Amazing Athletes named a Franchise 500 company for the fifth year in a row!

March 12, 2014 - PRLog -- For the fifth consecutive year, Amazing Athletes has been named as one of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Franchise 500 (http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/amazingathletes/329391-0.html), ranking sixth in Children’s Fitness and 335^th overall. Not only did Amazing Athletes rank among some of the nation’s top franchise companies again this year, but the youth sports fitness franchise remains at the forefront of two of the leading franchise industries to watch in 2014 (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/230290): fitness and children’s services. Fusing these two emerging industries in its innovative youth sports enrichment program, Amazing Athletes is a thought leader in early childhood development, a soldier in the fight against childhood obesity, and a pioneer in using sports as a catalyst to develop life skills, instill healthy habits, and build confidence in children at a young age.

“The continued success of kid-centered franchises over the past several years is evidence that parents are always willing to sacrifice in order to give their offspring a leg up,” stated Entrepreneur Magazine’s franchise reporter Tracy Stapp Herold. “And thanks to franchising, they've got lots of options, from early-learning childcare programs to traditional tutoring to an increasingly diverse collection of fitness, recreation and enrichment businesses.”

The Franklin, Tennessee-based company, which was launched by Glen and Janee Henderson in 2003, embraced the franchise business model in 2006 to cater to the high demand and rapid growth of the business, maintain the quality and integrity of the program, and spread the message about its enriching youth fitness program to youth around the nation.

What began as a fitness program in just 11 preschools in Orange County a decade ago has now grown into a network of 74 thriving independently owned, Amazing Athlete-supported businesses across America, spanning 23 states coast to coast.

“The growth and response has been unbelievable,” said co-owner Janee Henderson. “We have grown year after year with some wonderful franchisees as part of our Amazing Athletes family. As of today, we have 74 franchises across the country in over 22 different states. It is truly amazing!”

The onerous selection process for the magazine’s 35^th annual Franchise 500 list began in July 2013, when hundreds of franchisors submitted financial and statistical data collected over the past two years. Of those submissions, 853 companies made the first cut before the top 500 were selected based on the highest cumulative scores. Scoring was conducted by an independent CPA and included factors such as financial strength and stability, growth rate and size of the system, as well as consideration of the number of years the business has been in existence, length of time it has been franchising, cost of startup costs, litigation factors, percentage of terminations and whether the company provides financing.

“We are thrilled to be honored in this ranking with such a high echelon of thriving and well-known companies,” said Henderson. “We hope to continue this successful progression of our business franchise for many more years to come.”

For more information about Amazing Athletes, visit www.amazingathletes.com or call (888) 228-3942.