This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🎥 Veo’s Global Rollout
Veo Go — an AI-powered subscription platform that uses iPhones and a small kit to record youth sporting events — launched worldwide yesterday after an initial debut in the UK.
The Veo 3 camera — which has live streaming capabilities with an optional subscription — starts at $1,299.
The Veo Go rig and tripod costs $59 + a mandatory $55 monthly subscription:
Users need 3 iPhones — left camera, right camera, controller
Subscription includes storage, AI tools, etc.
The platform can generate AI-cut highlights and shareable clips
Clips and highlights are downloadable, but full games are not
There is no live streaming. Users upload the footage on their phone over wifi after a game ends. The platform then merges the footage to create a finished file.
The phone must be an iPhone 11 or newer.
Veo co-founder and CEO Henrik Teisbæk wrote on LinkedIn:
“Today, we take another leap towards that mission with the launch of Veo Go. Anyone can now use our AI technology to film, analyse, and share every moment of their game with just their iPhones.”
Other players in the mobile camera video and streaming space include:
BallerCam (most similar)
“[Pixellot North American President Rob DeSalvo] is talking about portable, consumer-priced (sub-$1,000) cameras. This is a hot space right now, and Pixellot is attacking it with their Air NXT camera (priced at $949 + monthly subscription). There are no shortage of competitors here - including Veo, Baller Cam, and Trace - and for good reason: AI is improving the performance of these cameras while costs come down.”
Veo Go takes a page out of BallerCam’s playbook by continuing the trend of just removing the camera and hitting a sub-$100 (equipment) price point.
Veo is doing all of the processing in the cloud, much the same way popular AI chatbots perform all of their compute off-device. [There is a theme here of our personal devices being used increasingly for only their hardware features and not necessarily their processing power.]
It’s a compelling idea, but there are some awkward use-cases here: parents drawing straws to determine who loses their phone for the duration of the game, and potential issues with unfinished uploads.
📸 Add Cutting Edge Security Features To Your Sports Platform*
We get it— customers want the latest features out of their youth sports management platforms. But adding cutting-edge safety features can be time consuming and expensive.
What if there was a better way?
That’s why Zorts now offers its background check and age verification software - Zorts ID with Flash Biometrics - through an API, so existing platforms can give their customers the best and safest solutions.
What is Flash Biometrics?
It is class-leading facial recognition software that allows league administrators and event organizers to quickly and accurately:
protect spectators, athletes, and parents
ward off age-based cheating
This is the same technology that was recently demoed at the Connect Marketplace conference in Miami, where hospitals, schools, major corporations, aerospace and even military organizations saw how Flash Biometrics could instantly and securely verify identities.
Through a quick facial scan taken at registration or on the field before the game, Zorts helps tournament organizers weed out fraud, cheating, and worse.
Find out how your platform can offer this class-leading feature to your customers right here.
*Sponsor
🏀 Spotlight On Plans To Improve U.S. Grassroots
A pair of efforts to reform talent identification and development systems in major sports garnered national media attention in recent days.
USA Today interviewed former Duke and U.S. men’s national team coach Mike Krzyzewski about his work leading an NBA initiative to improve the elite youth basketball ecosystem.
The Athletic profiled U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker and the new “U.S. Way” vision (must-read article) for the youth levels.
Both pieces go in-depth on the challenges facing each sport, potential changes, and acknowledge aspirations to adopt strategies used in Europe and elsewhere.
A few quick things:
1) Both pieces — especially The Athletic’s — did a good job of level-setting about how many competing motives exist in the youth sports world and how decentralized talent ID and development is.
Crocker said 95% of player development occurs outside of U.S. Soccer’s purview. Coach K mentioned the need to improve “non-scholastic” competition — read: AAU — and find ways to better educate coaches in that world.
Ideas for improvement are great, but you have to be able to effectively implement them. And get stakeholders to adopt strategies that may run counter to their interests.
2) I don’t know if the NBA has a conflict of interest, but I do think it is walking a fine line here.
Coach K’s group is focused on improving American youth basketball … but it is named the Global Basketball Committee.
The NBA wants to strengthen the U.S. national team pipeline … but it also does business worldwide and is trying to launch a professional league in Europe, which means even more resources for the countries nipping at the Dream Team’s heels.
It’s a challenge every major sports league will face if it gets involved in similar endeavors.
3) Do not discount the physical size of the country as a complicating factor.
We have softball teams driving longer to get to a weekend tournament than it takes to drive from one side of England to the other.
That makes it easier to have unified governance and structure and for development visions to be enacted.
👩🎤 HS Student-Led Platform Is An NIL Fiverr
Athlens — a marketplace that connects high school athletes with local content creators — recently announced a partnership with Iron Peak Sports & Events, a youth sports facility in Hillsborough, New Jersey.
The platform — created and operated by local high school students at Rutgers Prep and Hillsborough High! — allows athletes to find and book photographers, videographers and graphic designers and gain access to professional highlight reels, media day experiences and NIL content.
It also brings some organization to high school NIL opportunities as the NCAA considers whether it will make athletes report their pre-college deals for approval.
This one is close to home — one of the first big stories I reported on at the start of my career was Hillsborough’s surprise run to the state baseball final in 2012.
High school sports are a big deal — and full of D1 talent — in that part of the state. And Iron Peak is a big-time complex with plenty of tournament traffic— it has even hosted Rutgers soccer and lacrosse at times in its bubble.
This is a really interesting and smart idea and it is being deployed in a region where there will be ample demand.
💧 I9 Sports Partners With Cirkul
The youth sports league franchise and the beverage company — known for its customizable water bottles and flavor cartridges — announced a new pact.
Cirkul will be i9’s official hydration partner
Cirkul will provide hydration education for i9 families
Special product offers and live sampling experiences
All of Cirkul’s 150+ flavor cartridges are no sugar with zero calories.
🚙 ESPN Gamifies Sports Parenting Styles
The worldwide leader rolled out an interactive feature — Find Your Sports Parenting Style — as part of its Take Back Sports initiative.
It’s a 10-question, multiple-choice survey. Not to brag, but I (James) have run through it several times and gotten “Calm and In Control” each time. Kyle… is getting better.
📋 Job Alert: General Manager, Bicentennial Unity Plaza -- The Sports Facilities Companies
SFC is seeking a GM for Bicentennial Unity Plaza in Indianapolis, which just opened outside the Indiana Pacers' Gainbridge Fieldhouse and features some youth sports amenities.
Requirements for the position include prior responsibility in daily P&L management and budget oversight responsibility of $1M or greater and proven management and leadership experience in the food and beverage, recreational and entertainment industry.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.