Sports CLUB Celebrates 25 Years

Eyes Future Growth

If you’ve raised a child in Collier County over the past 25 years, chances are you’ve heard of Sports CLUB or even relied on it. What started in 1999 as a small non-profit after-school program founded by Lane Beatty has grown into a staple of the community, serving between 500 and 1000 children daily during the school year and each summer.

Now, in its 26th year, Sports CLUB is preparing for its next big leap: expanding to one of the region’s fastest-growing areas, Ave Maria and eastern Collier County.

“Growth in eastern Collier is exploding,” says Beatty, still the organization’s CEO after more than two decades. “But access to high-quality after-school care hasn’t kept up. That’s what this new facility is all about, making sure kids in this underserved area get the same opportunities.”

Sports CLUB has plans to bring a new state-of-the-art recreation center to Ave Maria. Families in Immokalee, Golden Gate Estates, and the up-and-coming town of Big Cypress will now have access to Sports CLUB’s programming. That includes the signature “It’s All About Choices” model, where students rotate and get to choose a different activity every 45 minutes. It is a structure designed to build independence and keep things exciting. Additionally, Sports CLUB will offer its popular K6 Sports program, where kids build athletic skills in a fun, highly instructional environment.

But behind the numbers and expansion plans is a deeper story of impact.

Claire Noble, now a site director, first walked through the doors of Sports CLUB as a child. “It’s surreal to be back, but now on the other side,” she says. “This place gave me so much. Now I get to pay it forward.”

College student Justyn Willis had a similar journey. He joined as a camper, played K6 Sports, and stayed on as a counselor. Justyn credits Sports CLUB with shaping who he is today. “I learned how to lead, how to be responsible, and now I get to help other kids discover the same things.”

Those kinds of full-circle stories are not rare at Sports CLUB. As the years go by, more former campers return as mentors, passing along the same sense of belonging they once received. While the programs are built around fun and structure, it’s the relationships between staff, kids, and families that leave a lasting mark.

Looking ahead, Beatty sees the Ave Maria expansion as just the beginning. “We’re growing because the need is growing,” he says. “But our mission stays the same: give kids a safe place to be themselves, try new things, and build confidence for whatever comes next.”