Episode 04 of the CoachIQ Podcast
Five and a half years ago, Jeff Schmidt didn’t want to be a trainer. He didn’t want to be a businessman. After over a decade as a high school head coach, he just wanted more time with his two sons before they grew up too fast.
What started as a side project with one client has grown into Schmidt Performance—a thriving 90-client training business in Fort Collins, Colorado. But the growth nearly broke him. Every Sunday meant five to six hours texting clients, managing schedules through Venmo requests, and hoping people would show up.
In Episode 04 of the CoachIQ Podcast, Jeff breaks down how coaching business software transformed his operation from text-thread chaos to predictable membership income—and why he’s leaving his teaching job of 22 years to go full-time in six months.
In this episode, Jeff shares:
- Why he spent 5-6 hours every Sunday managing schedules before finding the right coaching management system
- How switching to membership-based pricing through automated software gave him predictable income and family time back
- The small-group-only training model that creates game-like environments (and why he stopped doing 1-on-1s)
- How he applies evidence-based methods like CLA and differential learning without a research background
- Why his third and fifth grade teams now beat opponents who used to blow them out by 30 points
The breaking point: When manual systems stopped working
Jeff spent his first few years as a trainer doing what most coaches do—cobbling together a business with cash, checks, and eventually Venmo. Scheduling happened through text threads. Every weekend became an administrative nightmare.
“When I started training, it was really like you can write me a check, you can just give me cash,” Jeff explains. “And then it went to Venmo and it was like every Sunday I was spending five or six hours texting potential clients, kids who’ve been with me, trying to fit in all of these things.”
The problem wasn’t a lack of clients. Schmidt Performance was growing. But growth without systems meant more chaos, not more freedom.
“This is taking way too much of my time on a Sunday. I should be hanging out with my kids and my family, and I’m sitting here trying to get a schedule every Sunday. It was just too much.”
Jeff wasn’t ready to open his own facility yet—the startup costs for a basketball training facility require around $50,000 and careful financial planning (INSERT LINK TO TYLER BLOG LIZ MADE ON THIS TEXT). But even renting gym space and running a mobile training business, the administrative burden was crushing his ability to scale.
This is where sports coaching business management software made the difference. Jeff needed automation that would handle scheduling, payments, and client communication—not just digitize his existing chaos.
How coaching management systems freed up his most valuable asset
Jeff’s most valuable asset isn’t his basketball knowledge or his facility. It’s his time. After 22 years teaching and 25 years coaching, he knew exactly what mattered: being present for his family while staying connected to the game he loves.
When he found CoachIQ, the question was simple: “Can you guys help me with these things? Because I’m struggling with this.”
The answer changed everything. Automated scheduling systems eliminated the Sunday text marathon. Payment processing features removed the Venmo chase. But the biggest shift came from moving to membership-based pricing.
“When you have income coming in that you can count on, that you know about, that you can foresee, you can start to really dial in your year,” Jeff says. “I have income that’s steady and that I can plan ahead for over a longer period of time rather than ‘I hope this money comes in.’ Hope will not allow you to do this as a full-time gig. Hope will make you broke.”
The time savings were immediate. Those 5-6 hour Sundays became minutes of schedule review. More importantly, the shift to memberships created commitment—both ways. Clients committed to longer-term development. Jeff committed to building comprehensive plans that actually got players better.
“I really don’t feel like I have—I probably added more to my client base because of the membership base,” he notes. “And it really has freed me up and just really makes a lot of sense and it makes it so much easier for me.”
The small-group model that mimics games, not drills
With his time freed up, Jeff focused on what actually improves players: creating environments that feel and look like games.
“Kids don’t come to me to try and get better for practice,” Jeff explains. “They want to get better in game. So let’s create kind of like a team practice game atmosphere environment that we can duplicate over and over again, but individualize it.”
Schmidt Performance runs almost exclusively small groups. If only one player signs up for a session, Jeff has coaches ready to jump in and create game-like scenarios. No static drills. No repetitive shooting routines. Every workout includes decision-making, reads, and competition.
“There’s always going to be a good workout when they come. They know what they’re going to get. And I can also plan ahead and make sure I have enough coaches there because my schedule is planned out for me ahead of time through Coach IQ.”
This model requires systems. Without client management tools tracking who’s coming and when, without automated scheduling preventing conflicts, the small-group approach would collapse into the same chaos Jeff started with.
Learning CLA and differential learning without a research background
Jeff’s training philosophy evolved alongside his business systems. Early on, he did what most new trainers do: copied what he saw online.
