Key Takeaways
- Angel City Sports has delivered more than 31,000 athlete activations since 2013 through free adaptive sports programming across Los Angeles
- The Sports Matter Impact League, launched in 2025, pairs three-year tiered grants with strategic guidance and capacity-building resources
- Angel City Sports begins year two of the partnership in 2027, continuing free equipment access for athletes with physical disabilities
Angel City Sports will enter year two of its Sports Matter Impact League partnership with The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation going into 2027, the Foundation announced October 14. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit, which provides free, year-round adaptive sports programming for kids, adults and veterans with physical disabilities, has recorded more than 31,000 athlete activations since its founding in 2013, according to the announcement.
What Is the Sports Matter Impact League?
The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation launched the Sports Matter Impact League in 2025 as a three-year tiered grant program for sports-based youth development organizations. Beyond funding, partner organizations receive strategic guidance, visibility opportunities and access to resources designed to strengthen organizational capacity, per the Foundation.
The multi-year structure is the program’s defining feature. Rather than single-cycle grants that force nonprofits to re-justify their work annually, the League commits to selected partners for three years.
“Long-term partnerships allow us to listen, learn and build alongside organizations to create stronger programs and meaningful change that lasts,” said Rick Jordan, Vice President of The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation.
From One Question in Oklahoma City to 31,000 Activations
Angel City Sports traces its origin to 2013, when eight-year-old Ezra Frech traveled with his father Clayton to the UCO Endeavor Games in Oklahoma City, an annual multi-sport competition for athletes with physical disabilities. Ezra asked his dad why Southern California had no comparable programs. The question became the organization.
Today, Angel City Sports runs annual clinics, multi-sport experiences and large-scale events across the Los Angeles area, all free to participants. The 31,000-plus athlete activations the organization cites span kids, adults and veterans, a notably wide population for a regional adaptive sports nonprofit.
The programming is built on access, but the organization frames its output in terms of identity. “Angel City Sports taught me that I can do anything and that my wheelchair is never a limit,” said Damian Munoz, a 13-year-old Angel City Sports athlete quoted in the announcement.
Why Free Equipment Is the Operational Core
Adaptive sports carry an equipment cost barrier that most youth sports operators never face. Racing wheelchairs, running blades and other specialized gear can run thousands of dollars per athlete, pricing out many families before a first practice.
Angel City Sports provides that equipment free of charge, and Program Manager Alvin Malave said the Foundation partnership is what allows the organization to keep doing so.
“I hope to teach the kids that anything is possible, and you can use sport as an opportunity to develop yourself mentally, physically and emotionally and go through life and be successful,” Malave said.
For operators watching the funding side of youth sports, the detail worth noting is where the grant dollars land: not in new program launches, but in sustaining the single highest-cost line item that makes adaptive participation possible at all.
A Three-Year Grant Enters Its Middle Year in Los Angeles
The partnership now moves into its second year with the model intact: Foundation funding and strategic support on one side, free programming and equipment access on the other. For the broader youth sports industry, the Sports Matter Impact League offers a template for corporate foundations shifting from one-time checks to multi-year operating commitments.
Year two begins in 2027, with one year remaining on the original three-year term after that.
Source: DICK’S Sporting Goods, October 14, 2026, https://investors.dicks.com/news/press-releases/news-details/2026/The-DICKS-Sporting-Goods-Foundation-and-Angel-City-Sports-Power-Possibility/default.aspx
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How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
