This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
We have some big-name speaker announcements today.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🐻 Black Bear Sports Names Interim CEO
Kevin Kuby will take the helm of the hockey development and facilities company as interim CEO on Saturday.
Kuby replaces BBSG founder Murry Gunty, who the company said will exit the CEO role to “focus on his family office activities as well as health related matters.”
Kuby is an EVP at Gunty’s Blackstreet Capital Holdings, according to his LinkedIn, and has experience as the CEO of several non-sports businesses.
BBSG has also named Andrew Goldman and Tony Zasowski as co-presidents. Zasowski also recently replaced Gunty as USPHL commissioner.
Note: We incorrectly said BBSG operated the league in a previous send; BBSG does not have a role in the league’s operations. BBSG does have teams that compete in the USPHL and the league’s games are streamed on Black Bear TV.
BBSG is a past Buying Sandlot sponsor.
🏟️ Buying Sandlot Summit Speaker Unveil
We are excited to announce our next round of speakers— including one of our feature panels of the event: From Local to Global: The New Playbook for Youth Sports Growth. Featuring:
Erin Clift (CMO, Unrivaled Sports)
Ashley Whittaker (Partner and SVP of Marketing, The Sports Facilities Companies)
Justin Miller (CEO, Rush Soccer— previously announced as speaking)
The panel will cover the participation layer of youth sports, including Unrivaled’s premium experiences and expansion strategy, SFC's model of partnering with municipalities and developers to build world-class venues, and Rush’s continued expansion both nationally and internationally. In short, it will explore how scale in the industry goes well beyond tech.
In addition:
Jess Brodsky (CCO, PlayerData): One of the leading companies in the space in tracking data, Jess will appear on our Wearables and Player Data panel.
Tyler Kreitz (CEO, Focus On The Field): A two-time podcast guest, Kreitz mans “the easy button” for youth sports operators— a suite of services to help operators keep their focus on the field.
Shannon Gunby (Founder, On Deck Circle): A non-profit that works with communities to provide access to equitable, inclusive, and fun baseball and softball programming. He will speak on our Remembering The Athlete panel.
I would argue this is already the most compelling list of speakers in the history of youth sports, but we still have more announcements on the way.
We expect the full agenda and schedule to be announced on Friday.
🧢 GameChanger Launches Access Initiatives
GameChanger has launched a pair of initiatives designed to expand youth sports access and coach development — investing a combined $250K across partnerships with Every Kid Sports and the National Recreation and Park Association.
Building Coach Communities: GameChanger has committed $175K in grants and tech assistance to help NRPA recruit, train and retain coaches at five park and rec agencies nationwide (locations TBD). The initiative is expected to train about 500 coaches and impact 5K youth athletes.
Keeping Kids Playing: GameChanger will provide a $75K grant to EKS that will assist income-restricted families with youth sports registration fees. The Dick’s Sporting Goods-owned platform will also provide 1K comped annual GameChanger Premium subscriptions to support youth sports families.
GameChanger and NRPA will also “help participating agencies form a national learning community to share best practices and explore sustainable coaching models that can be replicated in communities across the country."
🏢 SFC Adds New Exec
Steve Lyons is The Sports Facilities Companies’ new SVP of strategic growth. He "will focus on designing, piloting, and scaling revenue programs" across SFC's network.
Lyons previously led 3Step Sports’ facilities and real estate strategy; he has also been a senior advisor to Haslam Sports Group, which owns the Cleveland Browns, Columbus Crew and a piece of the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Crew’s chief business officer.
⚖️ Facilities Arms Race Legal Update: Johnston, Iowa
The Des Moines suburb has filed a lawsuit against the developer behind a project in town that went belly-up.
The 250K-square foot Ignit indoor youth sports complex was supposed to open in 2024, but never came to be. The site was foreclosed last year when a local bank said the developer had defaulted on the mortgage and owed over $3.5M, plus $1.6K daily in interest.
Now the city of Johnston alleges the developer failed to pay $3.8M in fees and grants, as well as reneged on other obligations. The developer is also being sued by at least two investors in the project.
📅 LeagueApps Revamps Scheduling Tools
The youth sport management platform is rolling out its new Global Schedule feature, CEO and co-founder Brian Litvack said on a recent Buying Sandlot podcast appearance.
The feature allows operators to consider all field spaces and availabilities — across multiple sports if needed — while scheduling games, practices and tournaments.
LeagueApps has also launched AI-powered features for coaching evaluations and building team rosters in the last few months.
Quick Take: AI can unlock and improve workflows in youth sports that were typically filled by deterministic software. Tech 2.0 companies like Fastbreak and Otto are leading with AI, but existing large platforms with long-standing partnerships can also improve their existing features with AI, as LeagueApps is doing here.
👟 Should Club Sports Get You Out Of Gym Class?
Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand education waivers for high school students to include club sports and other athletic activities outside of interscholastic sports.
Policy specifics would largely be at the discretion of individual school districts, but the law’s broad language would cover youth sports organizations and personal instructors/private coaches.
The bill would also mandate all students in grades K-8 receive an hour of recess each day.
I’d be curious how many kids would actually take advantage of such a law.
I played baseball and football in high school, but it never would have dawned on me to get out of gym class.
But then again: I attended one of the last high schools in America that permitted dodgeball.
🏀 Dick’s, Nike Partner On Basketball Campaign
The Scouts are Out campaign will be “a series of videos that feature a roster of Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse athletes, and highlights March as a pivotal time when young hoopers showcase their skills and rise in the ranks."
The campaign will feature big NBA/WNBA names — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Stephon Castle, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum and Diana Taurasi — as well as top high school player Tyran Stokes and rapper Lil’ Dicky.
The campaign is solely a Dick’s venture, but it does mesh with GameChanger’s ongoing expansion into hoops and the brand identity of Foot Locker, which Dick’s is overhauling following its acquisition.
🥍 College Lax’s Streaming Brouhaha
Notre Dame is currently the top-ranked men’s lacrosse team in the nation. It is scheduled to play No. 2 Richmond on April 4 at Northwestern’s Martin Stadium as part of the Lacrosse Day in Chicago showcase.
The only people who will see the game are the people in the building thanks to a situation that echoes youth sports’ various fragmentation issues.
Notre Dame (ACC) and Richmond (Atlantic-10) home games belong to ESPN through the leagues’ media rights deals.
But Northwestern is a Big Ten school and BTN/Fox has no reason to stream the game. And, at least for the time being, no one has stepped up to try to snag the rights.
Quick Take: It’s entirely possible BTN or ESPN or another streamer is just waiting to make sure the teams get to Evanston at Nos. 1 and 2 before making a move. But if those platforms are not interested, it opens the door for someone to grab some publicity. Slap a GoPro on the press box and flip on GameChanger?
🏈 Olympic Flag Football Hot Stove Update
Nathan Rourke — the Canadian Football League’s top QB and reigning Most Outstanding Player — will play in an adult rec flag league as he preps to potentially lead Team Canada at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028
It’s an interesting development ahead of this weekend’s star-studded Fanatics event in LA — and the eventual NFL decision on whether to allow active players to participate.
The CFL has already said all players can participate, even though they would miss regular season games.
🤦♀️ Parents Behaving Badly
It’s been a while since we had one of these stories.
An Illinois woman allegedly embezzled from a youth baseball league and a booster club. She faces four felony charges — two for theft and two for check forgery — with each count carrying a potential 2-5 year prison sentence.
The exact numbers are unclear; cops said the forged checks were over $600 and the stolen funds were over $500 but under $10K.
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