Terms of Service

Effective date: October 23, 2026

1. About Next Layer Sports

Next Layer Sports ("NLS," "Platform," "we," "us," or "our") is a software platform operated by Next Layer AI LLC, a Michigan limited liability company ("Next Layer AI"). These Terms govern access to and use of the NLS website and iPhone application by sports clubs, academies, and other participating organizations ("Organizations") and by their Owners, Admins, Coaches, Parents/Guardians, and other authorized adult users.

NLS is offered only to Organizations and individuals in the United States, and we do not market it elsewhere.

When you use NLS on behalf of an Organization, you represent that you have authority to act for that Organization. Your use of NLS also is subject to our Privacy Policy and, for the website, Cookie Policy. An Organization may also be subject to a separate Organization Services Agreement.

2. NLS is a technology platform, not a sports provider

Independent Organizations—not Next Layer AI—offer and conduct Programs, Training, practices, coaching, competitions, and other sports activities through NLS. Next Layer AI does not itself provide, coach, supervise, insure, or guarantee those sports activities, and ordinarily is not a party to the underlying sports-services agreement between an Organization and a family.

Each Organization is responsible for its offerings, facilities, staffing, eligibility rules, scheduling, safety practices, disclosures, insurance, necessary consents, and appropriate participation forms or waivers. Nothing in these Terms purports to waive a child's injury claim or limit liability where applicable law does not permit it.

3. Adult eligibility, accounts, and roles

You must be at least 18 years old to create or use an NLS account, accept an invitation, or serve as an Organization Owner, Admin, or Coach. By registering or accepting updated Terms, you affirm that you meet this age requirement. NLS generally relies on your representation and does not routinely verify identity using government identification. We may request reasonable information, restrict access, or close accounts if eligibility or authority is disputed.

Access is role-based. Each Organization has one Owner. Owners and Admins administer its activities and membership; specified Owner-only administrative settings remain restricted to the Owner. Coaches receive access to assigned Groups or sessions. Guardians manage Player records for which they have appropriate authority. One adult may have both family and staff roles. You must protect your sign-in credentials and promptly inform us of suspected unauthorized access. You may not share your account with a child or another unauthorized person.

4. Deleting your account

You may request deletion of your NLS account in the website or app Settings. Deletion is confirmed using a one-time code sent to your email. If you own an Organization, you must first transfer ownership to another of its staff members; if there is no one to transfer to, you can invite a successor first. Deletion cannot proceed while a payment for one of your Players is still in progress; wait for it to finish or expire, then try again. An account that holds an NLS platform administrator role cannot be deleted until that role is removed.

Deleting an account removes or de-identifies the person's sign-in, profile, role relationships, preferences, notifications, push registrations, chat reactions and read-status data, subject to technical and legally required exceptions. Pending requests and invitations addressed to the user are canceled or disassociated as implemented. Historical Organization transactions, registrations, bookings, attendance, roster history, refund records, and invitations issued may be retained with a "Former member" reference when reasonably necessary for accounting, safety, legal requirements, or disputes.

Ordinary text of Team Chat messages authored by the deleted user is removed from the visible conversation and replaced with a removal indication; restricted copies included in moderation reports, legal holds, or other lawful preservation records may remain accessible only to authorized personnel. A Player who loses their last Guardian may remain linked to an Organization while there is a valid participation, administrative, or legal need, subject to our retention and Guardian-claim procedures. Where no Organization link or other justified retention remains, the Player record is removed as described in the Privacy Policy. Deletion cannot restore the prior account and may not immediately clear content already cached on another device.

5. Children and Player records

NLS is for adults. Player records may describe children, including those under 13, but Players are not NLS account holders and cannot use Team Chat or submit content directly. An authorized Guardian or Organization Owner/Admin provides Player data. Organizations must have lawful authority and any legally required permissions to enroll minors and manage their information.

