This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
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🤔 An Interesting Move You Likely Missed
There are several major industry players that have signaled IPO plans, but Dick’s Sporting Goods (GameChanger) is currently the only publicly-traded one of note.
But a second may already be flying under the radar.
Leifras is a Japanese youth sports and community engagement company that operates a national network of sports classes, and typically in facilities it does not own. Think i9 Sports or Sportball. It is also listed on the Nasdaq after an IPO last fall.
The stock (LFS) is not exactly setting the world on fire. The share price was $2.19 at publication time and Leifras is down close to 19% on the year with a market cap of just over $57M.
But there are two other business streams that differentiate Leifras from operators here — and are worth watching.
1) Leifras is rapidly expanding partnerships with municipalities in Japan to staff and operate after-school clubs and activities, including sports. It has been able to capitalize on government pushes to outsource “bukatsu” and reduce workloads for teachers, who traditionally have coached these activities without pay. Leifras had over 2K contracts at the end of last year and has continued to add new ones, as well as make sports school acquisitions.
2) The company is also launching an agency that will offer insurance services (accidents, injuries, etc.) to complement its existing operations. Leifras said it will offer coverage to municipalities, organization and schools with plans to expand to individual policies. It will not offer life insurance, it said. Leifras also has daycare, elderly healthcare and facilities management services.
And to tie this all up: Leifras took its first step toward global expansion this week when it bought a youth sports school in Canada.
A To Sports is a Victoria, British Columbia-based soccer school run by Masato Takao, who is a permanent resident of Canada and previously worked in the front office for a team in Japan’s top-flight soccer league. It will be Leifras’ first wholly-owned subsidiary. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
The acquisition represents an important step in establishing Leifras' business platform in North America and advancing its overseas growth strategy. Following completion of the acquisition, A To Sports is expected to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Leifras and serve as the company's first operating base in North America. Leifras intends to leverage the expertise it has developed across all 47 prefectures of Japan in sports education, instructor development, school operations, and safety and quality management, combined with A To Sports' local market presence, established customer relationships and operating capabilities in Canada, to build a scalable model for international expansion.
Leifras said it chose Canada due to demographics, soccer growth potential and “strong cultural alignment with sports education values.” But it reiterated it also wants to try to “establish a replicable business model for future global expansion.”
And given the company opted to get listed on a U.S. stock exchange … it does not seem that big a leap to put two and two together about American expansion being on the table. Hoping to get someone from Leifras on the podcast soon.
I think the idea of schools outsourcing their sports programs is absolutely something to watch.
School sports is an affordability solution that does not get as much attention as it should. And contracting a company like Leifras — especially if it carries its own insurance — would likely make things much cheaper for schools and for families. The experience would be better, too, with trained coaches.
I could not agree more with James on the school opportunity, both on the sports academy side and the third-party-helps-operate-school-sports-program-that-isn’t-dodgeball-and-freeze-tag side.
I suspect parents will demand more structure when it comes to sports and physical activity during the school day, as AI erodes the need for many hard and soft skills and physical education takes on more importance in life.
I think the big winners here are program providers who can train or outsource “sports curriculum” to schools, and facilities that can offer specialized space to schools that otherwise don’t have it or can’t afford to build an indoor turf field.
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🧢 TeamSnap, Mazda Launch National Initiative
Photo from TeamSnap CEO Pete Frintzilas’ LinkedIn
The youth sports management platform and car maker have joined forces on the national “Coaches Who Move Us” initiative celebrating youth sports coaches.
Mazda announced a landmark national initiative created to champion joy in youth sports by supporting the dedicated coaches who help kids grow, build confidence, and have fun. By partnering with TeamSnap, the leading youth sports management platform, Mazda will celebrate deserving leaders who consistently create positive, transformational experiences for young athletes and their families.
The initiative kicked off Wednesday with a segment on “Good Morning America” that saw five coaches receive new CX-90 vehicles. It will now continue through mid-October.
Families can nominate coaches to win a car through Oct. 18
Coaches can receive a $250 vehicle incentive when they purchase a new Mazda at local dealerships
Mazda will also make a $250 match donation "to fund essential team needs and everyday coaching costs"
Coach nominations can be made here. The incentive program can be found here.
