Buying Sandlot: The Business of Youth Sports

Buying Sandlot

The leading podcast covering the business of youth sports. Interviews with the most important people shaping the future of youth sports. Analysis on the latest industry news. Hosted by Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan.

  1. The SaaS Disruption

    3D AGO

    The SaaS Disruption

    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 Manarik, CEO of Koomba, talks about his platform that connects youth athletes with sports psychologists and performance coaches. The conversation highlights the trends he sees in youth athlete mental performance, retention from investment, data sharing to reduce burnout, and the technology used to enhance athlete performance. 0:00 - Intro 6:07 - How Koomba is Helping Youth Athlete Mental Performance 15:15 - The SaaS Disruption! 26:47 - How AI Can Help Interoperability 32:10 - A High School Recruit's Viral AI Highlights 38:11 - Koomba Partnership Gives Access to 30k New Customers 41:21 - Koomba's Goal for Athlete's Mental Performance 45:20 - What Sports Does Koomba's Athletes Play? 46:28 - Difference Between Mental Skills & Sports Psychology 48:11 - Clubs That Invest in Mental Performance See Retention 49:29 - Koomba's Business Model 53:47 - Thoughts on Expanding Customer Focus 55:44 - The Future of Koomba Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026 Follow Us: Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.buyingsandlot.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buying-sandlot/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buyingsandlot TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@buyingsandlot

    58 min
  2. The Texas Commodities Trader Who Built an Elite Baseball Academy

    FEB 23

    The Texas Commodities Trader Who Built an Elite Baseball Academy

    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 about the AI curriculum that has student-athletes learning 6x faster than peers, student's day-to-day, the baseball facilities, self-funding the school, and tech they’re using to track verifiable data for the next level. Stick around after the interview as we react to the cutting edge ideas the mom and Texas commodities trader discussed. 0:00 - Welcome to Buying Sandlot 1:10 - How Students Only Need to Learn 2 Hours a Day 6:25 - What is The Bennett School's Objective 9:59 - Student's Day-to-Day 11:28 - Students are Learning 6x Faster Than Peers 14:10 - How Sports Fills the Gaps 16:34 - How the AI Curriculum Challenges Students 18:28 - The Baseball Facilities 21:11 - How They Track Player Data for Scouts/Coaches 22:59 - What's the Future of The Bennett School? 25:15 -An Elite SELF-FUNDED Baseball Academy + Tuition Costs 28:33 - Reactions to Interview + IMG Academy 35:18 - IMG Academy's Focus on School 37:50 - How The Bennett School is Capitalizing on Youth Sports Trends 41:16 - Reacting to the Learning Development Approach 44:17 - The Consolidation of Sports Academies Will be WILD! 46:40 - Examining a Company Vertically Integrating from Youth to Pro 50:20 - Parents Continue to Take Youth Sports Back Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026 Follow Us: Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.buyingsandlot.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buying-sandlot/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buyingsandlot TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@buyingsandlot

    53 min
  3. How ESPN Can Scale Softball: Interview with Former Cooperstown Village CEO Rick Abbott

    FEB 20

    How ESPN Can Scale Softball: Interview with Former Cooperstown Village CEO Rick Abbott

    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 reinvest in grassroot sports, and the gives his thoughts on the recently popular "Norway Model". 0:00 - Intro 3:38 - Why Rick is Bullish on Softball 13:34 - How ESPN can Make Softball a Valuable Property 14:32 - ESPN and LLWS Relationship 16:40 - Streamers Future in Youth Sports 21:16 - The Concerns Around Youth Gambling 24:16 - The Softball Facility Conundrum 25:50 - Banana Ball or Little League Ball? 37:34 - The Mental Toll on Youth Baseball Players 40:47 - How NIL is Transforming High School Recruiting 44:10 - Do Youth Sports Parents Get a Bad Rap? 47:47 - Can the Norway Model Work in the U.S.? 53:23 - The Importance of Major Brand Sponsorships Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026 Follow Us: Subscribe to the Newsletter: https://www.buyingsandlot.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buying-sandlot/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buyingsandlot TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@buyingsandlot

    56 min
5
out of 5
7 Ratings

About

The leading podcast covering the business of youth sports. Interviews with the most important people shaping the future of youth sports. Analysis on the latest industry news. Hosted by Kyle Scott and Kyle Pagan.

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