We were lucky to catch up with Gene Williams recently and have shared our conversation below.
Gene, we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
I remember being a young athlete myself and always wanting to improve my basketball skills. Back then, private sports coaching wasn’t nearly as popular as it is today – so most times I would train with friends or at the park by myself. Fast forward in life, and I wound up playing college/pro basketball. Afterwards, I started giving basketball lessons to help the next generation follow in my footsteps and accelerate their development. I found purpose in seeing young athletes improve their skills and find confidence in themselves – both on the court and in life. This inspired me to build Athletes Untapped, and the rest is history!
2,000 coaches across 16 sports – find your private coach today: https://athletesuntapped.com/
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m the founder of Athletes Untapped, a platform connecting young athletes with private coaches for in-person, hyper-local training across 16 different sports. Our mission is to make quality coaching accessible and personalized, helping athletes reach their full potential.
The journey began when my wife and I, both former college athletes, started offering private lessons in basketball and soccer. We initially used an online platform to manage bookings, but as the platform’s fees increased and support declined, we realized there was a better way to serve both coaches and athletes. This led us to create Athletes Untapped—a solution built by coaches, for coaches.
What sets our platform apart is our commitment to sustainable growth and community focus. We’ve grown from 200 coaches in two sports to over 2,000 coaches across all 50 states, offering lessons in 16 sports. This expansion has been achieved without external funding, emphasizing our belief that you don’t need to be first—you just need to be better.
At Athletes Untapped, we’re passionate about empowering the next generation of athletes through personalized coaching and community support.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, three qualities have had the biggest impact on my journey: resourcefulness, consistency, and customer empathy.
Resourcefulness
As a bootstrapped founder, I had to figure things out with limited time, money, and support. Whether it was learning SEO from scratch or managing product development without a technical co-founder, being able to find scrappy solutions kept us moving forward.
Consistency
Our growth wasn’t overnight—it came from showing up every day and executing. From launching 180,000 geo-targeted landing pages to onboarding 2,000+ coaches, it was about putting in the reps.
Customer Empathy
Because we were coaches ourselves, we built a platform with real insight into what both sides of the marketplace need. Every improvement we’ve made—better scheduling, lower fees, clearer profiles—came from deeply listening to coaches and athletes.
Ultimately, you don’t have to be the first to market—you just have to keep improving. That’s what has worked for me.
Tell us what your ideal client would be like?
Our ideal client is a motivated young athlete—or their parent—who’s actively seeking to improve in their sport through personalized, in-person coaching.
More specifically, ideal clients tend to have the following characteristics:
They’re committed. Whether the goal is making a travel team, improving for high school tryouts, or preparing for college recruitment, they’re serious about getting better and willing to put in the work.
They value one-on-one coaching. They understand that individualized instruction can fast-track their growth compared to just team practices or group clinics.
They want convenience and trust. They’re looking for a vetted, reliable coach who’s local and available on a flexible schedule—and they want a smooth booking experience.
They care about coach quality. They’re often seeking someone who played or coached at a high level and can not only teach skills, but also serve as a mentor.
We’ve found that when parents and athletes fit this profile, they have a great experience on Athletes Untapped and often stick with the same coach for seasons at a time. These are the relationships we love to support—where real growth happens through consistency and connection.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://athletesuntapped.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athletesuntapped/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athletesuntapped/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gene-g-williams/
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