A Guardian or authorized adult may request access to, correction of, or deletion of applicable Player information, subject to verifying authority and valid retention obligations. Disputed authority, custody, or record-linking questions may require additional verification and review. NLS does not itself establish legal guardianship.

NLS does not create an account or provide sign-in access for a Player who turns 18. A former minor who is now an adult may contact us to receive a copy of, correct, or delete their information, ask to remove Guardian links, and create their own account.

6. Guardian authority and authorization

An individual who adds a Player, accepts a Guardian invitation, or requests Guardian access represents that they are that Player's parent or legal guardian or otherwise lawfully authorized to act for the Player. The individual must not misrepresent or exceed that authority. This confirmation does not itself create or transfer custody, guardianship, or parental rights.

Where an existing Guardian's approval is required to add another Guardian, that approval must be obtained under NLS's procedures. Requests may be delayed or refused where there are credible conflicting claims or safety concerns. NLS may restrict or remove a person's Guardian access when it receives a certified copy of a court order that requires it.

7. Organization authority and responsibilities

An Owner or Admin who creates a Player record, including one without a linked Guardian, represents that the Organization has lawful authority to supply the information and appropriate permission to manage it for the relevant purpose. The staff action itself does not constitute Guardian consent or replace any consent required by applicable law.

If an Organization created a record for a child before any Guardian was linked, the child's parent or legal guardian can link their own child to that Organization in NLS. Where the details match the Organization's existing record, the Organization's Owner or Admin reviews the match and may connect the record to the Guardian. A Guardian may also ask the Organization, or us, to correct the record. Disputed authority is handled as described in Section 6.

Each Organization is responsible for maintaining accurate registration details, appropriately limiting staff access, issuing and honoring its program terms, and responding to reasonable participant and Guardian requests concerning its own records. Organization-specific duties may be supplemented by an Organization Services Agreement.

8. Programs, registration, and payments

When you register a Player for a Program or book Training, the underlying sports service is sold and provided by the relevant Organization, not Next Layer AI. For online transactions processed through NLS's current Stripe Connect Direct Charges integration, the Organization is the merchant of record for the sports service. The Organization should be identified at checkout and is responsible for fulfillment, applicable sales or other taxes, chargebacks, and refund decisions, subject to law and its payment-provider arrangements.

Stripe processes online card payments using the Organization's connected Stripe account. NLS may receive a separately agreed platform fee from the Organization's transaction. Families do not pay a separate NLS fee. Processing and platform fees are governed by the Organization's arrangements with Stripe and Next Layer AI. NLS does not store full card numbers. Organizations may also record cash, check, complimentary, or other payments received outside NLS; such a record does not mean NLS processed the outside payment.

Paid online registrations may be unavailable if an Organization's online payment processing is inactive. A disabled payment option is not confirmation of a completed registration. Club subscriptions to NLS, if offered in the future, will be governed by separate agreed terms.

9. Refunds, cancellations, and consumer rights

The applicable Organization sets and administers its own cancellation and refund terms for Programs and Training, subject to applicable law. Before purchasing, review the Organization's terms, including any nonrefundable amounts, attendance restrictions, or cancellation deadlines. Each Organization is responsible for making its applicable policy available before accepting payment; where the Organization has entered its refund and cancellation policy in NLS, NLS shows it before payment, and otherwise NLS tells you to contact the Organization about its policy before paying.

Organization Owners or Admins may issue full or partial refunds through Stripe or record repayment by another method. NLS does not automatically decide or issue refunds when an activity is canceled; Organization personnel review them. Refund timing to cards depends on Stripe and card networks. Platform and processing fees may be treated separately under the Organization's agreements. Nothing here limits rights that applicable law makes non-waivable. Contact the Organization first about the sports service or refund and contact NLS support about a Platform malfunction.

