☕ Youth Sports Brew To:Brew Readers Vinnie Neuberg Editor’s note Good morning. Rev up the minivan and prep those orange slices, because it’s time to talk youth sports. In today’s special edition, we’ll discuss how private equity is transforming the industry, shine a spotlight on girls flag football, debate the best kids sports movies, and much more. Whether you’re a parent of a young athlete or just want to relive your glory years as a 12-year-old baseball player who was totally going to make it to the majors, there’s something for everyone in Youth Sports Brew. How much for an orange slice?! Has youth sports lost the plot? Getty Images When news broke a few weeks ago that Kim Kardashian would produce a TV show following the parents of elite teen baseball players, the internet’s broad reaction was: This is the last thing kids need right now. Over the past two decades, private equity has transformed youth sports into an industrial complex that’s cutthroat enough to cause a shortage of willing umpires and referees, and expensive enough to break the bank. Case study: One Florida parent who recalls playing rec sports for $80 per season as a child now spends $8,000 per year on her 12-year-old son’s club baseball practices, tournaments, and equipment, she told the Washington Post. She’s in good company: - Family spending on youth sports leaped by 46% from 2019 to 2024 to make it a $40 billion-a-year industry—more than the combined annual revenue of the NFL and NBA, according to the Aspen Institute. - Financial strain has caused 1 in 5 parents to limit or end their kids’ participation in youth sports, according to a New York Life survey from last year. How did we get here? When parks and recreation departments suffered budget cuts after