Inno Athlete is a content and strategy portal for athletes and families who are tired of following the herd. It compresses 15+ years of advising top amateur and professional athletes, on recruiting, NIL, contracts, negotiations, branding, and long-term career strategy, into direct, actionable intelligence you can use right now. It's not a training program. It's the conversation that changes outcomes.
15 Years of Back-Room Sports Strategy, Now Public.
Inno Athlete is a content and strategy portal for athletes and families who are tired of following the herd. It compresses 15+ years of advising top amateur and professional athletes, on recruiting, NIL, contracts, negotiations, branding, and long-term career strategy, into direct, actionable intelligence you can use right now. It's not a training program. It's the conversation that changes outcomes.
The Rules Have Changed
NIL, recruiting dynamics, sponsorships, personal branding, the athletes winning off the field aren't necessarily more talented, they stumbled upon, or had access to a better path. Most athletes and families never get that conversation. This closes the gap.
How It Works
1.
Subscribe
To get weekly strategy, frameworks, and analysis built around real decisions athletes face.
2.
Apply it to your situation
Covers recruiting strategy, NIL, deal structure, endorsements , contract literacy, brand building, post-career, and success team curation.
3.
Author your career
Stop reacting to what the system hands you and start designing the athletic career and life you actually want.
What Changes
You Stop Guessing
Recruiting, NIL, business strategy, and sponsorship decisions stop feeling like a black box.
You Stop Being Generic
You build a brand/reputation that puts you in the drivers seat.
You Stop Leaving Money on the Table
You understand what your opportunities are actually worth before you sign anything.
You Stop Depending on One Path
You build a career and strategy that aligns with your strengths, not against them.
You Stop Being Generic
You build a brand/reputation that puts you in the drivers seat.
You Stop Guessing
Recruiting, NIL, business strategy, and sponsorship decisions stop feeling like a black box.
You Stop Depending on One Path
You build a career and strategy that aligns with your strengths, not against them.
You Stop Leaving Money on the Table
You understand what your opportunities are actually worth before you sign anything.
100% Free
© Inno Athlete
Ryan Small has spent over 15 years in the business of helping athletes — as an advisor, a founder, and a CEO.Before, he was a D1 and professional athlete. What started as informal advice to athletes in his network grew into something else entirely. He never set out to build a "career" in the traditional sense. It just happened.
ADVISORSolutions Sandbox was a private boutique Ryan ran to advise professional athletes and top amateurs across the NFL, NBA, PLL, NCAA, and high school ranks. He helped athletes negotiate deals, understand contracts, and build out full performance teams (trainers, performance coaches, accountants, business managers). Advised on endorsements, personal brand, recruiting decisions, and business ventures during and after playing careers.
COMPANIESFounder and CEO of Discover Your Game, a vertically integrated sports manufacturing company.Raised over $2M in seed funding and drove the brand into major retailers — Dick's Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, Modell's, Academy Sports & Outdoors. Sponsored athletes and leagues across the MLL, NFL, and NCAA. Grew into a multi-sport company spanning football, basketball, tennis, lacrosse, volleyball, and baseball.Founder and CEO of The Sports Coterie, a sports camp conglomerate.Grew the client base to 40,000+ through partnerships with athletes like Cedric Benson (NFL). Ran the company's own camps while also helping individual players launch their own — turning a personal brand into a business, not just an appearance fee.
© Inno Athlete
Quid pro quo. You sign up for The Innovative Athlete newsletter and you will receive a free sports club decision making guide.A clear, structured worksheet that helps athletes and families make smarter, less emotional decisions when choosing a club program.Instead of chasing the “best” club, this guide walks you through a practical framework to find the club that actually fits your goals, playing level, and family resources.
Quid pro quo. You sign up for The Innovative Athlete newsletter and you will receive a free sports club decision making guide.A clear, structured worksheet that helps athletes and families make smarter, less emotional decisions when choosing a club program.Instead of chasing the “best” club, this guide walks you through a practical framework to find the club that actually fits your goals, playing level, and family resources.
