Jennifer Coronel initially thought it was a crazy idea when her husband, Cesar, proposed opening a business dedicated to teaching children the fundamentals of sports.

However, the couple was tired of driving 45 minutes daily so their children could learn the principles of soccer, softball or baseball before they entered organized sports. Several sports training programs were available in other suburbs—such as The Woodlands or Willowbrook—but none close to home, Cesar said.

“We couldn’t find any options for toddlers or even our child, who was 3 or 4 at the time,” Cesar said.

The couple opened JC Sports three years ago to give Lake Houston-area parents more options.

The indoor youth sports center offers sports training programs for children as young as 2 years old to participants who are 12 years of age.

JC Sports’ slate of programs include basketball, baseball and soccer in addition to fall youth leagues in the aforementioned sports and day care and after-school programs.

Jennifer and Cesar said JC Sports creates competent and competitive athletes without succumbing to the pressure-filled youth sports culture.  

“Seventy percent of children quit sports by the age of 13,” he said. “Why? Because it’s not fun anymore; there is a lot of pressure [and] burnout, and there is a lot of specialization.”

Creating a positive culture was important for Jennifer, who said she suffered from burnout at the age of 18 after a long prep sports career. Athletes are encouraged to participate in multiple sports and have a balance between sports and life.  

“We get a lot of parents that think their child is too old to start a new sport at 9 or 10 years old,” she said. “Here you’re going to learn the fundamentals how to play the sport, but it’s not going to be in an environment that’s ultracompetitive.”

Jennifer said the business was fortunate that it did not suffer damage from Hurricane Harvey. She said JC Sports was able to help the community regain a sense of normalcy less than a week after the event, she said.