Buying Sandlot: The Business of Youth Sports

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott sit down with Veo CEO and co-founder Henrik Teisbaek to discuss the growth of one of the biggest video platforms in youth sports and where the rapidly evolving camera market goes next. We also discuss the impact Veo's new anal...

Can sponsorship dollars actually help solve youth sports’ affordability problem? Kyle Scott and James Kratch sit down with Orhan Ajredinovski, founder and CEO of Reeplayer, an AI-powered youth sports camera. Orhan has an ambitious goal to use advertisi...

Is youth sports really at a crossroads or has the narrative gotten ahead of reality? Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott talk about a new AP/Ipsos survey that tackles parent's private equity opinion, costs, and more trends. Massachusetts lawmakers release 11 tho...

Kyle Pagan and James Kratch talk to IMG Academy's COO Mike Milliron about the school's largest expansion ever. We also discuss expanding the academy model around the country, the growing opportunity around girl’s sports - especially flag football, nami...

Kyle Scott & Kyle Pagan are on location at the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Citizens Bank Park to find out what the future of amateur baseball looks like. They sit down with executives, Hall of Famers, and industry leaders across the Perfect Ga...

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott talk to Paul Dippolito about founding a rec youth soccer league called Sand City Surf after getting frustrated with the one in his local town. Paul walks us through the process, the biggest challenges, how he's building a bett...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk about Otto Sports AI’s major volleyball expansion plans and some great quotes from CEO Luke Zaientz, an update on Unrivaled Sports' investment into their flagship complex, and an update to the drama this week in the LLWS ...

Kyle Pagan talks to Pop Warner CEO Steve Strawbridge about the new partnership with PlayMetrics and modernizing the registration experience, the enormous opportunity he sees in cheer and girl’s flag football, his take on whether flag could cut into tac...

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott talk about a new report unpacking livestreaming trends, SPIRE Academy's new naming rights deals, a innovative HUDL marketing campaign, and the Patriot Games will actually be played. 0:00 - SPIRE Academy's Big Naming Rights Dea...

Kyle Pagan talks to Ntangible CEO Dan Connerty about why he thinks that’s about to change. We dive into how NTangible's Clutch Factor Assessment works, why Dan believes cognitive analytics is the next frontier, how youth sports coaches and operators ar...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk about the Tampa Bay Rays plan to incorporate youth sports into their new stadium, NFL Flag's impressive ratings, NIKE's reunites with Rush Soccer, and AI sports reporting is trying to help high schools cash in. 0:00 - You...

Kyle Pagan and James Kratch talk to Michael Sonier, Co-Founder of Delano Bats, about creating the baseball bat of the summer. Heralded by some baseball operators, banned from tournaments by others the company’s composite wood bat has quickly become one...

Kyle Scott talks to Sandy Ogg, the managing partner and CEO of CURVE Sports, a youth baseball platform that partners with leading clubs through capital technology and operational support while allowing them to retain their local brands and leadership. ...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk to Matt LaPorta and TJ Candella. Matt is a former MLB Big Leaguer turned investor and TJ is the CEO of Dirty Mids, one of the fastest-growing sports apparel lifestyle brands, famous for their mid-calf baseball pants, slid...

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott sit down with Jeremy Goldberg, President of LeagueApps, Pete Frintzilas, CEO of TeamSnap, and Jared Cooper, Exec. Director of the FundPlay Foundation to talk The Strong Kids Act. We discuss why the coalition believes this legi...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk to Perfect Game CEO, Rob Ponger, about their recent media deals and how they help innovate broadcasts, why he believes youth sports remains one of the most overlooked marketing opportunities, the All-American Classic in P...

SportIQ is a company that's turning an ordinary basketball into an AI-powered training platform. Every shot, every release angle, every make, every miss becomes data that helps athletes improve in real time. But this conversation goes way beyond a smar...

Kyle Pagan talks to Co-Founder and CEO of Game1.ai Amir Donath. In the episode, Amir explains how Game1 differentiates between early and late bloomers, why AI should complement and not replace coaches and scouts, the role of biological age in TalentID,...

Kyle Pagan and Kyle Scott discuss a jam packed week of news from the uncertainty around Norway’s youth sports model, D1 Training launches a new verified testing platform, USA Baseball changes the bat specs for high school, and more. 0:00 - USA Baseball...

Kyle Pagan and James Kratch talk to Co-Founder and CEO of Real America Freestyle Wrestling Chad Bronstein. RAF is a rapidly growing wrestling league that announced the launch of Next Gen, a national youth wrestling series that will stream on Fox Nation...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan interview Jeremy Goldberg, President & Co-Founder of LeagueApps, and Kate Quattlebaum, VP of Safety at NCSI, as LeagueApps announces they’ve acquired the background screening and compliance app. We discuss why LeagueApps made ...

Kyle Pagan speaks with Paul Anton, CEO and Co-Founder of huupe, a company behind the world’s first smart basketball hoop. huupe uses an integrated screen, computer vision, and AI-powered training that transforms a driveway or gym into an interactive pl...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk to the founder of 108 Performance, Eugene Bleecker, about 108's journey from a small training facility to MLB player clients, how the next generation of athlete development will combine software, education, products, and ...

Kyle Pagan and James Kratch speak with President of U.S. Sports Camps, Justin Hoeveler, about their new partnership with UCLA Softball, the continued rise of girls sports, what the World Cup could mean for soccer participation, and whether flag footbal...

Kyle Scott, Kyle Pagan, and James Kratch discuss their takeaways from the "Field of Fees: Private Equity’s Role in the Commercialization of American Youth Sports" hearing on Capitol Hill. Is the Let Kids Play Act in jeopardy? How are conversations bein...

