Rick Abbott has over 25 years working for the most iconic brands in sports like ESPN, NBC, and Formula 1 and is a former CEO of Cooperstown All-Star Village with Unrivaled Sports. A certified stick and ball guy Rick tells us why he's bullish on softball and the impact of major networks like ESPN on youth sports. We also talk about the Savannah Bananas youth approach, the needs for major brands to reinvest in grassroot sports, and the gives his thoughts on the recently popular "Norway Model".

0:00 - Intro

3:38 - Why Rick is Bullish on Softball

13:34 - How ESPN can Make Softball a Valuable Property

14:32 - ESPN and LLWS Relationship

16:40 - Streamers Future in Youth Sports

21:16 - The Concerns Around Youth Gambling

24:16 - The Softball Facility Conundrum

25:50 - Banana Ball or Little League Ball?

37:34 - The Mental Toll on Youth Baseball Players

40:47 - How NIL is Transforming High School Recruiting

44:10 - Do Youth Sports Parents Get a Bad Rap?

47:47 - Can the Norway Model Work in the U.S.?

53:23 - The Importance of Major Brand Sponsorships

Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026

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Kyle Pagan, Kyle Scott, and James Kratch discuss tech and businesses improving safety protocols following a tragic shooting at a youth hockey game, LiveBarn's complex case of video copyright, and USA Volleyball ending it's deal with SportsEngine, which brings out the Sale-O-Meter.

0:00 - Intro: Grab Tix to the Buying Sandlot Summit

1:59 - The Business Case for Improving Safety after a Youth Hockey Tragedy

12:20 - LiveBarn's Complex Video Copyright Case

26:35 - USA Volleyball Ends Deal with SportsEngine

28:32 - The SportsEngine Sale-O-Meter Update

29:45 - Who Will Replace SportsEngine at USA Volleyball?

33:00 ...breaking news about the breaking news

36:58 - The Future of Streaming

40:55 - We'll be at the Flag World Championships in Orlando

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Norway is dominating the Winter Olympics again, which has people lamenting their youth sports model. Norway emphasizes participation, joy, and multi-sport play, compared to the US system that is focused on competition and elite athletes. Kyle and Kyle argue against the comp while agreeing the US could adopt some of its philosophies. They then shift to Adam Silver's comments on AI's potential to hyper-personalize the sports experiences and argue for live sports experiences piggy-backing off of Barack Obama's comments about sports reminding us about our common humanity.

0:00 - The Norway Model

1:48 - Should the US adopt the Norway Youth Sports Model?

17:55 - Adam Silver Thinks AI Will Hyper-Personalize Broadcasts

23:30 - Obama's Reminds Us How Big the Sports Opportunity Is

25:20 - The Future of AI Broadcasts

Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026

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CURVE Sports enters the youth sports space with a major plan to build "super clubs" and own the baseball player development. More major brands enter the space as HUDL partners with NIKE and further proves that tech and media are starting to intersect. Finally, the NFL taps Tiger Woods' TMRW Ventures to operate their professional men's and women's pro flag football league.

0:00 - New Club Baseball's "Super" Plan

18:59 - Big Brands Continue to Partner with the Industry

22:12 - Youth Sports Tech 2.0

29:08 - NFL Picks Pro Flag Leagues Partner

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Another day another youth sports business up for sale. This time it's D1 Training who bolsters 175+ facilities, 100,000 scholastic athletes, and over 5 million visitors in the last year. Kyle and Kyle discuss the run of youth sports sales in the last month, where D1's sale fits in the market, and the unbelievable $154.5 Billion youth sports market projection in 2032 (!!!). They then get into GameChanger's massive live-streaming numbers and breakdown HUDL's partnership with Lee Enterprises. Finally, we have a interview with PA Senator Joe Picozzi talking about his $3,000 youth sports tax credit proposal.

0:00 - D1 Training is For Sale

6:34 - The $154 BILLION Youth Sports Market(!!!)

