👀 Be sure to check out Volume One of our Youth Sports Mapping Series in partnership with our friends at Profluence Sports and EventConnect.
📋 Today’s Lineup
🥍 True Lacrosse Partners with TZP Group to Launch True Sports
⚽ San Diego FC Opens First Residential MLS Academy with Full Five-Year Scholarships
🌍 SPIRE Academy Takes High School Basketball Team on International Tour to Rome and Barcelona
📰 Prep Network Secures Maple Park Capital Partnership to Expand Multi-Sport Platform
🏛️ Illinois & California Pioneer State-Level Youth Sports Access Programs
🥍 True Lacrosse Partners with TZP Group to Launch True Sports
True Lacrosse has joined forces with private equity firm TZP Group to launch True Sports Group, a new platform designed to expand the organization beyond lacrosse and into additional youth sports.
Founded in 2008 by former professional players Jake Deane and Mike Gabel, True Lacrosse has grown from humble Chicago roots into one of the nation’s largest youth lacrosse organizations, operating 700+ teams across 23 states and helping more than 1,000 athletes advance to college lacrosse programs.
With backing from TZP, which manages $2 billion in assets, True Sports Group will focus on both organic growth and strategic acquisitions, while keeping its commitment to full-time coaching, athlete development, and college placement pathways.
What to Know:
- Founders retain significant ownership alongside TZP
- Partnership provides capital to expand into new sports and markets
- Growth strategy blends acquisitions with grassroots training culture
- Focus remains on consistency, development, and family support
⚽ San Diego FC Opens Full-Scholarship Residential Academy in Partnership with Right to Dream
San Diego FC officially opened its residential academy on September 27, marking the first MLS academy to offer full five-year scholarships to all student-athletes regardless of performance. The 28-acre facility on Sycuan tribal land houses both the academy and the club’s first-team training center, providing direct exposure to professional training environments.
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The academy operates under the Right to Dream model, which has produced Premier League players including Mohammed Kudus (West Ham United) and Simon Adingra (Brighton & Hove Albion) through existing academies in Ghana, Egypt, and Denmark. The scholarship structure covers:
- Soccer training with professional-level coaching and facilities
- Academic education integrated into daily programming
- Character development curriculum alongside athletic training
- Five-year commitment maintained regardless of athletic performance
- Residential living on the same campus as San Diego FC’s first team
“In San Diego, we are creating something entirely new for North America: a residential school and academy with full scholarships for all students and links to Major League Soccer, one of the fastest growing leagues in the world,” said Sir Mohamed Mansour, chairman of San Diego FC and Right to Dream.
The inaugural class includes 17 U-13 players, primarily from San Diego and Tijuana, with plans to expand to additional age groups and girls’ teams. The academy will compete in MLS NEXT beginning with the 2025-26 season. The cross-border recruitment strategy reflects the region’s soccer demographics and positions the academy as a development option for Southern California and Northern Mexico.
“Like our existing academies in Ghana, Egypt and Denmark, the San Diego Academy will prioritize character development and education as much as football,” Mansour said. “Sport is the entry point, but the real mission is to help these young people to discover their potential, build their character, and pursue a meaningful life on or off the pitch.”
The facility’s integration with San Diego FC’s MLS operations provides a potential pathway for academy graduates, though the model’s success will depend on maintaining quality as enrollment grows and demonstrating player progression to professional levels.
🌍 SPIRE Academy Takes High School Basketball Team on International Tour to Rome and Barcelona
SPIRE Academy’s national basketball team will play four games against professional international teams during a 10-day October tour of Rome and Barcelona, marking the first time Global Sports & Events has applied its Division I tournament model to a high school academy program.
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Legendary coach Kevin Boyle, who secured four NBA first-round draft picks in 2025 alone, leads the tour and SPIRE’s inaugural Nike EYBL Scholastic League season. Boyle was hired in March 2025 as Director of Basketball and has accumulated eight national championships and coached over 25 players selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
“International travel and competition at this level are rare for high school players,” Boyle said. “It’s an incredible opportunity for our team to build chemistry, gain experience, and develop as people.”
The 10-day itinerary balances elite competition with cultural programming:
Rome:
- Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, and Sistine Chapel
- Colosseum and Pantheon
Barcelona:
- FC Barcelona’s Spotify Camp Nou stadium tour
- Basílica de la Sagrada Família
GSE has coordinated similar experiences for collegiate programs for over 30 years, building a reputation for combining high-level competition with educational programming. Sean McShane, Partner of Business Development at GSE, positioned the partnership as a natural expansion: “Together, our missions center on shaping athletes who grow just as much off the court as they do on it.”
