EP18: Great Service Isn’t Expected in Recreational Sports and That’s Why It Works

“In service businesses, the win isn’t the task—it’s the relationship.”

Gary Archer is CEO and President of a leading indoor soccer facility with 19+ locations across 9 states, built on a simple idea: great service is relational, not transactional.

In this episode, Gary joins Rachael Nemeth (Opus CEO) to break down what customer service looks like in recreational sports—and why it’s a surprising blueprint for any service-driven business. He shares how LPS uses technology to remove friction so staff can focus on what actually matters: human connection, retention, and community.

Gary also unpacks how they hire “specialists” who live by one job description—get teams, keep teams—and the interview method that reveals self-awareness, coachability, and the mindset of an A-player. From scaling via acquisitions to rebuilding standards, he explains why people are the competitive advantage—and why training only works when you can practice it.

Key Takeaways

→ Relational Beats Transactional: Move paperwork and payments to tech so human interactions can be genuine and memorable.

→ Retention Is the Real Moat: When customers are regulars, service becomes community—and that’s hard to replace.

→ Hire for Talent, Train for Refinement: Look for curiosity, listening, and coachability—not just experience.

→ The Interview Reveals Everything: Role practice + feedback shows self-awareness, defensiveness, and growth mindset fast.

→ Acquisitions Expose Standards: Most integrations fail on people and culture, not strategy.

→ Practice Drives Behavior Change: Training only matters when it’s reinforced through practice and accountability.

Perfect For

Service operators, recreational sports leaders, multi-unit operators, training & L&D teams, and founders scaling culture through growth, acquisitions, and workforce development.

About Gary Archer

President & CEO of Let’s Play Sports (Let’s Play Soccer), a leading indoor soccer facility with 19+ locations. Gary began at the company at 16, worked every role, and has spent 38 years building a service-first organization centered on relationships, operational discipline, and people development.

Time Stamp Chapters

01:06 What Let’s Play Sports is + who it serves

02:32 What great service looks like in recreational sports

03:02 Removing transactional friction to build relationships

04:39 Workforce model + hiring for relational talent

06:56 The interview method that reveals self-awareness

09:43 Scaling through acquisition + operational consistency

12:45 Switching training systems + why Opus worked

16:32 Why change didn’t happen sooner

18:36 Why service is declining—and why that’s opportunity

21:04 Lessons from the ground level + leadership evolution

26:36 Succession, leadership development, and the next chapter

30:43 Lightning round

About Us

Opus is the hospitality training platform purpose-built for the frontline. Train 100% of your team in 101 languages on the job to quickly get them up the productivity curve. With full visibility across your workforce, you get the frontline business intelligence needed to drive your business.

Have an idea or experience you’d like to share? Keep the conversation going with us on LinkedIn

About Us
Opus is the hospitality training platform purpose-built for the frontline. Train 100% of your team in 101 languages on the job to quickly get them up the productivity curve. With full visibility across your workforce, you get the frontline business intelligence needed to drive your business.

Have an idea or experience you'd like to share? Keep the conversation going with us on LinkedIn!