I’d love to be able to answer this question.

The club universe is full of theories (often conspiratorial) about the motives and economics of travel softball.

I have zero optics into this world… but I find it really hard to believe that the profits/margins are that high. I’m not saying there aren’t money motivations, but I don’t think any of our midwestern programs are banking a $1M a year in profit.

This seems like a passion for those involved, rationally and irrationally.

There have been some good articles recently (WSJ) about how private equity is moving into youth sports. Seems like they will target facilities and tournaments first… and that’s where I bet we’ll see the costs go up in the years ahead.