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October 1, 2007

Home game | Cheryl Stokes kicks off a new amateur soccer league in Bangor

By Anna Fiorentino
In 1996, Cheryl Stokes set out to buy her six-year-old son his first soccer uniform. He was small for his age, though ˆ— too small to fit into the team uniforms. So the devoted mom got out her sewing machine and began making a uniform from scratch.

She didn't stop for the next 12 years.

Stokes, now 47, expanded her clientele to kids all over Georgia by creating Kidsgear Inc., an Atlanta-based business specializing in team outfitting.

What started as a children's uniform retailer eventually evolved into five retail locations and even a production facility with products fit to any size. With a shoestring budget of just $50, the ultimate soccer mom had grown her company to become a yearly $1.3 million franchise under the new name, Soccer Atlanta.

But when her children went off to college, a restless Stokes also decided she'd outgrown her own business. It was time for a more age appropriate venture.

So Stokes in June sold Soccer Atlanta for an undisclosed price, and joined forces with Husson College men's soccer coach Seth Brown. Together they created Atlantic Sports Group.

Stokes and Brown were approved to form two new Bangor-based amateur summer soccer teams ˆ— the Maine Sting and the Maine Tide ˆ— to play in the National Premier Soccer League and the Women's Premier Soccer League.

Next summer, the teams will sink their cleats into the Husson College field for the first time. And while Stokes will have to travel to great lengths ˆ— monthly trips from Atlanta to Maine ˆ— as president of the teams, she and Brown will nonetheless continue to pass years of knowledge back and forth to reach their goal of hiring winning coaches, teams and interns.

Mainebiz chatted with Stokes about the sport's burgeoning popularity, commuting from Atlanta and the challenges of pushing soccer in Maine. An edited transcript follows.

Mainebiz: Why soccer?
Cheryl Stokes: The popularity of soccer has probably quadrupled. There were very few soccer leagues in Atlanta when I began Kidsgear. The play level was recreational and travel soccer was just beginning. Now the skill level is growing, and there is an option for student athletes to play beyond college ˆ— even women. For women, this amateur league currently is the highest level played in the United States.

Tell me about this league and your teams?
The National Premier Soccer League had 22 men's teams this summer with five in the Northeast Division, while the Women's Premier Soccer League had 37 teams, of which eight teams played in the Northeast division.

The players of both the Maine Sting and the Maine Tide can be high school age, but the majority will be college-age players. They're recruited from all over the country.

When does the season run?
From May 15 to July 31. There were 10 regular season games apiece followed by the playoffs. The initial season will be beginning in May of 2008, open tryouts in spring of 2008.

Who do you expect will attend the games?
Youth soccer players and their parents, college players, families ˆ– really anyone interested in a high-level game that is affordable and a good family environment. Preseason ticket sales range from $4 to $7, in-season will be $5 to $9. Home games will be played at the John P. Boucher soccer pitch at Husson College.

Are the players paid?
Players are not paid in order to maintain their amateur status to qualify for National Collegiate Athletic Association.

When will you hire coaches and start recruiting?
We'll name our coaches before the end of the year ˆ— area youth coaches and businesspeople. We have had nothing but great reaction, excited local community as far as soccer coaches and parents. It's great exposure for Husson College. Once we have coaches hired, they will be an active part of recruiting service.

How do you plan to get that competitive edge?
Players' attraction to the state of Maine. And if we have the right coaching staff we will attract the right players. What [we] would love to see, and I think you will see this, are players that all aspire to play on [the] highest level.

How did Soccer Atlantic become Atlantic Sports Group?
Soccer Atlanta is on the retail and merchandising side of the industry. As an entrepreneur, I felt it was time for a change. I needed a fresh viewpoint, so I put company up for sale in June 2006. A young couple here in Atlanta bought it for an undisclosed amount.

The Atlantic Sports Group, on the sports management and entertainment side of soccer, arose from Seth's relationship with the Silverbacks. He moved back to Maine and felt Bangor was great place to start the new teams. It's a great family environment. And like everywhere, soccer is growing in state of Maine. It's a grass-roots type of sport that requires community involvement and that's just what we were looking for.