“What does everyone do? I did it. I looked up who are the best trainers out there, what do they do, what’s their philosophy. Basically it’s like copy and paste.”
Six months in, he realized something was off. “This isn’t what I want. This is not me. I’m a coach.”
That’s when he discovered Constraints-Led Approach (CLA) and differential learning (DL). These evidence-based methods aligned with his coaching instincts but were backed by research he didn’t fully understand at first.
“I was intimidated by the research at first,” Jeff admits. “I wanted to find people out there that knew it really well that could explain it in layman’s terms.”
His simplified explanations:
- CLA: The performance side of basketball—creating environments that help players perform, not just practice skills in isolation
- Differential Learning: Variability in shooting—every rep looks a little different because game shots are never identical
- Ecological Dynamics: The movement side—making players more fluid, adaptable athletes
“Every day is kind of a blank canvas and we go out and I can try different things, work with different players,” Jeff says. “I might have a college player, I might have a third grader. And it all applies.”
The proof? His fifth grade team now beats opponents who used to win by 30 points. Three players gave him Christmas cards saying they love coming to practice—something most youth coaches rarely hear.
Building a business that grows without sacrificing family time
Jeff’s decision to leave teaching after 22 years isn’t just about money. It’s about designing a life where his two priorities—family and basketball—work together instead of competing.
“My legacy isn’t going to be as a basketball coach. It’s going to be as a father,” he says. “I stepped down from being a head coach because my time was getting short with my kids and they were growing up fast.”
The membership model made full-time training financially viable. Coaching business software made it logistically possible. But the real success is measured differently: Jeff coaches both his sons’ teams, runs a 90-client business, and doesn’t spend Sundays texting about schedules.
“I have this autonomy with my business model that I can interweave the team concepts with these players too. Most of them I’ve been with for a couple of years.”
The consistency matters—for business and for development. Players improve because they’re in the system long enough to see results. Jeff’s income stays predictable because clients commit to memberships, not one-off sessions.
“This is a five-year road of trying to figure things out,” Jeff reflects. “This is not something that I just took off right away. You have to have patience. You have to build it up. It’s okay to not know all the answers, but you got to be curious.”
Why joy became Schmidt Performance’s secret weapon
Ask Jeff about his training philosophy and he’ll eventually mention something that sounds simple but is increasingly rare: his players smile.
“If they’re not smiling, you might want to change it up,” he says.
This isn’t just feel-good coaching. Joy is a competitive advantage. Players who enjoy practice show up consistently. They stay engaged longer. They push themselves harder because they’re intrinsically motivated, not just checking boxes.
Jeff’s Christmas cards from third graders saying they love practice? That’s proof the model works—not just for skill development, but for creating the kind of environment where players actually want to improve.
“It’s brought the joy back into basketball,” Jeff says. “I haven’t had this much fun coaching and doing my business since I probably started playing basketball in like the fifth grade.”
That’s the full circle: the right systems create space for the right coaching, which creates better experiences for players, which creates sustainable business growth.
The path forward: Going full-time with systems in place
Six months from now, Jeff will walk away from teaching—a steady paycheck he’s relied on for over two decades. But he’s not worried.
“I’m excited, man,” he says simply.
He’s following a path similar to what Tyler Leclerc described in Episode 2—building systems and client base before expanding. Tyler spent two years training seven days a week before he was ready to open his first facility. Jeff’s taking the same patient approach: systems first, then full-time commitment.
The difference between now and five years ago? Systems. Not just coaching management software that handles logistics, but a complete business model built around memberships, small groups, and principles that actually improve players.
“I love my business model. We got coaches that help me who come into the gym, who work with our players, who have a really good idea of these clients that come in and what their plan is to get them better.”
For trainers wondering if full-time coaching is possible, Jeff’s message is clear: you need patience, curiosity, and the right tools. Don’t hope for income—build systems that create predictable revenue. Don’t spend Sundays texting—automate the busywork so you can focus on what actually matters.
“My time is my most valuable asset that I have in life,” Jeff says. “If my time is taken away doing things that are just so mundane and so time consuming, I just feel like I’m not being very productive.”
Schmidt Performance grew to 90 clients not because Jeff worked more hours, but because he built a system that scaled without consuming his life.
Ready to reclaim your Sundays and build a sustainable coaching business? See how CoachIQ’s scheduling automation and membership management can give you the freedom Jeff found.
Get started with CoachIQ today (demo link on this text)
Connect with Jeff Schmidt:
- Instagram: @schmidtperformance
- Email: schmidtperformance@outlook.com