amount of applications, we narrowed it down to 3 finalists, who each received a “business makeover” sponsored by Upper Hand.
Dermall “Flash” Woods, founder of Body by Flash, turned to football as a way to escape challenges growing up in a tough Memphis neighborhood. After competing in college and minor leagues, he launched his business in Indianapolis, where he now trains athletes in strength, speed, and life skills. Dermall also invests in the future, mentoring staff and offering internships to help others succeed.
Laura Rogers, the force behind Top-Notch Training, takes a unique approach to sports performance by focusing on both physical and mental wellness. After overcoming a serious knee injury, she’s built her business with grit and care, ensuring every athlete feels challenged, supported, and seen.
Lilith Puckett founded Missouri Volleyball Academy (MOVA) in 2013 with a mission to build a diverse, supportive community. She’s created a family-like atmosphere where young athletes learn both volleyball and life skills, while trusting in themselves and each other. Recognized with the AVCA Diversity Award, Lilith continues to make MOVA a place where athletes feel safe, encouraged, and empowered.
In addition to this competition, we also highlighted a few of our other customers who are changing both the industry and their communities.
We started the year by highlighting Adam Wright, Owner of Animal House Fitness. When a devastating injury left him trying to figure out what’s next, a series of opportunities led him to ultimately open his own sports training facility. Today, as a “Movement and Performance Center,” Wright invites athletes of all ages and abilities to achieve their fitness and lifestyle goals.
We also connected with Dwight Findlay, founder of Superb Soccer. Throughout his life, Dwight observed the difference in outlook on soccer in America compared to the rest of the world. So, he made it his mission to be a coach that brings out the best in athletes and promotes improvement, community, and a love for the game.
And as we closed out the year, we had the opportunity to sit down with Sogility, a technology-driven soccer facility that is redefining the way athletes train. By blending cutting-edge technology with personalized coaching, Sogility helps soccer players of all levels sharpen their skills and reach new heights. Their story exemplifies how innovation and passion can transform not only athletes but an entire community.
These customer stories remind us why we do what we do—empowering sports businesses to focus on what they love: helping athletes grow, thrive, and achieve their goals.
Cheers to the New Year
As we wrap up 2024, we’re reminded that innovation isn’t just a destination—it’s a journey. This year, we’ve seen you push boundaries, embrace change, and inspire the next generation of athletes to dream bigger and aim higher. We’re proud to support your vision and even prouder to be a part of the progress you create every day.
Here’s to building on this momentum in 2025, continuing to grow the game, and achieving even greater success together. Thank you for an incredible year, and cheers to what’s ahead!
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