The tour occurs during the lead-up to SPIRE’s first season in the EYBL Scholastic League, one of the most competitive high school basketball circuits in the United States. SPIRE Academy operates on 800+ acres in Northeast Ohio with over 850,000 square feet of indoor athletic facilities, positioning itself as an integrated system coordinating academic scheduling, athletic training, and residential life around high-level competition.
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📰 Prep Network Secures Strategic Partnership with Maple Park Capital to Expand Event Footprint and Content Offerings
Prep Network, a Minnesota-based prep sports platform covering content, events, and collegiate recruitment, has formed a strategic partnership with private investment firm Maple Park Capital Partners to support platform expansion and product development.
The Minneapolis company, founded in 2012 by Jake Phillips and Nick Carroll, operates eight media brands serving youth and high school sports:
- Prep Network (multi-sport coverage)
- Prep Hoops (boys basketball)
- Prep Girls Hoops (girls basketball)
- Prep Redzone (football)
- Prep Dig (volleyball)
- Prep Soccer
- Prep Softball
- Prep Lacrosse
The platform’s editorial operation includes over 400 writers producing 4,000 articles monthly. The company hosts more than 100 tournaments and nearly 250 showcases annually, totaling over 350 events across the United States. Phillips and Carroll, both former collegiate athletes, started the company to address gaps in high school sports coverage beyond top-tier Division I recruits.
“What started as a shared passion between two friends and coaches has grown into a national platform that helps athletes create lifelong memories through sports,” Phillips said. The company positions itself as serving athletes across all competitive levels, differentiating its coverage from traditional sports media that typically focuses on elite prospects.
Under the partnership, Maple Park Capital Partners will support three main growth areas: expanding events into new geographic markets, enhancing subscription content across media brands, and developing new product features for athletes, families, and coaches. Phillips and Carroll will remain in their leadership roles, with Phillips serving as CEO and Carroll as Chief Growth Officer. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“In Maple Park, we’ve found an ideal partner to support us in this growth as we further our commitment to closing the gap in coverage between Division I athletes and small school prospects,” Phillips said.
The partnership positions Prep Network to expand both geographic reach and service offerings as demand for youth sports content and competitive opportunities continues across the country.
🏛️ Illinois and California Pioneer State-Level Youth Sports Access Programs
Illinois and California are creating state-backed infrastructure to address youth sports access barriers, moving beyond market-driven solutions to treat participation as a public policy issue.
Illinois’ Four-Year Investment:
- $13.75 million invested over four years through Laureus Sport for Good USA
- Reaches 40,000+ participants across 77 high-poverty, high-violence ZIP codes
- Funds 50+ organizations providing no-cost sports programming
- Created the country’s first Youth Sports Commission in 2025 with bipartisan support
California’s Policy Framework:
- Youth Sports for All Act establishes a blue-ribbon commission to evaluate creating a centralized Department of Youth Sports
- Nearly two-thirds of California youths don’t meet CDC physical activity guidelines
- One in three have stopped playing sports in the last two years
- Participation rates among Black, Latino, and low-income youths remain significantly lower due to cost, transportation, and program scarcity
State Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Kam Buckner led Illinois’ initiative, which targets specific geographic areas based on poverty and violence indicators rather than providing statewide general funding. In mid-August 2025, Gov. JB Pritzker signed legislation creating the Youth Sports Commission, led by Rep. Joyce Mason and Sen. Graciela Guzmán.
“For many families, the soaring cost of registration fees, equipment and travel has rendered organized sports an unaffordable luxury,” wrote guest columnists Edwin Moses and Renata Simril. The source document identifies cost as a primary barrier, creating a “pay-to-play” model that functions as “a gatekeeper instead of a gateway.”
Both states use commission structures to guide implementation. Illinois’ commission brings together lawmakers, parents, coaches, and community leaders focused on improving access, equity, and quality. California’s commission will examine whether organizational restructuring could improve program delivery, noting that most major countries outside the United States already operate centralized youth sports departments.
“By treating access to youth sports as a public policy issue rather than a privilege available to only elite kid athletes, Illinois and California are modeling what it looks like when government engages to uplift every child,” Moses and Simril wrote.
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