There has been a long tradition of family-owned and family-operated businesses in the world of team sports, oftentimes going back generations. But over the past decade or so, many team dealers have sold or merged with other companies  — or have closed their doors for good. Succession planning can be tricky — owners eventually want to retire, their kids might not want to be involved with the enterprise, or the business climate might become too challenging. For a business to last for two or more generations is the exception, not the rule. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that only about 25 percent of small businesses survive for 15 years or more, about five percent manage to stay open for 30 years — the probability of surviving for 50 years-plus is a rarity. The May/June issue of Team Insight featured a profile of Al’s Sporting Goods in Wilmington, DE, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year as a family-run business. That gave us the idea to profile other family-owned team dealers and in Part I of this two-part feature (with Part 2 scheduled for the September/October 2025 issue), four of the team market’s most venerated dealers discuss their legacy and future plans. Here are their stories.

Cook’s Sporting Goods, North Wilkesboro, NC

Owner: Mark Cook, president and CEO

History: Mark grew up in his family’s business, Cook’s Sporting Goods, which was started in 1946 by his grandfather, Flake Cook. After attending college and moving out of state to work at Lowe’s Companies, Mark returned to Wilkes County in 1996 to work at Cook’s alongside his father, James Cook, and grandfather until Flake’s passing. Father and son continued to work together until James’ unexpected passing in 2018. Throughout their time together, Mark and James each brought unique talents to their business and both helped it to develop through the changing industry landscape. After James’ passing, Mark continued to grow Cook’s to more than 60 employees who currently serve more than 300 schools and recreation departments covering western North Carolina and Brunswick County.

“In the beginning, we sold a lot of automotive supplies, tires and appliances,” recalls Cook. “In the 1960s, my father bought out my grandfather’s partner and in 1974 my father bought a 30,000-square-foot building in one of the first shopping centers in the county. Heading into the 1990s, the shopping center became desolate, so the store moved in 1996 — this is our 29th year with the [relocated] store and 2026 marks Cook’s 80th anniversary.”

Most Gratifying Aspects: “We very much appreciate our vendors. We try to take care of the community here. I was adopted so to me, family is who loves you and who helps you — we don’t hire, we adopt and have created a work family. Our employees are our family. You also have to do your part with customers and the community and we try to be fair, equal and wise with resources, building trust over time. If you don’t have those relationships, there’s nothing there. We’re building something together and that’s what makes it worth the effort. The business allows me to have an impact on and relationship with our employees and the community — they’re all important to me.”

Challenges: “It’s not easy working for family, but it’s an amazing blessing to have that time with them. Financially, the main challenges are the uncertainty of tariffs, rising costs, the economy and nationwide competition as well as massive corporations with lots of resources.”

Looking Ahead:“We have three parts to our business: team sales, decoration and the retail store. Team sales is the biggest portion of our business and we see an opportunity to grow. I have two amazing girls and I’d love for someone to come join me, but they have to have a love and a passion for the business. I still need to set up a board of directors and come up with a long-term plan.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “Small family businesses are built on service and relationships, and they’re the heart and soul of the team business and the people they’re serving. The future will be harder — you need resources to survive. There are fewer family businesses today because they’re being bought up by larger entities.”

MVP Athletic Supplies, Langley, B.C., Canada

‍Owners: The day-to-day operations are currently run by Shawn Hancheroff and his brother-in-law, Matt Wilcott. Hancheroff’s mother, Carol Hancheroff, and his two sisters, Ashley Renaud and Kyley Wilcott, are also involved. Shawn’s uncle, Jim Poynter, has retired but still retains shares in the business. The business is still and has always been entirely owned within the family. As of right now, the shares are held by Shawn, his uncle, mother and Shawn’s two sisters.

History: “The business started in 1973 with my father, Harold Hancheroff, selling team sporting goods – mostly softball/baseball and institutional sporting goods – out of my grandparents’ garage, supported financially by my grandfather, Ross Poynter,” says Shawn Hancheroff. “My mother, Carol Hancheroff, and my grandmother, Doreen Poynter, were also involved from the beginning and became more involved as the business grew. At the time, we were more of a team and institutional dealer selling mostly to schools and community leagues. Other members of the extended family became involved, such as my mother’s siblings, Jim Poynter and Barb Mynott.”

Most Gratifying Aspects: “Although it can be trying at times, it is extremely gratifying to be working together as a family to grow and succeed as we have been doing for more than 50 years. We get to work together as a family every day, spending the day with customers and vendors talking about sports.”

