Youth sports is a $40 billion industry (total NA movie box office last year was under $9 billion for comparison). Of course the vultures are going to extract as much as they can to oay for a bigger yacht.

Anonymous wrote:Or read these two books to understand why private equity cant control youth soccer. (Hint... Too much corruption)

https://stephengriffinauthor.com/

These are such good books.

They go through the difficulties of running a youth soccer club with the levels of craziness you'll never imagine/expect.

Then (i dont want to give it away) but you'll find out in the second book that everything you thought was just made up to sell the first book was 100% true/real. I read them when they first came out so all the info was fresh and t was unbelievable.

My kid is older so I remember GPS. Having an insiders perspective on the nonsense is incredible.

Everything you thought was going on at soccer clubs is going on x1000. Just read front row seat and thank me later. Then try not to read Lost lower room. Then try not to be the most jaded soccer parent ever. Not because you hate the game. Its because of everything else that you suspected but wont believe when reading what happened in real life.

It’s the youth sports industrial complex. Adults making money off kids’ sports.

Anonymous wrote:Private Equity, as they said, usually spins off what works and dumps what doesn't. What works is suckering parents on the 3rd, 4th, 5th etc team to pay travel prices when their kids should be in Rec for less than one-tenth the price.

They said they'd try to get more efficiencies in youth sports, but if you're with a big club, you have efficiencies built in, and if you're with a little club, I dont see PE being interested.

Oh now i understand why my
one club-one home-one family director keeps adding new teams each year despite selling us that we would only have two squads per age group

Yep. It's amazing to me how many people conflate unfettered capitalism with "freedom."

We're what more than 150+ years since Horatio Alger and that's still the biggest myth going.

Private equity doesn't have to control the actual clubs to make money and raise prices for everyone. Cheerleading I believe they bought up the major tournaments and charge outrageous tournament fees.

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/this-is-not-a-democracy-its-a-cheerocracy

More journalism on this here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/09/business/youth-sports-private-equity.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Vk8.pqW_.jvxY2xIKFGaW&smid=url-share

Private equity is the reason you have to pay to park in a field in the middle of nowhere to get to your kid’s tournament. Does anyone not hate private equity?

PE ruins everything it touches, don't kid yourself, they will make it worse and cost more. Probably also get laws passed to ban the state leagues.

Private Equity, as they said, usually spins off what works and dumps what doesn't. What works is suckering parents on the 3rd, 4th, 5th etc team to pay travel prices when their kids should be in Rec for less than one-tenth the price.

They said they'd try to get more efficiencies in youth sports, but if you're with a big club, you have efficiencies built in, and if you're with a little club, I dont see PE being interested.

Or read these two books to understand why private equity cant control youth soccer. (Hint... Too much corruption)

https://stephengriffinauthor.com/

From this evening’s Marketplace report from American Public Media

https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/07/31/why-private-equity-is-warming-up-to-youth-sports

If you see this, Michael Lewis would love to hear your take (author of the book critical of current travel sport environment Playing to Win)