Ninja Connect

06/08/2026

We are welcoming back Jennifer Evans to Ninja Connect this year!

Jen Evans is the President of Kids First Sports Center and has contributed greatly to the company’s 50 years of sustained growth and innovation!

At Ninja Connect Jen will bring her insight as it relates to hiring and inspiring those working in your facility.

As our sport continues to grow, and our businesses continue to grow with it, how do we continue to develop our staff efficiently while maintaining our long-term vision and culture?

Jen is going to provide her experiences, strategies, and tactics with us in August!

Register now:

Join Ninja Connect 2025 in Cincinnati! Enhance your skills in sports marketing, analytics, & more. Register today for this two-day seminar!

06/03/2026

Be on the lookout for a presenter list for Ninja Connect 2026!

We are wrapping up the details and have some INCREDIBLE speakers lined up!

Be sure to secure your spot
https://www.kidsfirstsports.com/ninja-connect

iClassPro Class Management Software
DGS Ninja
World Ninja Sport
Ally Johnson
Kids First Sports Center

Join Ninja Connect 2025 in Cincinnati! Enhance your skills in sports marketing, analytics, & more. Register today for this two-day seminar!

04/24/2026

Retention has been one of our primary focuses in Queen City Ninja, and the data we use shows why it's a NECESSITY to hone in on!

Our youngest age group was churning at a rate that added up to roughly multiple thousands in lost revenue over the year and a lot of students who left before getting to fully connect to our program.

So we broke down every system tied to that level: in-class communication, parent touchpoints, and the overall experience.

The result? Increased retention within the level, new energy from our coaching staff AND mobility into our older classes!

Do you know your retention data?

We're bringing this conversation to Ninja Connect 2026 in August!

I also put together a quick video walking through how to pull and read your own retention reports in iClass.

Link to the video below. Registration is linked in our bio!

iClassPro Class Management Software

Kids First | Finding Retention Data

03/28/2026

REGISTRATION IS LIVE - https://www.kidsfirstsports.com/ninja-connect

Register for your spot at Ninja Connect 2026! This year will be even bigger and better than last year. Split tracks, industry panels, hands-on presentations, we will have it all here in August!

World Ninja Sport
DGS Ninja
FINA - Federation of International Ninja Athletics

Join Ninja Connect 2025 in Cincinnati! Enhance your skills in sports marketing, analytics, & more. Register today for this two-day seminar!

02/07/2026

Ninja Connect is back for 2026 and we are going even bigger this year!

More space, sessions and roundtables. More opportunities to continue learning from each other and moving the industry forward together!

We are introducing two dedicated tracks this year. One focused on the business and operations side of running a gym. The other focused on coaching, programming, class structure, and what has been working on the floor during classes.

World Ninja Sport is also returning and will be offering their Level 2 Certification at no additional cost for attendees!

Mark your calendar for August 20 to 23 and keep an eye out for registration!

Join Ninja Connect 2025 in Cincinnati! Enhance your skills in sports marketing, analytics, & more. Register today for this two-day seminar!

06/26/2025

If anyone is attending USAG's Region 5 Congress this weekend and wants to connect (no pun intended), we will be there too!

I am actually presenting Friday morning and would love to talk all things Ninja with anyone wanting to learn more or share their experience!

06/16/2025

Our official schedule for Ninja Connect in Cincinnati Ohio!

If you want to be a part of this first ever Ninja Conference, check out our link here: https://www.kidsfirstsports.com/ninja-connect

06/15/2025

If you had to guess your most engaging email to families—would you know what it was?

One of the biggest struggles gyms face with marketing isn’t writing the post or designing the email… it’s the fear of ruining trust.

We care about our families, and we don’t want to feel like we’re spamming them.

But here’s what we found when we looked at our recent open rates:

🏆 The most opened emails weren’t promoting anything.
They were educational.

They explained the why behind what we do in class—and that built more trust than any sales pitch ever could.

That trust makes it WAY easier to promote events, extras, or seasonal offerings later on.

Our most opened email? A weekly newsletter where I dropped in a quick video of one of our favorite drills from class.
🎥 Watch it here: https://youtu.be/Iqe80wDaQLQ

I’m joining iClassPro Class Management Software this Wednesday to talk more about this in their “Let’s Talk Pro” webinar.

The topic?
Building Relationships Through Numbers.

Hope to see some of you there!

05/07/2025

Set yourself APART from the crowd!

Does your program have a “Why”? It is really easy to get obsessed with showcasing the “how” of your business. If there isn’t a deeper why to drive the how…well…trends can shift.

Think of any business or industry that is centered around “hype" (there are few recently that come to mind). They tend to focus on the excitement, flash, and appearance to drive customers to their doors.

What happens when the excitement is gone? Can your business survive a competitor opening next door? Will clients choose your program when dollars are tight or when their schedule is packed?

Having a foundation, a why, is a necessity to maintain long-term health in your gym.

This topic was actually a driving factor behind why we started Ninja Connect and one we will be digging deeper into in August!

We look forward to seeing you all out here!

More information here:

Join Ninja Connect 2025 in Cincinnati! Enhance your skills in sports marketing, analytics, & more. Register today for this two-day seminar!

05/01/2025

Hey Ninja Friends,

One major topic re-emerging in the Ninja world is… insurance.

As we all know, safety is a top priority in our gyms. But no matter how safe your environment is, insurance is non-negotiable. And lately, it’s getting harder to come by—either it’s becoming more expensive, more rigid, or policies are being dropped altogether.

We’ve got a solution.

Thanks to a partnership with Justin Conway, owner of World Ninja Sport, we’re excited to announce that his Level 1 Certification will be available to Ninja Connect attendees—at NO ADDITIONAL COST!

This optional third day of training includes:
- World Ninja Sport’s Level 1 Certification
- A strong focus on course and gym safety
- Practical, easy-to-understand curriculum
- Access to insurance discounts through select providers

While some of the spotting techniques will feel familiar if you come from a gymnastics background, others were brand new and incredibly useful.

Huge thank you to Justin for bringing this opportunity to the community!

If you want to learn more about Ninja Connect, you can follow this link: www.kidsfirstsports.com/ninja-connect

�And if you're curious about World Ninja Sport, check out this quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H5yp2btdhs

See you all in August!

– Reece