Buying Sandlot: The Business of Youth Sports

Buying Sandlot
  • 5.0 (7)
  • BUSINESS

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. An Elite Sports Academy Without Teams and A State of Youth Sports Rant

    14H AGO

    An Elite Sports Academy Without Teams and A State of Youth Sports Rant

    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, and the importance of trust and ownership when you're developing a product or are an operator in the industry. 0:00 - Intro 0:52 - The Elite Soccer Academy With No Soccer Teams 10:53 - Sportico Op-Ed Throws Cold Water on the Industry 19:03 - A State of Youth Sports Rant 32:14 - Could There Be More Local Investment? 40:16 - The Importance of Trust & Ownership 45:48 - Playing Youth Sports Czar 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

    49 min
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. 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. Lessons From a Youth Hockey Tragedy, Video Rights, and SportsEngine Loses Volleyball

    FEB 18

    Lessons From a Youth Hockey Tragedy, Video Rights, and SportsEngine Loses Volleyball

    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 Tragedy 12:20 - LiveBarn's Complex Video Copyright Case 26:35 - USA Volleyball Ends Deal with SportsEngine 28:32 - The SportsEngine Sale-O-Meter Update 29:45 - Who Will Replace SportsEngine at USA Volleyball? 33:00 ...breaking news about the breaking news 36:58 - The Future of Streaming 40:55 - We'll be at the Flag World Championships in Orlando 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

    43 min
  6. Norway's Winning Youth Sports Model

    FEB 16

    Norway's Winning Youth Sports Model

    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 hyper-personalize the sports experiences and argue for live sports experiences piggy-backing off of Barack Obama's comments about sports reminding us about our common humanity. 0:00 - The Norway Model 1:48 - Should the US adopt the Norway Youth Sports Model? 17:55 - Adam Silver Thinks AI Will Hyper-Personalize Broadcasts 23:30 - Obama's Reminds Us How Big the Sports Opportunity Is 25:20 - The Future of AI Broadcasts 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

    30 min
  7. New Club Baseball Platform's 'Super' Plan and Tiger Woods Gets Into Flag Football

    FEB 13

    New Club Baseball Platform's 'Super' Plan and Tiger Woods Gets Into Flag Football

    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's "Super" Plan 18:59 - Big Brands Continue to Partner with the Industry 22:12 - Youth Sports Tech 2.0 29:08 - NFL Picks Pro Flag Leagues Partner 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

    41 min
  8. The Acquisition Market Heats Up and GameChanger's Massive Streaming Numbers

    FEB 11

    The Acquisition Market Heats Up and GameChanger's Massive Streaming Numbers

    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 GameChanger's massive live-streaming numbers and breakdown HUDL's partnership with Lee Enterprises. Finally, we have a interview with PA Senator Joe Picozzi talking about his $3,000 youth sports tax credit proposal. 0:00 - D1 Training is For Sale 6:34 - The $154 BILLION Youth Sports Market(!!!) 11:22 - Discussing the Viral "Something Big is Happening" X Article 13:35 - D1 Training's Position in the Market 22:28 - GameChanger's MASSIVE Live-Streaming Numbers 30:46 - The Future of Youth Sports Live-Streaming 35:10 - HUDL Partners with the Papers 38:51 - Apollo's $6 Billion Sports Investment Blitz 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

    1h 1m
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5
out of 5
7 Ratings

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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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