📊 Digging In On Latest Industry Survey
Good Sports — a nonprofit focused on equitable access in youth sports — released the 2026 Good Sports Cost of Play Index after conducting an online survey with The Harris Poll.
The headline numbers: 68% of parents have seriously considered pulling their kids out of sports and 53% are concerned they won’t be able to afford sports next year.
Good Sports and Harris surveyed 574 U.S. adults ages 18 and older who are parents of kids under 18. But a more comprehensive version of the results provided to Buying Sandlot noted that only 512 of those parents have kids who have played sports, 451 of which have kids currently playing sports.
The numbers from the 512:
61% have considered pulling their kids out
53% worried about next year
51% believe the system is profit-driven
77% “agree that growth in private and travel sports risk excluding kids who can't afford it”
36% have missed work or left early for youth sports
The 53% of parents who said they were afraid they may not be able to afford sports next year actually dropped 3% YoY from Good Sports’ 2025 survey. As for the reasons for potentially exiting youth sports (multiple responses allowed):
23% costs
21% injury concerns
20% kid does not enjoy sports
20% poor coaching
20% negative team environment
19% time demands
15% negative impact on academics
Other stats of note: 67% of respondents said “there has been a decrease in low-cost or public school sports opportunities over the last five years” and 56% said “there are not enough viable recreational or intramural youth sports options available locally.”
Almost the same number of parents said they were satisfied with their youth sports experience (33%) as said they were stressed (31%).
This is a thin survey which set out with a goal of finding headline-getting figures by cutting thin slices of data - some of which look like they come down to single-digit findings - and of course it found some. There’s very little disclosure on the size of subgroups, and inconsistent comparisons for age groups and regions designed to elicit the largest differences to suit the argument.
The survey also found 24% of parents have paid “junk fees.”
This was defined as “hidden charges like parking, venue admission, and processing fees (that) have become a routine burden.”
I think this is an important discussion to have amid the stay-to-play lawsuits (and for the industry in general).
Parents bristling at paying admission and parking for their kids’ games is understandable. And obviously there are some examples of prices being higher than they probably should be, especially when you have a top basketball recruit appearing at a tournament.
But are parking and tickets junk fees? I think it’s tough to say that as a blanket statement.
There is not a firm legal definition of what constitutes a junk fee, but the general gist is when a consumer pays a fee and does not receive anything tangible in return.
But parents are getting to park and watch the game. Which kind of negates the claim. Not to mention there can be perfectly legitimate reasons for these charges.
Junk fees are definitely real in some cases. But it also feels like the term is being used in a similar fashion to “clickbait,” which is also a thing but often is used as a catch-all for media content someone does not like or agree with.
🛎️ A New Housing Firm Hits The Scene
The stay-to-play debate is not keeping new players on the sideline.
GreatEvent Hospitality has launched GreatEvent Sports to focus on team and tournament travel.
The Maryland-based housing company said the platform will have over 58K facilities spanning 11 sports at launch. It will also incorporate “performance technology” through a partnership with TFO Sports, an advisory and investment firm.
GreatEvent said clients can search facilities by sport-specific need, secure team rate blocks and “add practice space, meeting rooms, trainers, physical therapy, meals, insurance and ground transport to one itinerary.”
TFO “works with sports technology companies on commercial partnerships and distribution, spanning recovery and injury prevention, load and readiness monitoring, mental health, nutrition, sleep and travel fatigue and video and data analytics.”
🏈 NFHS Tabs Flag Football Stats Partner
FlagStat has signed a three-year deal to be the national high school sports organization’s exclusive flag statistics platform.
The partnership “will work together to provide schools, coaches and state associations with access to technology designed specifically for flag football.”
Real-time play-by-play, scoring
Individual, team stat tracking
Roster management
Game reporting
Social media tools
Direct uploads to MaxPreps
FlagStat has built-in support for NFHS, NFL Flag and NIRSA rules. It will also “have opportunities to engage with the NFHS membership through NFHS platforms, events and educational initiatives."
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