This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Thanks to all of our readers. This publication didn’t exist on March 1, and it will go out to 12,876 owners, operators and investors when we hit publish today. We really appreciate your support this year. A lot to be thankful for.
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Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🧢 Dick’s Sporting Goods Misses On Q3 Earnings
It wasn’t the best quarterly report for GameChanger’s parent company, which fell well short of earnings per share and revenue forecasts.
EPS: $2.07 ($2.71 projected)
Revenue: $4.17B ($4.43B)
The stock price has dipped a bit, but Dick’s still saw net sales increase by over 35% in Q3.
The new projected EPS for the fiscal year is $14.25-$14.55.
Not much GameChanger talk, but CEO Lauren Hobart said the company is “enthusiastic about the long-term growth opportunities we see with GameChanger and the Dick’s Media Network.”
“Our GameChanger platform keeps expanding with new features, partnerships, and content that enriches the whole youth sports experience and reinforces our leadership in the multi-billion dollar youth sports tech ecosystem. Great example is our new Game Insights feature, which gives coaches fast, actionable takeaways after every game, further elevating the value we provide to athletes, coaches, and families. We’re also seeing great momentum with our Dick’s Media Network, which is deepening engagement with consumers and key brand partners while expanding across new ad platforms.”
Some quick, qualitative highlights from the report:
Foot Locker was the main focus of this one. The earnings report even got the ol’ “Dick’s + Foot Locker” on the cover page. Investors have been lukewarm, at best, about the Foot Locker acquisition, and there are some near-term headwinds. But, Dick’s see this as a crucial part of their international strategy given FL’s large European and Asia-Pacific footprint + the culture associated with the brand. They expect “back to school 2026” to an “inflection point” for their Foot Locker strategy.
Dick’s is heavily doubling down on their House of Sport (newer store) and Field House (retrofit on smaller footprints) experiential concepts. They even include a real estate ROI slide in their deck. They currently have 35 HOS locations and plan to expand to 75-100 by the end of 2027.
They continue to cite health and wellness, women’s sports, and elevated viewing experiences from technology as growth drivers— all of which are macro trends fueling youth sports through increased participation goals, girls volleyball and flag, and the explosion of streaming, highlight and training video.
Interestingly, GameChanger, which is still on track for $150M in revenue in 2025, and “youth sports,” were mentioned little on the earnings call.
So it’s time to play our favorite game— How many times was “GameChanger” mentioned on the call?
Here’s the unofficial count:
Q2, 2024: 7
Q3, 2024: 11
Q4, 2024: 14
Q1, 2025: 24
Q2, 2025: 19
Q3, 2025: 5
The word “media”?
Q2, 2024: 0
Q2, 2025: 8
Q3, 2025: 3
Some of this might be seasonality, though it’s worth noting GameChanger was mentioned 11 times in the same quarter last year when Dick’s really began to lean heavily into it as a large part of its media network strategy.
I wouldn’t read too much into the lack of GameChanger discussion. Dick’s investors seem laser-focused on why the heck the company bought Foot Locker (which we explained here). But it’s worth keeping an eye on how Dick’s continues to describe GC— is it a “live sports media platform,” as they’ve been calling it this year, or a scheduling and scorekeeping mobile app, as it had been described in the past? I think that framing will define the product in the coming years.
GameChanger is in a unique spot. It is one of the more highly-respected and well-liked apps by users. But it’s owned by a retailer that has different motivations than, say, pure play youth sports tech companies like TeamSnap or Fastbreak et al, which have development teams laser-focused on product. I wouldn’t put GC in the category of SportsEngine, which appears to be a (sizable) pawn in a major media game right now, but it’s less clear where it goes as a product than some of its peers.
One bet I’d make? I think 2026 is the year the word international starts to get thrown around as growth opportunities for youth sports tech.
🚀 Girls Volleyball Remains An Unstoppable Force
The latest indication the sport’s boom has no signs of letting up: i9 Sports reports its participation has spiked almost 21% YoY.
