The Vote that Moved 2.7M Players ⚽️🗳️

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GAME PLAN

Good morning ☀️ This week the top of youth sports got bigger and the people who run it finally got counted: US Youth Soccer ⚽️ voted itself into U.S. Soccer, 2.7 million players and all, GameChanger is closing in on $150 million a year 💰, and a thousand people got a tax form for working your kid's games. We're tracking the consolidation, the safety calls at the gate and the youth money written into pro stadium deals 🏟️, plus a pink protective kit for six-year-olds 🎀, a baserunning drill that wins the extra base before first ⚾️ and a Labor Day viewing calendar with two World Cups on it.

THE FACEOFF 🤼

The FACEOFF conversation runs Thursdays now, giving the week's biggest stories room to take center ice 🧊. Last week we sat down with Kate Wellner of Tourney Direct on the part of running a tournament nobody writes about; the forty people you have to recruit, confirm and pay before a single whistle blows, and the January of paper checks and spreadsheet tabs that follows. Kate spent nearly two decades building enterprise systems at the Red Cross, Oracle and AT&T, took over her husband's tournament-staffing side business — pitched to her as "a few hours a week" — and rebuilt it around a question one official asked her: "What's a browser?" Read it here: THE FACEOFF VOL IV — Kate Wellner & Tourney Direct.

THE SCOREBOARD 🏆

Everything that moved across youth sports last week, in one line each.

RULES & CONDUCT 🧑‍⚖️

• US Youth Soccer's state associations voted to fold the organization into U.S. Soccer — the federation becomes USYS's sole voting member, and a two-year integration covering nearly 2.7 million players and roughly 10,000 clubs starts September 1 (U.S. Soccer).

• A Michigan school board voted 6–0 to fire its athletic director over safety and retaliation findings — investigators found an all-male, football-run strength class where an uncredentialed assistant overloaded a student's lift; the head coach drew a two-game suspension (Athletic Business).

• A man posing as a flooring company's GM took a $40,000 court deposit from Reno Tropics Basketball — no floor was ever laid; he was arrested in Idaho and held on $500,000 bail (Athletic Business · 2News).

• Prattville, Alabama's city softball league stopped requiring kids to recite the Lord's Prayer — after a parent reported coaches and umpires leading hand-holding prayer circles at most games and practices (Freethought Today).

• Talbot County, Maryland is piloting walk-through weapons screening at football and soccer games — student backpacks banned at the gate, adult bags subject to inspection (Talbot County Public Schools).

• Miami-Dade went clear-bag at every district football venue — one 12"×6"×12" clear bag or a gallon freezer bag, effective August 27 (Miami-Dade County Public Schools).

MONEY & DEALS 💰

• GameChanger is closing in on $150 million in annual sales — roughly 40% compound growth since 2017, on the same call where DICK'S cut its full-year outlook over Foot Locker losses (Youth Sports Business Report).

• Callaway dropped Good Good Golf and pledged $1 million to violence-prevention groups — after a co-branded ad showed a creator shoving a woman to the ground; the PGA Tour pulled Good Good's Austin sponsorship too (ESPN · CBS News).

• Play It Again Sports, Rawlings and Easton extended their resale partnership through 2029 — 300-plus stores, more than 1 million pieces of baseball and softball gear bought back since 2022 (Business Wire).

• The MOVE Fund is offering $40,000–$150,000 grants to regional youth-sports coalitions — informational webinar September 2 (Recreation Management).

• CVS launched a national Home Team Heroes contest for youth soccer players ages 7–15 — two $25,000 and two $10,000 grants to winners' nonprofit clubs, entries due September 25 (PR Newswire).

• LeBron James's foundation and the PGA Tour are staging a two-day invitational at Firestone — July 6–7, 2027, pairing I PROMISE students with APGA Tour pros (AP).

• The Ravens and Under Armour extended their partnership ten years — youth-football grants, high-school uniform donations and support for Maryland's newly sanctioned girls flag football written in (Baltimore Ravens).

• The Royals' stadium agreement commits $10 million to Kansas City youth sports — $5 million upfront, $5 million over the lease, inside a $55 million package a subsidy watchdog called "pretty pathetic" against $600 million in public money (The Beacon).

• The Packers sent $1,000 matching grants to 20 Wisconsin youth-football programs — equipment, uniforms and facility fixes (Packers).

• The Rams and Trent McDuffie launched a flag-football league across all eight Inglewood Unified schools — 240 elementary and middle schoolers, footballs and flags covered (NFL.com).

• UNIQLO and the Dodgers ran a youth academy and a U.S.–Japan baseball exchange at Dodger Stadium — 42 middle schoolers in the classroom, 30 players on the field with Orel Hershiser (Fast Retailing).

FIELDS & FACILITIES 🏢

• Ridgewood, N.J. closed its high-school stadium and Stevens Field after both failed GMAX shock-absorption testing — the football opener moved to Clifton; September home dates are pending (NorthJersey.com via AOL).

• Santa Fe Springs signed a 10-year deal for a 121,000-square-foot complex — 20 volleyball courts and 12 pickleball courts, first tournaments in December, USA Volleyball teams in 2027 (City of Santa Fe Springs).