11:22 - Discussing the Viral "Something Big is Happening" X Article

13:35 - D1 Training's Position in the Market

22:28 - GameChanger's MASSIVE Live-Streaming Numbers

30:46 - The Future of Youth Sports Live-Streaming

35:10 - HUDL Partners with the Papers

38:51 - Apollo's $6 Billion Sports Investment Blitz

Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026

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Sameer Ahuja, President of GameChanger, joins Buying Sandlot's Kyle Scott to talk about the company's latest product release, adding broadcast features, the future of live-streaming, and they company's expansion into new sports. They also talk about the balance between accessibility and profitability, what the height of the youth sports market cap looks like, and the significance of sponsorship.

0:00 - How GameChanger Has Evolved

6:30 - Details of GameChanger’s New Product: Video, Broadcast, AI and More

12:12 - Expanding into New Sports

16:10 - Balancing Accessibility and Profitability

18:33 - Unifying the Sports Experience

23:40 - Thoughts on Platform Consolidation

26:06 - GameChanger's Livestreaming Opportunity

31:10 - GameChanger's Long-Term Goals

33:38 - How GameChanger Leverages Content

38:00 - The Future of Sponsorship in Youth Sports

43:10 - Driving Accessibility in Youth Sports

46:36 - How Big Can the Youth Sports Market Get?

49:51 - Trends and Innovations in Youth Sports

Thanks to EventConnect for sponsoring the episode. Run your entire tournament on one operating system — or connect the tools you already use. Grow room nights, end spreadsheet chaos, and keep every datapoint in one place with live pace for hotels, impact for CVBs, and a smoother path for families. Check out the Operating System of Youth Sports at https://eventconnectsports.com/

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Daniel Himel is the founder of "Happy Baseball" or as it's called on his tax returns - Middle School Matchup. MSM is a unique weekend tournament for middle school baseball players in areas that do not have formal middle school teams. Over 50,000 kids in 300 cities have participated and it's getting bigger and bigger each year. We talk to Dan why they only play twice a year, how do they spot good locations, his franchise model, the Savannah Bananas recent news, and if he's expanding into other sports.

Check out Middle School Matchup here: https://www.middleschoolmatchup.com/

0:00 - Brand New Speakers Announced for the Buying Sandlot Summit

5:20 - Kyle & Kyle's Thoughts on Middle School Matchup

17:22 - What is Middle School Matchup?

20:30 - How does MSM spot good locations?

21:28 - How does MSM Decide When to Schedule Tourneys?

23:28 - What is MSM's Franchise Model look like?

28:43 - Why they can't have more tournaments...

30:11 - Will MSM have to compete with the Savannah Bananas?

32:59 - Will they expand into other sports?

Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026

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Parents pay 1.5 times more attention to brands that sponsor their child’s youth team than to brands sponsoring professional sports teams. - YouGov Sport and Priority Partnerships Report

We talk about the developing landscape of youth sports sponsorship as some major brands are pivoting from advertising in pro sports. We also touch on how teams, tech platforms, and leagues are taking advantage of it, how it will effect the cost of clubs, and how major brands could utilize it to their advantage. Later Madison Gates, VP of Marketing at I9 Sports, discusses the "Gains are for the Girls" campaign, the impact of NIL and Title IX, and the challenges of maintaining participation as girls transition into their teenage years.

0:00 - Researcher Unlocks Future Gold Medal Winners?

4:50 - The Major Shift in Youth Sports Sponsorships

9:42 - Youth Sponsorship with Club Teams

14:22 - Youth Sponsorship with Tech Platforms

21:05 - Youth Sponsorships with Major Brands

22:44 - "Gains are for the Girls" campaign w/ Madison Gates from i9 Sports

26:57 - The Impact of NIL and Title IX

29:03 - The Role of Coaches and Role Models Play

30:31 - How i9 Helps Drive the USA's Youth Participation Goals

Get your tickets to our Youth Sports Business Conference in Philadelphia from April 14th-15th: https://events.buyingsandlot.com/summit-2026

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