Buying Sandlot: The Business of Youth Sports

Kyle and Kyle break down Chamath Palihapitiya's X article "The Collapse Of Terminal Value - What Happens If AI Makes Every Moat Temporary?" from a business of youth sports angle. How will AI disrupt youth sports? Would AI disruption lead to interoperability? Are youth sports recession-proof? They then react to a mainstream outlet covering the space like never before, a kid who was benched for his...

A new study from the ECNL pushes back on sports specialization and not everyone agrees with the findings. They also discuss GameChanger's outlook after the DICK's Sporting Goods earnings call. Lastly, Justin Honeysuckle talks about TendedBar and they're pivot to youth sports. He discusses their journey from NFL stadiums to tournaments, the business model, mixing alcohol and youth sports parents, a...

Kyle and Kyle discuss GameChanger and GoPro's partnership, the CaaS market, and streamers in the era of data privacy after a youth sports company gets dinged. Later, CEO of LeagueApps, Brian Litvack, joins to talk about the platforms three new features (TeamBuilder, Evaluations, and Global Schedule). We also talk about how these features will solve operator problems, how LeagueApps is using AI to...

IMG Academy introduced its Elevate by IMG education and performance platform. Kyle and Kyle give their commentary on what they think this means for expansion and future elite sports academies around the country as private education and elite sports continue to popularize. Buckle up! This one has a lot of layers! Later, they discuss the new DICK’s Sporting Goods trade-in partnership with SidelineSw...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan discuss the elite Pathway Schools soccer academy that doesn't have a soccer team. They talk about the continued trend of combining elite education and sports and the innovative approach to development. Later Tyler Kreitz, CEO of Focus on the Field, comes on to talk about his LinkedIn rant against the current state of the youth sports industry, breakdown his observations,...

Kyle & Kyle talk about the importance of the collection, input, and verifiability of data as the SaaS disruption of youth sports continues. Plus they talk about how AI can help interoperability between platform market leaders and breakdown a football prospect's AI highlight video that's going viral and it's effect on the industry. Later an interview with Greg Milnarik, CEO of Koomba, talks abo...

Brandi Dowell Co-Founded The Bennett School, an elite baseball academy in Texas, because she was tired of the archaic school system. Using The Alpha School's 2 Hour Learning Model TBS utilizes AI-powered curriculum so student athletes don't have to spend six hours a day in the classroom. Instead they develop their baseball skills most of the day and get dinners with family back. We talk to Dowell...

Rick Abbott has over 25 years working for the most iconic brands in sports like ESPN, NBC, and Formula 1 and is a former CEO of Cooperstown All-Star Village with Unrivaled Sports. A certified stick and ball guy Rick tells us why he's bullish on softball and the impact of major networks like ESPN on youth sports. We also talk about the Savannah Bananas youth approach, the needs for major brands to...

Kyle Pagan, Kyle Scott, and James Kratch discuss tech and businesses improving safety protocols following a tragic shooting at a youth hockey game, LiveBarn's complex case of video copyright, and USA Volleyball ending it's deal with SportsEngine, which brings out the Sale-O-Meter. 0:00 - Intro: Grab Tix to the Buying Sandlot Summit 1:59 - The Business Case for Improving Safety after a Youth Hockey...

Norway is dominating the Winter Olympics again, which has people lamenting their youth sports model. Norway emphasizes participation, joy, and multi-sport play, compared to the US system that is focused on competition and elite athletes. Kyle and Kyle argue against the comp while agreeing the US could adopt some of its philosophies. They then shift to Adam Silver's comments on AI's potential to hy...

CURVE Sports enters the youth sports space with a major plan to build "super clubs" and own the baseball player development. More major brands enter the space as HUDL partners with NIKE and further proves that tech and media are starting to intersect. Finally, the NFL taps Tiger Woods' TMRW Ventures to operate their professional men's and women's pro flag football league. 0:00 - New Club Baseball'...

Another day another youth sports business up for sale. This time it's D1 Training who bolsters 175+ facilities, 100,000 scholastic athletes, and over 5 million visitors in the last year. Kyle and Kyle discuss the run of youth sports sales in the last month, where D1's sale fits in the market, and the unbelievable $154.5 Billion youth sports market projection in 2032 (!!!). They then get into GameC...

Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger, joins Buying Sandlot's Kyle Scott to talk about the company's latest product release, adding broadcast features, the future of live-streaming, and they company's expansion into new sports. They also talk about the balance between accessibility and profitability, what the height of the youth sports market cap looks like, and the significance of sponsorship. 0...

Daniel Himel is the founder of "Happy Baseball" or as it's called on his tax returns - Middle School Matchup. MSM is a unique weekend tournament for middle school baseball players in areas that do not have formal middle school teams. Over 50,000 kids in 300 cities have participated and it's getting bigger and bigger each year. We talk to Dan why they only play twice a year, how do they spot good l...

Parents pay 1.5 times more attention to brands that sponsor their child’s youth team than to brands sponsoring professional sports teams. - YouGov Sport and Priority Partnerships Report We talk about the developing landscape of youth sports sponsorship as some major brands are pivoting from advertising in pro sports. We also touch on how teams, tech platforms, and leagues are taking advantage of i...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan discuss the industry's reaction to The Savannah Bananas' "new frontier", youth baseball and speculate what that launch will entail. They then talk about Joon Lee's video, "The $40 Billion Industry Built on 8-Year Olds" breaking down the impact of private equity on youth sports and discuss the narratives the media sometimes cherrypicks while acknowledging the challenges pa...

Frank Decembrino is the CEO of Clubhouse Partners Inc., a platform that owns, finances, operates, and supports elite youth baseball and softball programs. In this episode, Frank talks about how they grow clubs they invest in alongside talented operators, baseball's facility needs, different approaches to specialization, and how an MLB Strike would effect youth baseball. 0:00 - Frank's journey from...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan discuss the Savannah Banana's owner Jesse Cole announcing the organization's launch into youth sports and the goal of 1 million youth athletes. Perfect Game's Chairman, Rick Thurman, provides an inside look at their international expansion plan. Finally, GTCR LLC is rumored to be acquiring LiveBarn for $400 million. Will this be able to compete with GameChanger? What woul...

Flag football nabbed a massive win when the NCAA added women’s flag football to the Emerging Sports for Women program. Kyle Pagan makes a prediction based off of this news and the guys discuss what the future for flag may hold. OttoSport AI launches to much fanfare and Kyle Scott gives his thoughts on how the platform fresh off of $16.5 seed round will fare vs. others. Finally, PlayerData CCO, Jes...

"Parent pushback on specialization will increase." "Youth sports tech companies will expand internationally." "Sportstainment is set to grow." Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott are joined by Buying Sandlot contributor, James Kratch, to go over their 2026 youth sports predictions. The crew predict youth sports tech companies will expand internationally, an elite high school football platform will be launch...

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott dive into the latest study that youth golf participation is surging compared to flag football, companies and politicians are trying to increase sports equipment accessibility, and they react to a viral youth hockey brawl at the Hershey Bears game. Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.co...

Kyle Scott starts off with something that's been bothering him about business leaders in youth sports and their use of AI. They then dive into the merger of two youth baseball organizations, Prep Baseball and Bullpen Tournaments, and wonder if consolidation will be a youth sports trend in 2026? They then discuss the sports facilities arms race heating up, the larger than life economics, and what t...

Rob Ponger, CEO of Perfect Game, wants the company to be the next Jordan Brand! He discusses the evolution of the company from a tournament-focused organization to a comprehensive brand that includes media properties like PerfectGame.tv, merchandise collabs with Adidas and Bruce Bolt, and data analytics on their DiamondKast platform. He emphasizes the importance of creating elite experiences for a...

In this episode of Buying Sandlot Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott discuss the evolving landscape of youth sports, focusing on GameChanger's expansion into basketball, the implications of the streaming wars, and the integration of AI in sports highlights. They also delve into the financial dynamics surrounding Versant and SportsEngine, exploring the potential for consolidation in the youth sports tech ma...

Kyle Scott is joined by Jeran Fraser, founder of Flag 50, a live scoring and league management platform for flag football. They discuss the unique challenges faced in youth sports, the importance of technology in improving scoring and league management, and the potential of AI in sports tech. Jeran shares insights on building a lean team, funding strategies, and the future of sports technology, in...