Two paths for your name.
If your program is a new field for us, like chess or dance, it keeps its name and its curriculum. If it's something we already run, like soccer or baseball, it joins that brand over time on a plan we write with you.
For founders of kids' programs
You built the best hour of their week.
First Field buys the programs kids count down to all week and runs them for the long term, with the team and the families who made them what they are.
Every conversation stays confidential, and nobody asks for numbers until you're ready.
psst, the stickers peel if you tap one ↴
0 stuck on the wall
0 stuck on the wall
10,000+
kids coached and taught every year
high fives not counted5
brands in the family
and counting!76
combined years of showing up for kids
est. 2000 · 2003 · 2010 · 2018 · 2023
3
business days, max, to hear back from Justis
Why sell to us
Sell it without ending it.
Plenty of buyers arrive with a resale plan already written. We buy kids' programs because we want to run them.
Your team keeps their whistles.
Coaches and teachers are the program, so we buy the team along with it. The plan is for every coach and teacher to keep their job and their rate, with a back office finally behind them.
We buy to keep and grow.
There is no fund clock or exit committee behind First Field, so decisions get made for the next ten years rather than the next quarter.
You choose your next chapter.
Stay on for years or hand off within a season. You set the tempo and we write the plan around it.
What stays
- Your coaches and teachers, who are the reason we're buying
- Your families and school partners
- Your standards, and your curriculum if your field is new to us
- Your calendar and your seasons
- Your say in how the handoff goes
What goes away
Running payroll at midnightInsurance renewals and auditsChasing invoices and no-showsBeing the only one who can fix thingsThe Sunday-night dread
Who you're writing to
You'd be writing to one person.
I grew up on small fields and dirt diamonds. I spent my Army years as a Ranger, and then a long time looking for a business worth building for the long run. It turned out to be this one.
Today I run our New York City programs myself, in the same school cafeterias and on the same weekend mornings you know. So when I say we'll take care of what you built, I mean the way I take care of my own.
If you're even a little curious, write me. I read and answer everything myself, within three business days.
Justis Clow · Founder, First Field
The lineup
Five cards in the binder, with a sleeve saved for yours.
Five brands across New York City, Hoboken and Jersey City, and we're scouting the rest of the tri-state area.
Card 001Rookie yr 2000
Soccer Stars
Weekend-morning soccer from first steps to age twelve.
In the family since 2026
Card 002Rookie yr 2003
Amazing Athletes
Ten sports in one curriculum, from tennis to golf.
In the family since 2026
Card 003Rookie yr 2018
Little Rookies Baseball
The first crack of the bat and the first team photo in backwards caps.
In the family since 2026
Card 004Rookie yr 2010
Little Medical School
Stethoscopes and pretend patients for curious little doctors and vets.
In the family since 2026
Card 005Rookie yr 2023
Karate Zoo
Karate fundamentals that build focus and confidence, taught with the help of the Muscle Zoo animals.
In the family since 2026
Card 006Rookie yr ____
Your program here
A new field gets this sleeve, and one we already run joins its card.
Reserved · say hi below
The scouting report
What we look for.
-
Kids' enrichment, led by great instructors
Sports, arts, music, chess, science or dance: if children count the days until it, it counts.
-
A program that travels
Most of the magic happens in schools, parks and rented gyms, and a home base or two is fine.
-
Five-plus years of showing up
You've survived rainouts and double-booked gyms, and the families came back anyway.
-
In or near New York, New Jersey, Connecticut
We run our programs in person, so we buy where we can show up with a whistle.
Not a fit
Businesses that are the building
If it can only happen at one address, like a pool or a trampoline park, we're the wrong buyer and we'll say so early.
coach's note →Revenue size matters less than reputation. If principals return your calls and parents fight for spots, we want to hear from you.
How it works
Eight steps, and a gold star for every one.
Most founders have never sold a business, so here is every step in order.
Say hi
Send a note or call and tell us what you built. It's confidential from the first word, with no paperwork needed.
no pitch deck required.Trade stories
You talk and we mostly listen. It stays between us, and nobody asks for numbers yet.
We visit a class
We come quietly, as visitors, because the kids' faces and the coaches' rhythm tell us more than a spreadsheet will.
this is our favorite step.An offer in plain English
We both sign a simple NDA, and only then do you send any numbers. You get back one page with a real offer and the reasoning behind it, with no exploding deadline.
Diligence, minus the drama
It takes weeks rather than months because we ask once, and we don't renegotiate at the two-yard line.
Plan the handoff together
We plan together who hears what and when. You hold the script, and nothing is shared before you say so.
Signing day
The wire clears, and somebody should absolutely bring orange slices.
we'll bring the juice boxes.Your team joins the family
Your coaches meet ours and start trading playbooks, while the back-office work moves off your plate.
Where the chart ends
Home, for the long haul.
Your program keeps its weekend mornings, with people who plan to be here a long time.
gold star, well earned.
Start with step one: say hi
8 / 8 stars
The fit check
One permission slip and zero homework.
Five quick questions and no sign-up.
Field Trip Permission Slip
Office of First Field · Form No. 2
✂ keep this half. your answers stay on this page unless you hit send
The hard questions
Ask any buyer these questions, and start with us.
No, there's no fund behind First Field and no deadline to sell by. It's a holding company set up to own and run kids' programs, and Justis runs the New York ones himself.
Done right, it's the last act of taking care of it. You're choosing a home that plans to keep your team, and the sideline is yours for as long as you want it.
You're talking to Justis Clow, the founder, and you deal with him the whole way through.
Completely, and by default, with no paperwork needed to say hello. Before any numbers change hands we both sign a simple NDA. Your staff and your families find out when you decide they do.
The team is the reason we're buying, and the plan is for every coach and teacher to keep their job and their rate. Gutting it would leave us with nothing.
It depends on the field. If you're the first of your kind for us, like chess or dance, the name stays. If it's something we already run, like soccer or baseball, your program joins that brand over time, on a plan we write with you.
You can do either. Stay on for years or hand off within a season, and we'll write the plan around your life.
We put it in writing and show the math. Price follows earnings and how well the program runs without you in every room. The number you see will be one we can actually pay.
Say hi
Introduce yourself, and Justis will reply within three business days.
Staff
Justis Clow
answers his own email
Write to Justis
or reach him directly
There's no obligation, and we move at whatever pace suits you.