10. Training, rosters, and scheduling

Organizations determine their training locations, Groups, rosters, personnel, schedules, attendance practices, and eligibility rules. NLS supplies recordkeeping and coordination functionality but does not warrant the availability or quality of any Organization-run session. An Organization remains responsible for prompt and accurate notices of changes.

11. Team Chat, reporting, and moderation

Team Chat is a text-based Group communication feature for authorized adult Guardians and Organization staff. A Group's assigned Coaches and its Guardians may participate while eligible; the Organization's Owner and Admins can view chats for that Organization for moderation and administration. An individual's access to historical messages depends on their membership period and role. There are no Player accounts or child-authored chat.

Do not post bullying, harassing, threatening, hateful, sexually exploitative, privacy-invasive, infringing, unlawful, or otherwise prohibited content. Messages are subject to word filtering, rate limits, reporting, blocking, review, hiding, and account or posting restrictions. A user's block may hide another person's messages from that user without removing them from the overall Group. Reports may be reviewed by Organization moderators or go directly to NLS. Reports about child safety or threats or violence, reports concerning an Organization's Owner or Admins, and reports the reporter chooses to send only to NLS go directly to NLS. Reporters' identities are restricted in ordinary club moderation but cannot be promised absolute confidentiality where disclosure is legally required.

Moderators may hide, restore, or preserve material and impose posting restrictions, subject to their assigned authority. NLS may investigate reports, contact appropriate authorities where necessary or required, and preserve content subject to legal holds, valid legal requests, or applicable reporting obligations. Hidden content, restricted report copies, and moderation records can remain available to authorized personnel notwithstanding removal from ordinary chat. Routine messages are scheduled for removal 12 months after the relevant Group or Program is archived, unless another lawful preservation basis applies. We do not guarantee that every report will be resolved within a specified time.

12. Notices and communications

NLS may deliver account, security, registration, membership, schedule, payment, and other service notices through the app, website, email, and opted-in push notifications. Certain optional notice categories can be disabled in Settings; essential account-security, payment, invitation, and verification communications may continue when necessary. Team Chat content is not emailed as a notification. Device push alerts use generic text intended not to reveal children's names or message content on the lock screen; the visible club name and generic wording may nonetheless be seen by others with access to the device.

By creating an account, you agree that the ordinary platform notices and contracts may be provided electronically where legally permitted. Any additional electronic-disclosure consent required by law will be obtained separately as applicable. You are responsible for maintaining a working email address.

13. User and Organization content; limited license

As between you and Next Layer AI, you retain the rights you hold in content you or your Organization submit to NLS. You represent that you possess the necessary rights and permissions to submit it, including for club logos, photographs, descriptions, and other materials displayed on public pages.

You grant Next Layer AI a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license, for the period and scope reasonably necessary to operate, secure, display, process, transmit, moderate, back up, and provide NLS and to comply with legal obligations. Public club content may be displayed on the Organization's public page and in NLS's in-app club browsing features, as configured by the Organization. This license does not give NLS a general right to sell a child's information or use submitted content for unrelated advertising. We may remove or restrict content in accordance with these Terms and our Copyright Policy.

14. Acceptable use

You may not access records outside authorized roles; misrepresent a club or parental authority; share a minor's personal information without legitimate need; threaten, harass, groom, or exploit anyone; post illegal content; attempt to bypass security controls; abuse invitations or forms; interfere with availability; or use NLS in a manner that violates others' rights. Public forms may use rate limits and Cloudflare Turnstile to deter misuse. Additional platform rules reasonably necessary to protect users may be enforced.

15. Suspension, restriction, and termination

We may restrict, suspend, or terminate access where we reasonably believe it necessary because of a Terms violation, suspected fraud, compromised credentials, child-safety concerns, unlawful conduct, disputed authority, or other material safety or security risks. We may preserve relevant information for investigations and legal obligations. Organizations remain responsible for handling valid customer rights and obligations relating to their sports services, even if Platform access is restricted. You may appeal a suspension or ban by emailing hello@nextlayerai.com within 30 days; we will review it and reply.

