Weekly News Roundup: The Biggest Headlines in the World of Youth Sports

Youth sports business news comes from BuyingSandlot.com. Subscribe to their free newsletter here. 

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🏒 Exclusive: Pixellot, TPE Take To The Ice

Pixellot and The Prospect Exchange have joined forces on a hockey-focused collaboration, Buying Sandlot has learned.

The partnership establishes a direct connection between Pixellot’s AI-powered air cameras and TPE’s analytics platform, resolving workflow friction issues related to uploading video to analytics tools.

Footage from Pixellot cameras will now automatically flow to TPE.

Pixellot North American President Rob DeSalvo: “Working with TPE demonstrates our continued commitment to making automated sports production available where it matters most. We’re delighted to bring Pixellot’s technology into the heart of elite hockey and fully support TPE’s mission to drive performance through smart, scalable innovation.”

TPE COO Mark Yates: “Integrating with Pixellot makes it even easier for coaches and scouts to get the video content they need into the tools they use every day. It’s a major step towards making elite-level analytics more accessible, efficient and impactful.”

This partnership significantly expands Pixellot’s hockey business. The firm said it developed a sport-specific algorithm optimized to fully automate its hockey video.

In our Youth Sports Facility Report released yesterday, we noted the challenges of multi-sport video streaming and capture. Pixellot says it is working on custom solutions per-sport: “Unlike one-size-fits-all systems, Pixellot builds sport-specific algorithms to ensure each solution is optimised for the unique dynamics of the game — a key differentiator for coaches and leagues seeking performance-focused tools.”

TPE has immense scale — over 60K games analyzed annually, over 5K user teams worldwide and close to 1M players reviewed all-time. And now all of those clients have incentive to adopt Pixellot’s technology.

⚾️ Little League Legal Drama Update 

A New Jersey judge reinstated a suspended 12-year-old Little Leaguer hours before his team was set to play for the state championship.

ICYMI:

• The kid flipped his bat after hitting a home run in a July 16 game
• Umpires ejected him, triggering an automatic 1-game suspension
• The next game was yesterday’s start of the four-team, double-elimination state final
• Little League International supported the umpires and upheld the suspension
• The kid’s father then filed for an emergency TRO, which was granted yesterday
• The dad argued LLI promotes bat flips on social media and ESPN’s Little League World Series broadcasts— LLI claimed the kid broke rules against “horse play” and the umpires had the discretion

The judge said “there is immediate and reparable harm that would befall this youth” if the suspension was allowed to remain in place.

“He can’t get this game back,” Judge Robert G. Malestein wrote in his decision, according to NJ Advance Media.

LLI said it was disappointed in the ruling, but would respect it.

The kid’s Haddonfield team got run-ruled last night and will play again tonight in an elimination game.

⚾️ Ex-Big Leaguers Talk Perfect Game All-American Classic

Perfect Game announced the rosters for next month’s Dick’s All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.

The game features the nation’s top-60 high school players in an East vs. West format. Full rosters can be seen here.

Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman and former All-Star Ryan Klesko will manage the teams with a host of ex-big leaguers making up the coaching staffs.

It is PG’s marquee event — and one of the biggest in youth sports.

“It’s the ultimate showcase, it’s the ultimate scouting department,” Hoffman told Buying Sandlot. “If you are a part of PG, you are going to be on someone’s radar, whether it’s professional baseball or collegiate baseball.”

Read more HERE

⚽️ Sources: Surf Sports Takes Stake in Rush Soccer

Sources tell us Pioneer Sports and Entertainment, owners of Surf Soccer, has acquired a stake in Rush Soccer, which says it is the largest youth soccer club in the world with over 125 clubs spread across 50 countries and 55k athletes. 

Details are very sparse, and there is little information available on Pioneer beyond what’s on its website: “ownership and administration of sports clubs, entertainment events, tournaments, facilities, operations, and software solutions.” 

Surf was founded in San Diego in the 1970s as a single club and has now grown to 50+ clubs across the U.S. 

Pioneer COO Brian Enge explained Surf’s ambition to San Diego Magazine in May:

“Everything we’re trying to do is be the best of the best. It’s our mantra,” [Enge said]. “When we have events, we want to make sure it’s the coolest, best experience for kids and for coaches and families. When we run our club, we want to make sure we’re developing the most college players and national team players and winning the most championships.”

Pioneer’s involvement in Rush has been described as a strategic investor and operator that will bring its political prowess in the changing landscape of youth sports.

Pioneer also looks to have a stake in Athlete Travel and Athlete One.

Rush, originally founded in Colorado and currently headquartered in New York, appears to have a high concentration of East Coast and Midwest clubs.

It’s unclear how the organization will handle club naming or if consolidation will occur in overlapping markets.

 

The Great Youth Sports Facility Report

Buying Sandlot released its GREAT YOUTH SPORTS FACILITY REPORT this week. 

This is one of just many interesting data points available in the report.

63% of our respondents said they are seeking or plan to seek investment in the next 12 months, 25% said they may seek it.

What drives the need for capital?

Infrastructure.

Owners talk more about needing capital for roofs, insulation, HVAC and outdoor build‑outs than about software or marketing.

86% of respondents who complained about infrastructure answered a flat-out yes to this question.

You can read the full report here.