Can you tell me about your business partnership with Seth Brown?
My partner Seth Brown and I would compare notes, for me about the retail and merchandizing perspective of the sport, and for him, from a coaching perspective. We'd talk about things that worked and things that didn't, and eventually decided to combine our expertise to form the company.

What appeals to you about Maine, personally?
I spent this last summer in Maine, it was my first time here, and I loved it. I will continue to live in Maine nine days a month in the off-season, and every summer from here on out.

But will it be worth all that traveling ˆ— and being so far away from home in Atlanta?
I am single. My two children are grown and I'll maintain residency in Atlanta until my last son graduates college there. After that, moving to Maine isn't out of the realm of possibility.

How about for the fans? Will it be hard to attract a crowd to Bangor?
What I've found is that people will drive a long way to watch soccer players that play at a high level. They might not have that chance otherwise. Parents already drive all over the state to bring their kids to soccer games. When my children were playing we'd drive all over even to play recreationally. In Georgia there are 100,000 registered youth players. In Maine there are 10,000.

What do you anticipate the shift will be like from retail to team management?
So far I've gone from working 12 to 14 hours a day to working only eight hours a day. My sole duties are administrative, not administrative and production like before. The biggest difference though, in this instance, is that it will be a lot more fun ˆ— fielding two teams, putting on a game as an event and watching the fans enjoy the game.

How about from a financial standpoint?
I started Kidsgear in 1996, with a $50 investment. When [I] sold it in April, it generated $1.3 million in gross sales a year. I can't disclose how much I've invested in this company, but I don't anticipate revenue will be as great in Bangor as Atlanta, Ga.

In all business you have to get revenue from somewhere, in this case it's ticket and merchandise sales. While every product is different, what we're doing here is still selling product, which has its own skill level and skill set. That's where Seth comes in. He has the background to scout quality coaches and players.

What are your financial goals for the amateur soccer teams?
My hope for the business is to field two teams successfully ˆ— to be self-supportive and be good community partners.

We've researched other teams; some are financially successfully and others aren't. It's not a given, or necessarily easy to make a lot of money from owning teams.

We hope merchandise sales will be five percent ˆ— that's your typical, shirts, hats, autographed balls ˆ— ticket sales 60%, concessions 20%, and sponsorships will be the rest.

Do you have any sponsors yet?
We will be out soliciting for sponsors, primarily within the state of Maine. Already, we have a jersey sponsor ˆ— Paddy Murphy's Irish Pub in downtown Bangor. [Canadian soccer ball manufacturer] Select Sport has also already agreed to sponsor our teams.

Honestly, this business is more for the enjoyment. Anytime you're running a company, you want it to be fiscally solvent, but we're not solely focused on profit making.

What is your sole focus then?
Community service. Bringing the community together for games, and focusing on education. Our players will partner with youth and high school teams throughout the state. They will host soccer clinics, and give talks about nutrition and how to become a college athlete.

And ˆ— this is the completely new and innovative part ˆ— what we are doing is running a for-profit company but forming a partnership with Husson College in our education program.

What exactly is the education program?
We as a company are focused on giving back to the community and education is a key part of that. We have interns who are working with us and are getting hands-on experience in running a sports entertainment company. They will work for us in all key roles, from managing the teams to marketing and finance. They bring a young, fresh viewpoint and a lot of enthusiasm.

Will they be paid?
No, but like any internship, they will earn college credit and all the kids will walk away with a full year of sports experience to put on resume. We will put their resumes on websites so they can leave school and find jobs. They'll actually be running the company.

Would you otherwise hire paid employees?
No, these are tasks Seth and I would otherwise be responsible for. The financial internships fall under my direction. The soccer operation side, like the general managers, will report to Seth.

Theoretically, we are actually taking a chance on these, but because we are directly overseeing them, we will work with the students and watch them carefully. We want to be a resource to them.

Atlantic Sports Group

Founder: Cheryl Stokes
Employees: Two
Service: Stokes and her business partner, Seth Brown, recently launched two amateur soccer teams ˆ— the Maine Sting and the Maine Tide ˆ— that will begin playing in Bangor next summer.
Estimated 2008 revenue: Did not
disclose
Contact: 249-9933
www.mainestingsoccer.com

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