This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
For our new folks and those who may have missed it, we are planning a banger in the birthplace of our nation— a 2-day youth sports business conference in Philly next spring.
🤳 Reply to this email and tell me the name of the one speaker you would love to see at this event, and I’ll do the rest.
In the email today:
🧢 Sport Specialization May Hinder Pro Chances, Study Finds
Professional athletes who played multiple sports in high school may have a greater chance at success than counterparts who specialized as youth, according to research by a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at UC-San Francisco.
Dr. Nirav Pandya's study examined a decade's worth of NBA first-round draft picks
Players who played multiple high school sports appeared in 19% more games
They also had higher player efficiency ratings and were 2X more likely to win individual awards
Multi-sport athletes also saw less injury occurrence
Broader research in other sports — NFL, NHL, MLB and Olympic sports — reflected similar trends
I’ve mentioned this before, but one of my favorite clips is of Bryce Harper - one of the most celebrated and famous youth athletes ever - talking about the importance of not specializing (36:11):
🙅♂️ Not Great, Bob
The USA Today is going in on the industry. Last week they reported on the Stars’ predatory practices in youth hockey in Dallas. This came just a couple of months after an exposé on potentially illegal pay-to-play practices undertaken by team employees.
This weekend, a follow up on the Stars story headlined “Red Flags in youth sports programs, how to spot them” took aim at the whole ecosystem.
Those 8 red flags, according to USA Today:
You don't feel like you have a say with anything
You fear if you speak up, your kid will be penalized
You fear if you leave, there will be no 'better' options
You feel pressured (or are outright told) not to play other sports
You're on a team with a primary focus of winning titles
A team - or a tournament - requires you to stay at specific hotels with no flexibility
The coach has a chummy relationship with a few of the other players' parents
You can't answer affirmatively: 'Is it worth it?'
Some of these are a bit weak, but they encapsulate many of the complaints about the youth sports industry.
I’ve had countless calls with Buying Sandlot readers, almost all of whom are operators in this space. What’s become clear to me is that the vast majority have very noble goals, and are pursuing profit alongside creating positive experiences— these two things are not mutually exclusive. Indeed 70% of this audience is a parent of someone high school age or younger and understands why there is probably correlation between the two.
But there are always exceptions and bad actors. And it brings negative attention to the whole youth sports ecosystem when they pop their heads up.
Amazon always asks itself if it is doing right by the customer. Disney always asks itself if it is doing right by its guests. Youth sports companies should always ask themselves if they are doing right by kids.
💸 Most Sports Facility Owners Plan To Raise Capital in The Next 12 Months
This is one of my favorite results from our Great Youth Sports Facility Report:
63% of facility owners or operators say they are seeking or plan to seek investment in the next 12 months
25% say they are open it
in other words, 88% are potentially looking to raise capital
Dig deeper…
Higher revenue facilities were more likely to say that they are definitively seeking investment, but they are less likely to be seeking a sale
Why?
The biggest pain points were infrastructure size and costs. Effective operators need capital to grow and improve their facilities, and yet only about half count recurring revenue as a primary income source— which our survey found was a sure sign of increased efficiency.
Read our full Great Youth Sports Facility Report here.
💰 Luka Doncic Commits $5M To Youth Sports
The NBA star recently signed a three-year, $165M extension with the Los Angeles Lakers.
One of the first things Doncic did after putting pen to paper: A pledge to support 77 youth athletes worldwide with $5M in funding.
“Basketball gave me everything, and I’m lucky to be able to give back and help the next generation,” Doncic said on X.
The specifics of Doncic’s plans are unclear. But he is already very involved in youth sports. Doncic has his own foundation and commissioned a study on youth basketball in the U.S. and the Balkans (he is from Slovenia).
We went deep on Doncic’s approach — and where it fits into the big picture for youth basketball development — in one of our first deep-dives for Buying Sandlot premium subscribers back in March.
🏢 Youth Sports Facilities News
Bannockburn, Illinois: A developer wants to convert a largely-vacant office park into youth sports facilities. Solar energy businessman Anthony Donato bought a five-building complex in the Chicago suburb for $17M. He plans to consolidate tenants into three buildings and convert the other two for youth sports, starting with an indoor training facility for a local travel soccer club and other sports. Donato is seeking local approval for the first leg of his plans. He also intends to build an outdoor facility and kid-friendly entertainment offerings on the site, and said he will spend as much as $25M on the project.
Homestead, Florida: City Council approved an 80-year lease for land needed to build the $300M Sports Performance Hub of Miami-Dade. The complex will include a 10K-seat stadium, a youth sports academy, a sports-themed hotel and more. Developers claim the project will create over 4K construction jobs and over 600 new permanent jobs for the region once complete. they also said no public funding will be needed.
⚠️ Concerns Over Field Damage Caused By U.S. Open
The USGA used a park utilized by a high school’s athletics teams when the U.S. Open was held at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania earlier this year.
Parents are now expressing concern the field is unsafe as football and soccer practices get ready to begin while casting doubt on the USGA’s pre-tournament pledge to fix any damage it caused.
Riverside Park is shared between Oakmont Borough and Riverview High
It was used to host U.S. Open guests in June
Parents say the field is uneven and full of grass divots and patches
The town says it and the USGA have spent $100K on repairs
The USGA is said to have laid sod after re-seeding did not take properly
School officials expressed confidence the fields will be ready for the seasons
🚨 Youth Sports Police Blotter
Medfield, Massachusetts: The city’s former parks and recreation director pleaded guilty to stealing $125K in city funds. His embezzlement included re-selling youth sports equipment owned by the city and a kick-back program involving a local gym. He was sentenced to over two years in jail.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: A youth basketball coach was arrested for assaulting a referee at a tournament. The coach faces second-degree assault and battery charges. The official told cops he hit his head on the ground and was knocked unconscious after the coach pushed him.
Naples, Florida: A man allegedly posed as a youth football coach as part of a fake raffle scam. Cops said the man claimed to be operating a fundraiser for the Naples Gators Youth Football and Cheer Association where winners could get tickets to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New York Jets game this fall.
Holyhead, Wales: This is good news! A youth basketball program in the Welsh city is largely funded by cash seized from criminals. Local police help run it.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.