15A. Apple App Store terms

These Terms are between you and Next Layer AI only, not Apple Inc. Next Layer AI, not Apple, is responsible for the iPhone app, its content, maintenance and support, and for any product, legal-compliance, consumer-protection, privacy or intellectual-property claim relating to it. If the app fails to conform to an applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, which may refund any purchase price; Apple has no other warranty obligation to the extent the law allows. You confirm you are not in a country subject to a U.S. Government embargo or on a U.S. Government list of prohibited or restricted parties, and you will follow applicable third-party terms when using the app. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.

16. Disclaimers of warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NLS IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. THESE DISCLAIMERS DO NOT REMOVE RIGHTS THAT CANNOT LEGALLY BE DISCLAIMED. These disclaimers concern the Platform and do not replace the Organization's separate obligations for sports services.

17. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, NEXT LAYER AI WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE NLS PLATFORM. SUBJECT TO NON-WAIVABLE LEGAL RESTRICTIONS, ITS AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO AN INDIVIDUAL USER ARISING OUT OF THE NLS PLATFORM OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) $500 OR (B) THE FEES THAT CLAIMANT PAID DIRECTLY TO NEXT LAYER AI DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM. PAYMENTS MADE TO AN ORGANIZATION FOR PROGRAMS OR TRAINING DO NOT COUNT TOWARD THIS AMOUNT.

These limits do not apply to fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, liability for death or personal injury caused by Next Layer AI's own negligence, or any other liability that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or limited. Liability between Next Layer AI and an Organization is governed by the Organization Services Agreement.

18. Indemnification

An Organization agrees, to the extent permitted by applicable law and its separately agreed terms with Next Layer AI, to defend and indemnify Next Layer AI against third-party claims arising from that Organization's sports activities, content, infringement of third-party rights, or unlawful or unauthorized handling of Player information, except to the extent caused by Next Layer AI's own legally actionable conduct. Individual users remain responsible for their own unlawful conduct and misuse of the Platform; these Terms do not impose a general indemnification obligation on a Guardian merely because their child participates in a club activity.

19. Governing law and disputes

Michigan law governs these Terms, without regard to its choice-of-law rules, except where applicable law provides non-waivable protections. Subject to any legally protected right to bring a claim in another jurisdiction, disputes arising from these Terms may be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction in Michigan. You are encouraged to contact NLS support first so we can try to resolve a dispute informally; doing so is voluntary and does not delay urgent relief or any statutory right. These Terms do not require arbitration and do not include a jury-trial or class-action waiver. Disputes between Next Layer AI and an Organization are governed by the Organization Services Agreement.

20. Changes, electronic acceptance, and general terms

We may update these Terms, with appropriate notice for material changes. Account holders may be required to accept a revised version before further Platform actions; read-only access, sign-out, account deletion, and other rights-preserving actions remain available as described in the product. We keep records of relevant legal-version acceptance.

If a provision is unenforceable, remaining provisions continue in effect to the extent possible. Failure to enforce a right is not a waiver. These Terms, together with referenced policies and applicable Organization-specific written terms, constitute the relevant agreement regarding the Platform; any conflict should be resolved under the documents' stated priority: for individual users, these Terms govern; for an Organization, its Order Form, then the Organization Services Agreement, then these Terms, except that the Data Processing Addendum prevails for data processing. Neither party is liable for delay beyond reasonable control to the extent allowed by law. Provisions intended by their nature to survive termination survive for their appropriate duration. You may not assign your account or these Terms without consent; Next Layer AI may assign its rights and obligations in connection with a lawful business transaction, subject to applicable privacy and consumer protections.

21. Contact

For support, legal notices, or questions concerning these Terms, contact hello@nextlayerai.com or use the published contact page. Legal notices by mail: Next Layer AI LLC, 56647 Via Toscana, Macomb, MI 48042.