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PE ramping up efforts to ruin youth sports
Poast new message in this thread
Date: January 21st, 2026 12:05 PM Author: Yummy Phase Pol Pot Large PE firm partners with a guy who helped build The Match Group to ruin youth sports in the same way he ruined dating.
"Youth and amateur sports represent a large, under-served market, and we are excited to partner with Gary to build a next-generation sports technology and media platform focused on improving the consumer experience."
Just lol at this shit. While it would be extremely painful (for you), we really need a market crash to put an end to this insanity.
"CHICAGO, Jan. 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- GTCR, a leading private equity firm, today announced that it has partnered with Gary Swidler, an experienced consumer technology executive, to form Ascent Sports Group, a new technology platform designed to improve experiences for athletes, families, coaches, teams, leagues and venue owners across youth and amateur sports.
GTCR is partnering with Mr. Swidler to pursue opportunities in a large, fragmented market where constituents often rely on multiple, disconnected solutions to participate in, follow, and engage with sports. Ascent Sports Group will focus on investing in products and services that simplify these experiences, improve accessibility, and better connect sports communities through technology.
Mr. Swidler will serve as Chief Executive Officer of Ascent Sports Group and will work closely with GTCR to identify, partner with, and build companies that enhance how youth and amateur sports are played, watched, and shared.
"Youth and amateur sports are a central part of family and community life, yet the technology supporting them has not kept pace," said Gary Swidler, CEO of Ascent Sports Group. "Families and athletes often juggle several platforms to watch games, track stats, communicate with teams, and stay connected to their sports communities. Our goal is to invest in products that bring these experiences together in a more intuitive and consumer-friendly way."
Mr. Swidler spent nearly a decade at Match Group, where he served as Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and President. During his tenure, the company expanded globally and significantly scaled its portfolio of consumer platforms. Through its portfolio of apps, Match Group served approximately 100 million monthly active users around the world and was the recognized global leader in connecting people for romantic purposes. He brings deep experience building product-led businesses, improving customer engagement, and growing technology companies focused on long-term user value.
"Gary is a proven leader with a strong track record of building and scaling consumer technology platforms," said Stephen Master, Managing Director at GTCR. "Youth and amateur sports represent a large, under-served market, and we are excited to partner with Gary to build a next-generation sports technology and media platform focused on improving the consumer experience."
Michael Pappas, Director at GTCR, added, "GTCR is excited to bring its capital and operational resources to the highly fragmented youth and amateur sports ecosystem, supporting the development of technology that better serves athletes, families, and their communities.""
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:14 PM Author: Louis Poasteur The "fragmented inefficiency" of pre-tech society is also what made it charming and unique (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606177) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:16 PM Author: Yummy Phase Pol Pot Right - and you just know that everyone involved in this endeavor lives the most Offline disconnected life away from work imaginable. No fucking way these freaks are going to have their kids "use technology" (aka phones) to "connect" with their youth baseball friends. This shit is profoundly evil.
"GTCR is excited to bring its capital and operational resources to the highly fragmented youth and amateur sports ecosystem, supporting the development of technology that better serves athletes, families, and their communities." -- imagine how much time and energy went into crafting this unbelievably psychotic statement. |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:23 PM Author: Louis Poasteur The "law of the jungle" still applies today, it's just concealed. Sociopaths in SV would destroy your way of life and your children's hopes and dreams for the future if they could make a $20 subscription fee from it (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606196) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 3:34 PM Author: Nazca Redlines Who needs an app to track little league stats? That shouldn't be a selling point. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606722) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:14 PM Author: Ass Sunstein Gary Swindler (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606178) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:47 PM Author: Guy Debord (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606255) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:55 PM Author: Judas Jones (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606295) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:16 PM Author: Ass Sunstein People used to play school and rec league sports for free. Now you have to pay thousands of dollars for the same thing. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606181) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:19 PM Author: Yummy Phase Pol Pot It's completely insane. People go into serious debt for this shit, too. It is sick, but it is also hard to blame the average person who is bombarded with fine-tuned attacks in the form of ads (direct and otherwise) that make them freak out if their kid isn't training to be the next Barry Bonds.
People really are cattle. I don't even say it as an insult. They want to be led and they deserve leaders who aren't trying to milk them dry while also beefing them up before sending them to slaughter. |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 3:27 PM Author: ...,,,,\'\',,,\"...,,,..\" And convincing them that they better act fast because there are already kids positioning themselves to get those D-1 scholarships! (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606705) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 5:51 PM Author: dupa there are parents who make their entire identity about their 9 year olds athletic career. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49607233) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 1:11 PM Author: Grant Amato did nothing wrong rec league sports used to be free? when was that? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606341) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 3:15 PM Author: Ass Sunstein Ok, there was some minimal cost for uniforms (which you rented and gave back at the end of the year) and refs. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606688) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:18 PM Author: .,.,...,.,.;,.,,,:,.,.,::,.,..,:,.;,.., so it's basically like seesaw and/or golf genius but for kids sports? I feel like something like this probably exists already or could be built by a couple of state school CS students in a few hours (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606184) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:19 PM Author: Ass Sunstein These apps/platforms already exist, they just want to make another one. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606186) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:24 PM Author: Yummy Phase Pol Pot It's less that they want to create the app, so much as they want to control the entire ecosystem. I don't have an issue with some useful app that people use, but these types of freaks will try and create a Cartel around youth sports to take a tax on it. These guys manage a $10B+ fund and aren't going to be happy with some dinky little app.
Look at what PE did with Varsity Brands. They basically built a Cartel to control Cheerleading making it far more expensive for kids to participate (stretching parents to the limit.) Total fucking insanity. |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:22 PM Author: dupa This shit has gotten so unbelievably out of control.
I wonder how frequently these psychotic sports parents ask their kids how much they enjoy playing the sports they sign them up for. |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:29 PM Author: Yummy Phase Pol Pot I believe in my heart of hearts that *this* is THE unifying issue. How much of "what's going on in the world" is a means to distract from this sort of stuff?
You basically have hundreds, if not thousands, of institutional investor groups trying to financialize every aspect of life. They don't add value, they cut off competition, raise prices, and then pay themselves for the privilege.
It's one thing for a PE group to buy a packaging company and build out its capabilities and create a market winner...it's another for PE groups to basically financialize local businesses, cut back office jobs, and then raise prices across the board (while cutting input costs.) No one benefits other than people who stare at spreadsheets all day. Total insanity. |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:53 PM Author: Guy Debord (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49606285) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 5:50 PM Author: dupa (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5824609&forum_id=2/#49607230) |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 12:40 PM Author: sensitive young 39 year old Gamer i will never counter-signal luigi mangione and neither should you
there is only one way to stop this stuff |
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Date: January 21st, 2026 3:32 PM Author: Nazca Redlines PE never not breaking things that don't need fixing.
This especially sucks because once this stuff gains momentum, you basically have to go along with it. Like, if they destroy your town's locally run little league or youth soccer league, your kids either don't play organized sports, or they play on these app teams. |