LAMORINDA WEEKLY | i9 Youth Sports brings a new model for youth sports to Lamorinda


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In the past few years, we have witnessed a massive growth of competitive sports, with sports-specific clubs almost becoming the norm for young kids. However, research from the Aspen Institute, the US Olympic Committee, the Clinton Foundation, and major think tanks have suggested that there is a need for more recreational style programs that also put the needs of the kids in the first place.

"The problem is that the structure is set up, where if you have resources and the talent, you're going to have options within the club system," according to Sebastien Dubois, a business owner with i9 Sports, an organization with 4.5 million kids participating around the country which began offering programs in Lamorinda in 2024.

The name "i9 Sports" means "i to the ninth power," representing the nine key differences in its approach to youth sports:?imaginative, innovative, interactive, integrity-driven, impassioned, inspirational, instructional, insightful, and inclusive.

The goal of i9 Sports looks to involve boys and girls in sports regardless of their athletic ability. "Every child has value inherent in them, so we don't just highlight their athletic ability, we honor whatever they bring to the sports engagement and teach a sportsmanship value every day," DuBois said. "For example, we talk about positivity with the kids - always having a positive attitude and encouraging your teammates, and we honor individuals with sportsmanship awards. I'm a huge fan of competitive sports but what we are providing with i9 are more options by opening doors to more kids, teaching life lessons through sports, and trying to help kids be active for life."

The i9 program is in its early stages in Lamorinda and utilizes the fields at Campolindo High School. "Our primary sports in Lamorinda are soccer, flag football, and seven and under baseball, but we will be adding a number of different sports in the future," DuBois said. "We offer three sports simultaneously year-round so if the kids are playing one sport, they can see the other sports, which may lead them to try that sport the next season. We are fully operational now and we're looking to have more kids involved with our programs because the more kids we have, the better the experience and the more lives we touch."

To DuBois, there are too many poor examples set by athletes and their coaches, down to the lower levels, and that is what he is looking to address early to the participants in i9. "Our mission is to help our kids succeed in life through sports and where that can really make a difference is teaching a different sportsmanship value every week."

Kids range in age from three to 14 and they are broken up into age groups of 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 11-12 and up depending on the numbers. A lot of organizations don't work with three-year-olds, as they can be easily distracted. The American Developmental Model for Youth Sports was created in part to support age-appropriate instruction.

"Age-appropriate instruction is absolutely one of the biggest differentiators," DuBois said. "Our staff and coaches are trained to work with that specific age group. All of our programs are backed by the science of teaching kids."

The program also involves the parents, and the lessons learned are expected to carry over into their lives away from sports. "Along with playing the sports, we call the kids and their parents together and go over the sportsmanship value of the day," DuBois said. "One day it might be about respect, making sure that the kids and parents know what it means and that is fundamental to the experience that we're delivering and then go back to practicing. We want the lessons to transcend the field to carry over to their households and schools."

The lessons learned by winning and losing also carry value with i9 Sports. "Our values are not just humility and respect, but also entails determination and teamwork. We phrase it healthy competition and we will ultimately have awards for the team that finishes in first place," DuBois said. "I got involved with this because I believe in the model and more community-based type programs that put the needs of kids in first place and secondly, I wanted to be absolutely involved with the community where my kids grew up."

Signing up has already begun for the fall season with a fee of $239.00. Each session is for seven weeks with practices and games held on the same day, making it convenient for the parents. Parents can sign their kids up at i9sports.com