Helping Sports Organizations Operate at a Higher Level
Without sacrificing the culture that makes them successful.
Ryder Sports Advisory works with founders, operators, and leadership teams in sports that are facing increased complexity behind the scenes. We take the time to understand your people, culture, and business, then build the structure, clarity, and systems needed to improve execution, strengthen leadership, and support long-term success.
Ryder Sports Advisory partners with founders, operators, and investors across sports who are navigating growth, complexity and organizational change.
ABOUT RSA
Led by longtime sports executive Mike Ryder, RSA is built on more than 15 years of experience leading teams, building programs, and supporting sports organizations at every stage of development. As a former Vice President at 3STEP Sports, Mike helped oversee a portfolio of more than 20 brands representing approximately $60 million in annual revenue, supporting operational performance, leadership development, founder transitions, and organizational alignment across a rapidly growing platform.
Many organizations eventually reach an inflection point.
Demand is increasing. Teams are growing. New opportunities emerge.
Yet behind the scenes, communication becomes more difficult. Decision-making slows down. Accountability becomes inconsistent. Founders find themselves involved in too many day-to-day decisions, and the systems that once worked begin showing signs of strain.
The challenge is rarely a lack of effort.
More often, it is a lack of clarity, structure, and alignment.
That is where RSA comes in.
Through advisory engagements, operational assessments, and fractional leadership support, Ryder Sports Advisory helps organizations strengthen leadership, improve execution, and build the systems needed to operate at a higher level, without sacrificing the culture, relationships, and values that makes the organization successful in the first place.
Our Services
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Operational & Growth Advisory
We work directly with founders, leadership teams, and stakeholders to identify operational friction, clarify ownership, and strengthen the systems needed to support sustainable growth.
For many organizations, growth creates complexity before it creates efficiency. New programs, additional teams, and expanded offerings can expose gaps in communication, accountability, and decision-making.
RSA helps create the structure and visibility needed so leadership teams can spend less time reacting and more time leading.
• Leadership structure and role clarity
• Meeting cadence and accountability systems
• Revenue and program alignment
• Multi-location operational consistency
• Growth bottleneck identification -
Fractional COO / Operating Partner
For organizations navigating rapid growth, leadership transitions, or founder bottlenecks, RSA steps in as an embedded operating partner.
This is not advisory from a distance. It is hands-on ownership of the systems, structure, and operational rhythm required to run the business effectively.
The goal is simple: build an organization that scales beyond one person.
• Leadership team structure
• Cross-functional accountability
• Founder dependency reduction
• Operational playbooks and systems
• Weekly leadership cadence and scorecards -
Strategic Projects & Organizational Change
For organizations navigating:
Expansion
Leadership transitions
Founder succession
M&A integration
New market launches
Organizational restructuring
RSA provides targeted support during critical periods of change.
Examples
Expansion planning
Organizational redesign
Founder transition support
Leadership restructuring
Post-acquisition integration
Strategic planning facilitation
Ways We Partner
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Most organizations don’t have a demand problem. They have a clarity problem.
As organizations grow, leadership structures, communication, and operating systems often struggle to keep pace. RSA’s 90-Day Diagnostic is designed to identify where growth is creating friction and build a roadmap for what comes next.
This process provides leadership teams with visibility into what is working, where bottlenecks exist, and what needs to change to support the next phase of growth.
Deliverables include:
✓ Organizational and leadership assessment
✓ Founder bottleneck analysis
✓ Operational pressure point review
✓ Leadership structure recommendations
✓ Ownership and accountability mapping
✓ Growth priorities and next-step roadmap -
For founders and leadership teams who need an experienced operating partner but not a full-time executive, RSA provides ongoing advisory support designed around growth-stage challenges.
These engagements create space to think strategically, solve operational challenges, and maintain momentum as the organization evolves.
Typically includes:
✓ Leadership strategy sessions
✓ Organizational planning support
✓ Structure and role clarity guidance
✓ Founder and leadership coaching
✓ Operational problem solving
✓ Strategic decision support -
For organizations experiencing rapid growth, leadership gaps, founder dependency, or major transition periods, RSA can step in as an embedded leader.
This goes beyond strategy conversations. The focus is creating operational rhythm, leadership accountability, and the systems needed to run the organization effectively.
Typically includes:
✓ Weekly leadership team meetings
✓ Scorecards and accountability systems
✓ Operational system implementation
✓ Staff leadership and communication frameworks
✓ Growth and expansion planning
✓ Cross-functional ownership and execution support
Meet Coach Ryder
Mike Ryder is a sports industry operator with more than 15 years of experience building teams, developing leaders, and helping sports organizations operate at a higher level.
Most recently, Mike served as Vice President at 3STEP Sports, one of the largest private equity-backed youth sports platforms in the industry. There, he supported operational performance, leadership development, founder transitions, and organizational alignment across a portfolio of more than 20 brands representing approximately $60 million in annual revenue.
Before joining 3STEP, Mike helped lead the growth of 3d Lacrosse, launching and scaling club programs, building coaching and leadership systems, and developing operational infrastructure across multiple markets nationwide.
Throughout his career, Mike observed the same challenge again and again:
As organizations grow, complexity grows with them.
Communication becomes more difficult. Decision-making slows down. Accountability becomes less clear. Founders often find themselves at the center of too many decisions, while the systems that once worked begin to show signs of strain.
The challenge is rarely a lack of effort.
More often, it is a lack of clarity, structure, and alignment.
That belief became the foundation for Ryder Sports Advisory.
Today, Mike partners with founders, operators, and leadership teams to strengthen leadership, improve execution, and build organizations that can perform at a higher level without sacrificing the culture and community that made them successful in the first place.
Mike also serves as Head Boys Lacrosse Coach at Berkeley Preparatory School, where he remains closely connected to the athlete, parent, and coach experience that sits at the heart of youth sports.
Experience Highlights
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Vice President, Portfolio Operations
Regional General Manager
Senior Director, Club Operations
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Founder & Director, 3d Florida
Director, Colorado
National Director, Camps and Individual Products -
IMG Academy
The University of Tampa
University of Colorado-Boulder
Kent Denver School
Berkeley Preparatory School
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20+ Youth Sports Brands Supported
$60M+ Platform Revenue
Founder-Led Club Operations
Private Equity Platform Leadership
Leadership Development & Organizational Design
Let’s Connect
If you’re building, scaling, or navigating growth in youth sports, I’d welcome the conversation.