1,000 Teams. 15 Venues. Zero Chaos.

How Ryan Silver, CEO of Attitude for Gratitude, uses Fastbreak's AI Schedule Engine to run 1,000-team tournaments.

Fastbreak AI
Read Time:
5 minutes | video: 01:40
Category:
Compete

How Attitude of Gratitude Runs at Full Speed with Fastbreak AI

When you run youth basketball events at the scale Ryan Silver does, you don’t have time for inefficiency. His organization, Attitude of Gratitude (AOG), is one of the largest sports tournament operators in the country. They host over 120 events annually and often manage the schedule for more than 1,000 teams in a single weekend.

In a world where one bad experience can push a team away forever, Silver knows that logistics isn’t just operational; great experiences are part of his company’s brand. Families expect real-time updates. Coaches expect clarity. And everyone expects it to run on time. That’s why Silver turned to Fastbreak Compete, powered by the new AI Schedule Engine.

“We’re using Fastbreak to schedule nearly 1,000 teams in a weekend,” Silver says. “That’s unheard of. But with Fastbreak, it works in minutes.”

The Challenge

For years, his team relied on spreadsheets and manual coordination to plan massive tournaments across 10–15 venues and 25+ courts. His team was doing what so many tournament operators do: pulling late nights, chasing gym conflicts, and managing a flood of questions from parents and coaches once schedules were live.

When schedules changed (and they always do), there was no streamlined way to communicate those updates. Calls came in nonstop. Social media messages went unanswered. And while AOG had built one of the most trusted brands in grassroots basketball, their operational backend wasn’t keeping pace.

“It got to a point where we were spending more time troubleshooting logistics than creating a great experience,” says Silver. “And that’s not what families are paying for.”

The stakes were high. Every weekend had to run flawlessly‌, but the tools on the market weren’t built for this kind of scale. Silver needed a new kind of solution. One that could think, plan, and adapt—faster than his team ever could on their own.

The Solution

Enter Fastbreak Compete‌ — ‌an integrated tournament operations platform now powered by the AI Schedule Engine. Unlike legacy tools or one-off apps, Compete is purpose-built for high-volume, multi-location sports events. For AOG it meant two things: speed and scale.

Instead of spending hours manually building schedules, Silver and his team now use the AI engine to auto-generate a complete tournament schedule in minutes. The engine accounts for team levels, bracket rules, gym availability, travel time between venues, time zone differences, and other constraints that would overwhelm any human scheduler.

“We’re no longer building from scratch,” says Silver. “The AI understands the complexity. It builds schedules that are balanced, fair, and efficient. It’s saved us countless hours.”

But Compete didn’t stop at scheduling. Fastbreak delivered a fully branded mobile app for AOG, giving parents, coaches, and athletes a single source of truth for the weekend. Schedules, standings, court locations, and sponsor activations all live in one place—no more chasing emails or clicking through third-party tournament websites.

-“Parents love the app. Coaches rely on it. And for us, it’s changed how we run events,” says Silver. “We’ve gone from reactive to proactive.”

And with Fastbreak Connect embedded into the same platform, Silver unlocked a new revenue stream. Sponsors were integrated directly into the event experience with on-site activations that reached families in between games.

“Youth sports is evolving. Sponsors want real engagement, not just a logo on a T-shirt,” Silver explains. “With Fastbreak, we’re giving brands meaningful touchpoints. And we’re generating new revenue while doing it.”

The Results

For Silver and his team, the results were immediate. What used to take days now happens in minutes. The staff isn’t buried in admin tasks or last-minute changes‌ — ‌they’re focused on providing a top-quality athlete and family experience.

AOG runs massive multi-venue tournaments without sacrificing service. Schedules are smarter. Communication is cleaner. And the app has become the go-to resource for everyone on site.

With a stronger operational backbone and new sponsor revenue coming in through Fastbreak Connect, AOG is expanding into new cities with confidence.

“Our brand looks more professional. Our customer experience is better. And we’re more profitable,” says Silver. “Fastbreak didn’t just solve a scheduling problem. It helped us grow.”

The Compete AI Schedule Engine

At the heart of AOG’s success is Fastbreak Compete’s AI Schedule Engine, Fastbreak’s breakthrough innovation in tournament planning. It’s based on the same AI technology that powers the season schedules for the NBA, WNBA, G-League, Big East, SEC and other pro basketball leagues around the world.  

This engine doesn’t just automate scheduling. It optimizes it, eliminating coach conflicts, maximizing venue use‌ and accommodating special requests of all types. 

And unlike other tools that require weeks of setup or constant rework, the AI adapts in real time. Add a team late? No problem. Swap a gym? The engine recalculates and rebalances.

About Fastbreak

Fastbreak AI builds technology that helps youth and amateur sports operators grow. With products for tournament management, scheduling, ticketing, travel, and brand activation, Fastbreak Compete provides the infrastructure to run profitable, scalable events with fewer headaches and better experiences for families.

Sports tournament directors — from basketball and volleyball to soccer, ice hockey and lacrosse — use Fastbreak to elevate their operations and unlock new revenue from every event.

Ryan Silver, Attitude of Gratitude

Ryan Silver, Founder & CEO, Attitude of Gratitude

Ryan Silver is the Founder and CEO of Attitude of Gratitude, which produces over 125 youth sports events annually with a focus on competition, character, and community. He previously founded West Coast Elite Basketball, which grew into the largest AAU program in the world before being acquired by 3Step Sports. He is also the author of 40 Year Plan: The Life Playbook for Youth Sports. @coachryansilver 

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