Dealmakers panel breaks down changing of youth sports industry

Former Nike COO Andy Campion once received simple-but-profound advice from Kobe Bryant: “Just a reminder, do epic s*** always.”

Campion, now the chair and CEO of youth sports investment platform Unrivaled Sports, relayed that anecdote while speaking on stage at SBJ’s Dealmakers event in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. More specifically, he explained how that ethos drives his ambitious company’s primary focus on creating an impact rather than a profit.

“There are a lot of people that sort of start with, ‘Well, it’s really hard to make money providing access,’” Campion said. “And you go, ‘Well, yeah, it probably is.’ That’s a lower-margin, more difficult dimension of the ecosystem. But we never said the goal is to make as much money as possible.”

Inclusiveness, accessibility and affordability — or lack thereof — were key focal points throughout a panel on the rapidly changing youth sports industry.

David Rudolph, the CEO of high school streaming platform PlayOn Sports, explained how a growing emphasis on elite-level youth athletes has had a deleterious effect on participation, effectively forcing out more recreational athletes.

“These are great kids, these are great players. They’re engaged, they want to be active, but because they feel like, “Oh, well that’s what success looks like and if I’m not on that, then I might as well just give up,’” Rudolph said. “When they drop out, it’s not like they’re going over to some other sport. By that point they’ve invested eight, 10 years in a sport. … You’re kind of dropping out and going to nothing, which is not good.”

Jay Adya, who co-leads investment firm Elysian Park Ventures, explained one potential solution: further involvement and investment from professional leagues. He pointed to MLB’s investment alongside Elysian in training facility operator EL1 as an example of how leagues can help create new opportunities for young athletes, in the process planting the seeds for future fandom.

“That connectivity between the very, very top of the pyramid and grassroots development can be strengthened, should be strengthened,” Adya said. “How do we start to think about building more consolidated platforms, putting companies together, having companies be partnered together such that kids can play for that one extra year that extends a kid’s life in baseball or softball for life? The leagues should and are starting to care about it.”