This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
After teasing this for months, we are excited to announce the details of our Buying Sandlot Summit 2026. We aim for this to be the tentpole youth sports business conference for club operators, league owners, event organizers, investors, tech executives and founders building the future of youth sports.
In May, I (Kyle) polled the audience whether we should “go big or go home” on an event. Well, we’re going big. Here are the details.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🔥 The Buying Sandlot Summit
Introducing the Buying Sandlot Summit— a business conference that will set the bar for the youth sports industry.
Where: Philadelphia, PA
When: April 14-15, 2026
Join other owners, operators, and investors at a world-class venue for 2 jam-packed days of content and networking.
The Battery building in Philly - home to the Cescaphe-backed Switch House event center and the brand new, high-end Ballers sport and social club - will host:
Speakers and panels aimed at operators, investors, and tech and media founders and executives
Exclusive networking opportunities with the people shaping the future of youth sports
Fully-catered food and beverage, including breakfast, lunch and dinner, with a happy hour
And a top-flight evening networking event at Ballers, complete with pickleball, padel, golf simulators and more— the same location where the Eagles chose to hold their Super Bowl ring ceremony
We will announce agenda and the first round of speakers and panelists in the coming weeks. But safe to say, it will be a good group.
The photos, please:
The business end of the conference will take place at Switch House.
Evening dinner, drinks and networking will be at Ballers, which is located in the same building.
VIP attendees get access to the on-site hotel rooms at Switch House, while early bird attendees get access to a preferred room block at a nearby hotel.
Early bird tickets are now available starting at just $599 — 25% off regularly priced tickets of $799.
🎟️ Ticket Packages
Early Bird Attendee - $599
Access to entire conference, including all panels and sessions
All Meals Included: Lunch both days, Dinner and Open Bar Happy Hour at Day 1 Evening Event, Continental Breakfast Day 2, Snacks and Beverages throughout
Evening Event Day 1 at the amazing Ballers sports social club located in same building as conference-- includes happy hour, dinner, networking and recreation: pickleball, padel, golf simulators and more
Preferred Nearby Hotel Room Block, with complimentary transportation (separate purchase required, all early bird attendees will receive link to purchase ~$200-$400 per night depending on room size)
Early Bird VIP (EXTREMELY LIMITED— going fast) - $799
Same access as attendees, and also:
VIP Lounge Access: Private space available for duration of conference for speakers, sponsors, and VIP attendees
VIP Breakfast: Day 2 (April 15) with enhanced food offering in VIP Lounge
Access To On-Site Hotel Rooms: Limited quantity (only 45 in total) at the 4-star on-site Switch House hotel (separate purchase required, all VIP attendees will receive link to purchase ~$350 per night)
Get early bird tickets now right here.
Full refunds are available until March 15.
If your organization would like group ticket pricing for 5 or more or sponsorship information, you can contact [email protected].
We’re investing a ton of money into this.
Please buy early bird tickets so I can sleep at night.
⛹️♀️ There Is a New Way to Play It Safe in Youth Sports*
Pomi can be a great teammate for sports parents, youth sports operators, and sports registration sites. They’re focused on helping protect families from the financial burden that comes when young athletes are unexpectedly forced to the sideline.
Pomi stands for “peace of mind insurance” and they provide two important youth sports coverages for parents:
With Season Saver, parents can recoup up to $25,000 in nonrefundable team registration fees if their child misses all or a portion of the season due to injury or illness.
With Player Protect, parents can get help with medical costs from sports injuries with up to $10,000 in gap medical coverage to address costs primary health insurance does not cover.
For e-commerce and registration sites: Pomi’s tech can seamlessly embed into your purchase path as a one-click add-on that can serve your customers, add more value and generate more revenue for your business.
For leagues and teams: Pomi can work directly with you to help protect your budget and reduce workload. Coverage can replace your existing refund policy saving you time and headaches — parents can be refunded, but not at your expense.
For sports parents: Checkout is simple whether you’re purchasing through your league registration or directly on getpomi.com. Sign up is fast, easy, starts at just $10* and can be done even after the season starts.
Pomi is underwritten by Great American Insurance Company, which has an “A+” (Superior) rating from AM Best so you know they’re one of the best.
Millions of sports injuries happen every year. Help protect your athletes’ finances with pomi. It can be a win-win for everyone.
*Sponsor
🦚 On The SportsEngine Beat
The youth sports management and streaming platform is still making deals while parent company Versant explores a sale.
SportsEngine Play has landed a multi-year streaming partnership with Hype Nation Volleyball Network.
The tournament organizer will operate close to 100 events in 50 cities across 24 states in 2026.
SportsEngine said it will stream over 20K matches as part of the deal; it will also handle registration and scheduling at all Hype Nation events.
The tie-up comes out of SportsEngine’s partnership with The Sports Facilities Companies; SFC is also a Hype Nation partner and many of the events will be at venues operated by SFC.
Quick Take: If Versant holds onto SportsEngine, volleyball figures to be a big reason why. The platform is a major player in the youth space and the Comcast cable network spinoff company recently struck a TV deal with LOVB.
⚽️ U.S. Soccer Launches Billionaire-Backed Platform
The Kang Women’s Institute will operate inside the Soccer Forward Foundation and “establish research-backed best practices to inform the training and wellbeing of women and girls at every level of the sport.”
Tech billionaire Michele Kang, who owns the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and several other women’s professional teams, seeded the launch. She has donated at least $55M to U.S. Soccer.
Currently, only a small fraction of global sports research is dedicated to women. A recent analysis shows that only 6% of published research in sports and exercise journals is focused exclusively on women, a disparity that has left generations of female soccer players training under models built for male physiology. This gap has contributed to disproportionate injury rates, limited health guidance, and systems that do not reflect the realities of the women’s game.
The institute has begun work on a comprehensive national study to assess current and emerging needs at all levels:
Injury prevention
Mental health
Workload management
Menstrual health
Transition from youth to elite competition
Women’s sports are exploding in popularity, but girls are still about twice as likely to drop out of youth sports than boys as they age based on most of the available data.
We are going to see a lot more examples of governing bodies and other stakeholders seeking to identify systemic issues that are contributing to this retention disparity and then address them.
The accuracy/context/nuance of the commonly-cited data may be debatable, but this is nonetheless a fast emerging issue for the industry. And even if the numbers are not as lopsided in reality, the efforts are only going to improve equity and experiences for youth athletes and strengthen the ecosystem.
🏈 Girls Flag Football Continues To Grow
Two news items of note:
New York Jets owner Woody Johnson and the Betty Wold Johnson Foundation will donate $1M to the ECAC to form the nation’s biggest college women’s flag football league. Ten schools in the Northeast — ranging from D1 to D3 — will participate in the first season starting in February; an additional five schools are committed for 2027. The format will be 7-on-7.
Ashlea Kham — who stars for the U.S. women’s national team and Keiser University — has partnered with Unrivaled Sports. She will work with Unrivaled and its Unrivaled Flag vertical to build programming, including future clinics, events and showcases. She will also create social media content to promote the sport’s growth ahead of its inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
🌵 Capelli Sport Partners With Arizona Athletic Grounds
The retail manufacturer is now a premier partner of the sprawling 275-acre complex in Mesa.
Capelli branding on 7 (of 24) multi-purpose fields
Capelli advertising on over 200 screens, plus golf cart signage
Multiple on-site activations each year
Custom Capelli gear for AAG staff
It is Capelli’s second partnership with a major youth sports facility in the last week; it recently announced a multi-year apparel and equipment deal with Grand Park Sports Campus in Indiana.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
We’re new— help us build up our social media accounts by following along:
Good game.