Kyle Pagan is joined by two leaders helping shape the future of club baseball. Jack Cressend, founder of Knights Knation Baseball and Tyler Naquin, Director of Baseball Operations. Knights has built one of the most successful club baseball organization...

Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan talk about Unrivaled Sports' latest baseball move for Ripken Nationals while we wonder if they will build a LLWS competitor, FlexWork and ProCamps merge, which could create an opportunity for pro teams to leverage new revenue ...

In this episode we discuss trends we saw from a World Cup experience, recap the insights gathered from our interview with Nina Johnson and Rep. Chris Deluzio, Perfect Game announces their next media rights move, and another facility sells their naming ...

Rep. Chris Deluzio joins the show to discuss what inspired the framework of The Let Kids Play Act, the biggest debates surrounding the bill, and why the legislation targets "vulture practices" that he argues are driving up costs and limiting access. 0:...

Banana Ball Chief of Staff, Nina Johnson, dives into how the Savannah Bananas are approaching youth camps and tournaments, what a future Banana Ball youth league could look like, the challenges facing community-based programs, and how parents a lot of ...

We're joined today by RCX Sports' CEO, Izell Reese, and Brand Velocity Group Founding Partner, Austin Ramos. We discuss BVG’s recent acquisition of RCX, why they believe youth sports remains a compelling investment opportunity, how RCX grew NFL FLAG in...

Today we're talking about a bill in Massachusetts that wants to establish a state governing body for youth sports, the MLB draft proposal could have some drastic effects on youth baseball, news releases in the age of The Let Kids Play Act, and a youth ...

On today's episode Quinten Griffiths, CEO of Sportball, one of the largest rec sports providers in North America talks about why Sportball believes the future of youth sports starts before kindergarten, how the company is helping parents navigate speci...

On today’s episode we check back in on the Youth Sports predictions we made in January, now that we’re at the halfway point. How many did we get right and how many have we been flat out wrong about so far? We look into the state of international expans...

A former hacker and DARPA program manager Jason Syversen launched SportsVisio after an 8-figure exit from his cybersecurity company. SportsVisio brings computer vision and AI to youth sports and helps teams, clubs, schools, and facilities automatically...

Huck Sorock, Co-Founder and CEO of Refr Sports, is one of the fastest-growing companies in the officiating technology space. A former hockey player and referee, Huck experienced firsthand the challenges officials face—from inefficient scheduling and lo...

Jake Hirabayashi, founder and CEO of The Futures App, talks about his all-in-one youth sports technology platform focused on: team management, training delivery, and athlete development. During this interview we dive deeper into the player development ...

New Chief Growth Officer at TPH Academy, Steve Sanders, talks about the innovative day school model, growth opportunities in a variety of club sports, education trends, new revenue streams, and the emerging legislation. 0:00 - Premium Community Update!...

US Soccer execs spoke about a proprietary AI tool the federation built that will scout 50-70 million American-eligible soccer players. We also talk about the recent amendments the NCAA made to their eligibility rules, World Cup teams are forgoing state...

The new President of i9 Sports, Ron Shimek, talks about I9’s plans to scale with intention, their expansion into new mrkets, sports, and schools, and the goals they have around girls flag football plus more. 0:00 - Ron Shimek's New Role at i9 Sports 7:...

Eli Manning's private equity firm, Brand Velocity Group, makes a significant investment in youth sports acquiring RCX Sports. Another background check debacle happens as the New Orleans Recreation Department fails to conduct proper volunteer compliance...

XbotGo's CEO, David Tan, announces Julian Alvarez as global ambassador before the World Cup. We talk about the "Dare to Dream" campaign, the future of AI sports cameras, their product innovations coming shortly, enhancing player development and what Ap...

A viral baseball incident reveals a gap in USSSA's background check and compliance process. We talk about how safety is still fragmented, CURVE Sports & The Futures App partner, and SPIRE Academy CEO, Steve Sanders, leaves for TPH Academy. 0:00 - Premi...

An email on social media claims US Soccer plans to absorb US Youth Soccer and the CEO of Coachbetter, Patrick Patzig, comes on to talk about an investment from the German Football Federation, Germany's digital grassroots revolution, and interoperabilit...

The NFHS pens an op-ed arguing participation in school sports is the antidote for the rising cost of youth sports, mental performance is becoming table stakes in the industry, and Unrivaled Sports makes a softball move. We then have on scoutSMART CEO, ...

Regulatory scrutiny on youth sports continues with the Let Kids Play Act and a new lawsuit filed against Stay-to-Play policies. We look at the pros and cons of the arguments. GameChanger is targeting grandparents in their new campaign with Donna Kelce,...

Travis Vaughn of Upward Sports comes on the show to talk about how the organization assists churches and communities through sport. We dive into Upward's innovative business model, the custom sports programs, and promoting faith through rec experiences...

Kyle Pagan talks with ShotTracker CEO, Dayveon Ross, about their first of it's kind partnership with MADE Hoops. They talk about ShotTracker's strategy shifting to youth sports, the innovative suite of AI-driven video data products, advanced tracking, ...

Varsity Brands CEO Adam Blumenfeld comes on the show to talk about the market opportunities with Club Direct, the acquisitions of Soccer.com and Lax.com, Pro Cheer and Stunt's future, and increasing youth participation through apparel and sponsorship. ...

Kyle and Kyle dig into the latest participation data released by the Aspen Institute. The report indicates an increase to 58% in 2024. We also talk about the USA Today investigation of Black Bear Sports Group and its effect on the youth sports ecosyste...