My Biz: Eichhorn Recreation teaches preschoolers games’ fundamentals

MARION — Jed Eichhorn has long known that he wanted to be a role model for kids.

'I grew up in a single parent home so I always looked up to my male role models,' he said. 'So I knew early on that I wanted to work with kids and be that role model for them. It means so much that I know I am positively impacting a child's life. That drives me.'

Eichhorn has spent most of his career working in various municipal parks and recreation departments. For eight years, he served as the director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Belle Plaine before moving to Sauk Prairie, Wis.

'And although I loved my job, my wife and I decided that it would be best to raise our newborn daughter near family in Iowa,' he said. So the Eichhorns moved to the Cedar Rapids area in 2012.

Eichhorn decided to come up with his own business so he could tap into a new audience.

'I knew there were dance programs for younger kids so I thought 'why not sports?'' Eichhorn said, adding that he'd previously run successful preschool sports programs in other communities.

So through his business, Eichhorn Recreation LLC, he developed the Little Sports Program.

Geared toward 3- to 5-year-olds, the programs focus on teaching children sports fundamentals in a fun environment.

'We use age appropriate equipment to ensure that participants succeed while maintaining proper form, which is so important,' Eichorn said. 'Every kid has a ball and we try to keep the ratio at one-to-six so we can provide more individualized attention.'

Basketball, soccer, tennis, t-ball, football and a sports sampler camp are offered. Eichhorn said he hopes to also develop volleyball and golf programs in the near future.

'Each session starts with a story that relates to that sport,' he said. 'We break it down for the kids and we try to make it all fun. Most drills last about four minutes so we are doing eight to ten drills each session.'

Eichhorn said each session is hosted at various daycares and preschools around the Cedar Rapids/Marion area. Eichhorn, who leads most of the sessions himself, visits a particular location once a week for half an hour over a six week period.

'I approached St. Matthew ECC and asked if they were interested in summer camps and programs and they said yes,' he said. That was in 2013, and the program has expanded to more than a dozen preschool/daycare locations.

Eichhorn, who now has two young children, said he knows how important family time can be and designed the program around maximizing that.

'I was fortunate to stay home with my daughter for six months until she turned one and wouldn't change that for anything,' he said. 'I value family time. I didn't want to work every weekend. And I know other families, especially if you have two or three kids, are running every night of the week. I wanted to create a win-win there in terms of creating daytime programming.'

Eichhorn has offered a few community programs through the Cedar Rapids Public Library and NewBo City Market. But he sees the most growth happening with outreach to other preschool and daycare programs.

'Each location is different, especially in terms of when they host the program, whether during school time or after school,' Eichhorn said, noting that these offerings are great value-added programs for daycares to offer their families.

Eichhorn enjoys being his own boss, but said it can be a challenge as well. 'Trying to make sure all the bases are covered is challenging, especially as you try to grow the business appropriately.' On any given day — beyond leading Little Sports sessions — Eichhorn is taking care of everything from marketing on Facebook and building the website and registration form, to reaching out to new day care contacts and meeting with SCORE mentors to gain business insights.

He's getting ready to head into his busy season as well. 'Summer is always the busiest time of year because of the nicer weather and preschool programs being done. Day cares are looking for summer programs.'

'There's a niche here,' he added. 'I've developed a great program and it's definitely something parents all over the U.S. can use. I really feel like I'm just getting started.'

AT A GLANCE

Name: Jed Eichhorn

Title: Owner/Founder

Company: Eichhorn Recreation LLC

Address: Marion

Phone: (608) 712-6298

Website: Leagues.bluesombrero.com/LittleSports

Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com