The recreational youth sports franchise started offering the sport in 2019 and has seen it explode post-pandemic thanks to its sweet spot between local rec leagues and expensive private clubs. About 80% of i9’s volleyball participants are girls and facility availability offers itself to demand — one basketball court typically converts to two volleyball courts and some operators use outdoor spaces.
“We are pushing our franchise owners: ‘If you’re not operating volleyball, you’ve got to do it,’” Tyler Muñoz, i9’s Manager of Sport, told Buying Sandlot. “There is an opportunity here.”
How big? The latest NFHS participation data suggests volleyball — already the No. 1 girls team sport at the high school level — could be on pace to overtake track and field as the most popular sport within the next few years. A recent study concluding it is among the safest sports cannot hurt.
Volleyball is also benefitting from unprecedented exposure.
There are now three professional leagues (LOVB, Major League Volleyball and Unrivaled) and LOVB has broadcast deals with ESPN and Versant.
NCAA volleyball has become a popular media property and Nebraska had 92K attend a game at Memorial Stadium in 2003.
The sport figures to be featured prominently — both beach and indoor — at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
And it meets kids where they are.
“The nature of volleyball is very fast-paced, it’s fairly easy to understand the rules and how it works,” Muñoz said. “But it's also the connection you experience playing volleyball that's helping it grow. It's easy to pop those quick clips of connection and belonging on Instagram or TikTok to peak girls' interest."
The women’s sports boom has come with studies finding girls are as much as twice as likely to drop out of youth sports than boys.
Muñoz believes providing positive experiences at younger ages will curb that trend in the future.
“If we’re able to do a good job at the recreational and youth level and they grow to understand the sport and love it, then they will stay involved later on in life,” he said. “And that’s what we’re hopefully seeing. I think we will see those numbers change and adjust a bit in the next 5-10 years because girls will have built that love and desire and passion for those sports.”
🌽 A Situation Worth Monitoring
We wrote a few sends ago about a congressional candidate in Nebraska pushing for a state tax program to be harnessed for youth sports facilities projects in the state.
Both city officials in Omaha and a pair of major youth sports organizations — Nebraska Elite Volleyball and Cheer Athletic Omaha — are now pushing to unlock incentives through the Sports Arena Facility Financing Assistance Act.
181K-square-foot volleyball facility that could include MLV’s Omaha Supernovas
$28.5M cheer-focused complex
$140M USL stadium to anchor a mixed-use village
$65M in bonds to build over a dozen multipurpose fields at an Omaha park
One problem: Gov. Jim Pillen currently opposes the efforts.
The parties in favor argue the projects would address facility availability shortfalls and boost the local economy through sports tourism. Pillen claims the program, which offers sales tax exemptions, would jack up property taxes in the state.
Pillen has to sign off on any project— he said he will not consider doing so until at least June, pending legislative action on property tax reform.
🧱 More Youth Sports Facilities News
Detroit: The city’s incoming WNBA expansion team will receive $34.5M in tax breaks to build a complex that will include a 100K-square-foot youth basketball academy. There is no price tag yet for the academy, which will be included in a second phase; the project site is the former Uniroyal tire plant.
Johnston, Iowa: The future of the proposed 250K-square-foot Ignit indoor complex is in doubt after the projected was foreclosed upon. The developer behind the complex allegedly failed to comply with payment terms on over $5M in loans and interest between two lenders that want to force a sale of the property.
🏀 Minnesota City’s Youth Hoops Bonanza
Generating $800K in two days is not too shabby.
That was the estimated economic impact of the Early Bird Classic youth basketball tournament, held this past weekend in Rochester.
Almost 400 boys and girls teams in grades 4-8
80% of teams were from out of town
3K projected hotel room stays
Games at at least nine venues
Local programs raise funds by assisting with the event
One town brought 28 teams and booked out an entire hotel
The tournament is the biggest in Minnesota by over 100 teams, according to an official.
Rochester is no stranger to the youth sports industry, of course.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.