Challenges: “One of the biggest challenges, especially as we have grown, is keeping that family feel and unity. Now, there are more family members involved in the business, but with our growth we now have a lot of other staff members who are not related and sometimes integrating them into the business where there is so much family can be challenging.

“Another challenge we faced over the years is that we were not able to be profitable in the Institutional/School business, which was a huge part of our business for the first 30 years of the company’s existence. We made a decision as a family that we would move out of that business to concentrate on softball, baseball and football and we recently added lacrosse. These sports are mostly club sports in our area as there is no high school softball or baseball and only about one-quarter of our high schools have football. All of these sports are primarily run by associations/leagues outside of the schools. Walking away from the institutional business was a big gamble for our business at the time, but in the end, it proved to be the right decision and is one of the key reasons we are where we are at today.”

Looking Ahead: “For the future we are hoping to continue our growth and expansion; while we have some of the family that are getting older, a lot of our key staff are still pretty young. We currently have a couple of the next generation of the family working for us and I would like them to stay involved. We are also considering how to get a few of our long-term employees who are not relatives, but definitely are part of the family, more involved from both a management and ownership perspective.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “Those of us that have been successful over the years have been able to partner with our customers and vendors to offer better knowledge, knowhow and service than they can get elsewhere, but we have to continue to change and evolve to stay competitive with the larger corporate team dealers and retailers. The constant consolidation in this industry and the increase in direct sales by vendors are issues that concern me. We are trying to do everything we can to be great partners and offer value. I think that would be a prudent course of action for any family-owned and -operated team dealer going forward.”

Johnson-Lambe Company, Raleigh, NC

Owners: Rhett Johnson, president; sons Cole Johnson and Grey Johnson. Rhett’s wife, Marci, is also involved in the business.

History: The company was founded in 1935 by Rochelle “Red” Johnson and his partner, Francis “Sheep” Lambe. “The Johnsons bought out the Lambes in the 1960s but kept the name,” says Rhett. “My father, Phil Johnson, took over until I took the reins in early 1990s. My brother, Josh, joined me a few years later and has recently retired. My two sons, Cole and Grey – the fouth generation – have been in the business for 10-plus years now and are currently building their leadership roles.”

Most Gratifying Aspects: “You are betting on yourself and your company every day, that’s what gets you out of bed early every morning. The people you work with are what keeps you moving forward, knowing they are counting on you and you are counting on them. The Johnson’s are the name in this company, but the family are all of those that work with us. That has to be genuine or it doesn’t work.”

Challenges: “Letting the small things keep you from the big things. I learned that from Josh Baker (Bakers Sports), one of my closest friends and partner in The Alli Sports Group and Pro Gear Shoulder Pads. You wear a lot of hats in a family business and you need to find and trust others to take a share of that load in order to move forward. And you always need to be moving forward.”

Looking Ahead: “Great things ahead, one of my favorite sayings. But those details always remain in the family.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “There will always be room for family businesses, especially in industries that still rely on relationships with the customer. Each generation will have its own challenges, but that’s what creates each generation’s success.”

Johnstown, PA, Sportsman’s

Owners: Greg Heider, president; Matt Heider, vice president

History: Sportsman’s of Johnstown, PA, was founded by George Heider in 1948 after he returned from WWII. He transformed his mother’s small hardware/candy and fishing supply store into one of the largest independent family-owned and family-operated team sports suppliers in the nation. His dedication to hard work, long hours, and being known for reliability, honestly and integrity has been key to the business’ success for the past 77 years, and his knowledge of representing athletic team items of quality has not changed for three generations.

George’s sons, Greg and Matt, have continued their father’s teaching of core values and have successfully moved the business forward with the addition of in-house football reconditioning and their own brand of team sports uniforms and equipment that bear the logo, ‘TEAM 48’ — that stands for the year Sportsman’s was founded.

Most Gratifying Aspects: “Seeing our third generation producing for the companies and being able to make quick business decisions that affect all aspects of running a team business,” says Greg Heider.

Challenges:“Tariffs! This is first and foremost this year. They have affected cost of goods as well as having a sound presence in the digital world.”

Looking Ahead: “Our plan is to have our third generation own and manage the business after my brother, Matt, and I retire. But retirement at this time is not in our vocabulary. Regarding expansion plans, we are always soliciting new business as well as new markets with existing customers, such as inside gym equipment sales and installation. We have three siblings that can, and may, join our business at any time in their lives. Fortunately, they are all college graduates in business, marketing and accounting — we’ll even have a lawyer in the family who is soon to graduate from law school.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “Hard to say, except I always tell my nephews and sons to continue doing business the way we do it now and to provide the best service we have to our customers.”