• Quincy, Illinois is weighing a $25 million, 100,000-square-foot domed complex — basketball, volleyball and turf, paid for with food-and-beverage tax, 40 tournaments projected in year one (WGEM).

• Sanford Sports is acquiring the 35,000-square-foot E3 Sports Complex in Rapid City — academy and performance programming starts this fall, ahead of a permanent Black Hills complex in 2029 (Sanford Sports).

• Honolulu standardized permitting across 350 public ball diamonds and play fields — two annual blocks, mandatory field-user meetings and a one-week mediation window for conflicts (EIN Presswire).

• The Bronx's Crotona Park got 10 professionally resurfaced public tennis courts — $250,000 from NYJTL out of roughly $500,000 in USTA Foundation and Yonex grants (NYC Mayor's Office).

TECH & PARTNERSHIPS 📲

• TeamSnap opened XbotGo live streaming to every TeamSnap ONE user — a $799 Falcon AI camera, streaming included; replays and highlights need TeamSnap+ (PR Newswire).

• Q-Collar signed on as official sponsor of ESPN's High School Football Kickoff — seven games, August 20–29, with device packages sent to each participating school (Youth Sports Business Report).

• ExperienceXI launched a Nike-backed experiential soccer platform — trips to the U.S. Soccer National Training Center and Nike-aligned European academies, for Nike's premier youth clubs only (ExperienceXI).

• Illinois' District 211 added eight Endeavor Health athletic trainers across five high schools — plus free physicals, same-day specialist appointments and a 24/7 concierge line (Endeavor Health).

• OFSAA named Swush its official youth-sports innovation partner — a flavored mouthguard gel, sampled at Ontario school championships (OFSAA).

• Mississauga United and Inter Toronto formalized a U8–U14 development partnership — joint sessions, coaching clinics and pro matchday experiences (Mississauga United).

• A three-year study found a coach–occupational-therapist model kept autistic kids in community rugby — 116 sessions, zero adverse incidents, eight of ten parents reporting better emotional regulation (Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities).

ON THE FIELD 🏟️

• Curaçao won the Little League World Series, 11–2 over Henderson, Nevada — Pariba Little League of Willemstad gives the island its second title, 22 years after the first (Little League · AP).

• Phenix City's Kinley Rasmus set the LLWS hits record for a girl — a day after tying Mo'ne Davis's single-game and tournament strikeout marks (Yahoo Sports).

• Alma Center Lincoln quarterback Adam Massman, 17, died two days after being injured in Wisconsin's opening-week game — "this loss touches our Lincoln family in many ways" (Athletic Business).

INTERNATIONAL 🌍

• Former Australian Test batter Will Pucovski is suing his old school over a 2014 football concussion — Brighton Grammar allegedly left him alone after he was knocked unconscious, then asked him to keep training (The Guardian · ABC News).

• Scotland launched a £500,000 World Cup Fund for elite youth-football pathways — the Scottish FA adds £85,000 over three years for boys' Club Academy Scotland and girls' Next Gen (Scottish Government).

• Royal London and the British & Irish Lions gave four grassroots rugby clubs £10,000 each for women's and girls' programs — one club apiece in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales (Royal London).

• Kano will host a two-week Renewed Hope Cup for northern Nigeria's youth — 19 states plus the Federal Capital Territory (Voice of Nigeria).

• Lagos announced a maiden National Inter-Mediary Games for up to 15,000 athletes aged 15–18 — 28 sports, October 1–15 (New Telegraph).

• Uganda's Olympic committee sent its youth-games team to Nairobi with nutrition packs from partner TOOKE — seven sports at the ANOCA Zone V Youth Games, August 24–28 (Uganda Olympic Committee).

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COACH'S FAVORITES ⭐️

One thing we'd actually use, and why it earns the pick.

GEAR — Barbie™ x CCM Back to Hockey Collection (Part 2)

CCM and Mattel launched Barbie™ x CCM in March with a pink JetSpeed FTW Pro stick, a mini stick and apparel, and promised a second drop of gear for “Back to Hockey” in August (CCM Hockey). Part 2 is live, and it is the one that matters if you run a Learn-to-Play program: a full youth protective kit — shoulder pads, elbow pads, gloves, pants, shin guards — and a multisport helmet, both sized for ages 2 to 7, plus a youth baselayer set with a built-in cut-resistant neck guard, a senior FTW stick and pink grip tape (ca.ccmhockey.com).

It earns the pick because it aims at the right problem. CCM calls it “making hockey accessible, approachable, and fun from day one,” and the numbers say the door is open: Hockey Canada registered 121,000 women and girls in 2025-26, up 5% and a record (The Hockey News), and USA Hockey passed 100,000 female players for the first time (USA Hockey). Anyone who has run a first-year session knows the opening battle is getting the gear on. A kit a six-year-old asks to wear is a retention tool, not a fashion play.

The honest part: it is a Canadian launch in Canadian dollars — C$209.99 for the protective kit, C$89.99 for the helmet, C$129.99 for the baselayer kit, C$109.99 for the stick, C$9.99 for the tape, apparel from C$29.99 to C$99.99 — and we could not find the Part 2 youth gear online at a U.S. retailer yet; CCM’s locator points to authorized dealers, so ask your local shop. The Part 1 sticks did cross the border (HockeyMonkey, $289.99 for the junior). Shop the Barbie™ x CCM collection →

THE HIRING HUDDLE 🕵️🕵️‍♂️

THE HIRING HUDDLE lands Sunday evenings now, giving you the week's best openings before Monday's kickoff 🏈. Yesterday's edition ran 31 open roles across 20 companies, 13 of them posted in the last seven days, led by the Chicago Fire Foundation's Director of Development & Foundation Programs. Also on the board: IMG Academy hiring a national head coach for girls lacrosse, a $140K–$160K senior product designer seat at GameChanger, and PlayMetrics posting four business roles at once. It goes to subscribers only and isn't posted anywhere else — if you missed it, it's in Sunday's inbox. Reading a forward? Subscribe free and the next Huddle lands Sunday evening.

WHAT WE'RE WATCHING 📺

Elite youth, high school and college events streaming this week plus the pro game worth building a team night around.

• 🏈MaxPreps Game of the Week · Fri 9/4: St. Joseph's Prep (Pa.) at Brentwood Academy (Tenn.), 8:00 PM ET, free on the MaxPreps YouTube channel and MaxPreps.com, also on NFHS Network. The only national high school football window of the week. (How to watch →)

• ⚽ FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup · Opens Sat 9/5 in Poland with a 24-team field, the largest ever at this age group. USA–Italy is Sun 9/6 at 12:00 PM ET on FOX Soccer Plus, with Spanish coverage on Telemundo and UNIVERSO. The rest of Group D follows Sept 9 and Sept 12. (Roster and schedule →)

• 🎾US Open Junior Championships · Junior qualifying begins Thu 9/3, main draws Sun 9/6 at Flushing Meadows. Girls' 18s national champion Thea Frodin, 17, holds wild cards into both the junior and the women's draws. Order of play posts the night before; ESPN lists no separate junior window. (Dates and draw →)

• 🏄‍♀️ Virginia Beach Super Girl Surf Festival · Sat–Mon 9/5–9/7 on the Oceanfront, free to attend, with more than 5,000 female competitors across 14 sports. Streams free Sun and Mon, 8:00 AM–4:00 PM ET, at supergirlvb.com and on Twitch. (Festival info →)

• 🏀FIBA Women's World Cup · Team USA opens against China Fri 9/4 at 8:00 AM ET, plays Italy Sun 9/6 at 2:30 PM and Czechia Mon 9/7 at 2:30 PM, all from Berlin on TNT and HBO Max. The WNBA is dark for the tournament, so the Labor Day tip is the team night. (Full TV schedule →)

• Also this week:College volleyball doubles up Sun 9/6 from Bridgestone Arena — Louisville–Texas at noon ET on ABC, Tennessee–Indiana at 3:00 PM on ESPN2 — and the ISA World Junior Surfing Championship opens Fri 9/4 in El Salvador.

COACH'S CLIPBOARD 📋

One drill you can run at Tuesday's practice. This week: baseball and softball, ages 8–12.

The Banana Peel — three cones, one base, six to eight reps each.

Run it: Three cones down the first-base line. One at 30 feet. One 10 feet short of the bag and two to three feet into foul ground. One a stride past the bag in fair territory, pointed at second. Runner sprints the line, drifts out to the middle cone, cuts back in, hits the inside corner of the bag with the left foot and keeps going. Next runner.

Coaching point: Use a "'banana'-shaped path to the first base bag," hitting "the inside corner of the first base bag with the left foot, leaning into the turn and squaring the shoulders toward second base." Don't let them chop steps to get the left foot there — "breaking your stride slows you down, so if your stride results in your using your right foot to touch the first base bag, then so be it." (Wilton Little League)

Why it works: The extra base is won in the two steps before first, not at second. A runner who arrives straight has to stop and restart. One who arrives on the arc is already going.

One for the softball coaches: the turn changes which half of the bag you touch. Rounding, it's the white half in fair territory. Running through, Little League Softball requires the batter-runner to "use the colored (orange or green) section on their first attempt" — touch only the white, and a defensive appeal is "treated the same as missing the base. The penalty is the batter runner is out." (Little League) Worth thirty seconds at practice, and it's coming to baseball: the NFHS voted to mandate the double first base in high school play from the 2027 season (SI).

Video variation:First Base Running Tips: Straight, Banana, Question Mark — ProSwingNY

THE LOCKER ROOM 🙊

Something to end on.

An offensive line in Louisiana found a play nobody scouts:

The whole line hit the deck on cue. Ask your own team to line up straight on Tuesday and see how that goes.

Then ESPN’s Little League World Series broadcast asked Canada’s Daniel Huang for his dream job:

Retirement. The only person in youth sports this month with a clearly stated exit plan.

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The Coach's Board by Paul Variano
The weekly executive roundup for youth sports leaders.