Not long ago, high school students who wanted to play football, basketball or another sport had few options other than trying out for their school team. And it was to high school gymnasiums and fields that recruiters flocked to find talent for colleges and even the pros. That's changed in recent decades as private clubs have emerged and soared in popularity across the country. Today, kids interested in pretty much any sport often have multiple clubs and leagues to choose from instead of playing on their high school's varsity squads. Clubs have been especially good at attracting the most talented student-athletes due to their intense and competitive nature. As a former K-12 director of athletics ' and as a current parent of three youth athletes from elementary to the collegiate level ' I know it can be a tough choice. I've seen firsthand the pros and cons of playing sports both in high school and clubs. While clubs may be best for the most talented athletes, I believe schools can't be beat for the broader focus they can put on character development. Since the vast majority of student-athletes won't play in organized leagues beyond high school, that's where I believe the schools' focus should be....

While financial terms were not disclosed, the team was last valued at $3.8bn by Forbes. The Giants, owned by a syndicate of 35 investors led by Greg Johnson, join a growing number of professional sports franchises tapping private equity for capital. Baseball has been at the forefront of private equity involvement, with over half of its 30 teams now partnered with investment firms. Arctos, another private equity group, already owns 2% of the Giants and has stakes in the Houston Astros and San Diego Padres. Sixth Street has aggressively expanded into sports, holding investments in the NBA's San Antonio Spurs and European football giants FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. CEO Alan Waxman highlighted how streaming and digital distribution have broadened the global appeal of live sports, making them an increasingly attractive asset class. The Giants plan to use the capital for long-term improvements rather than player acquisitions. Planned upgrades at Oracle Park include enhancements to the main entrance, new fan engagement sections, and expanded premium seating. The team will also invest in its training facilities and the Mission Rock development project near the stadium....

Much of the new capital comes from Monarch's original backers, including Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures, former Netflix executives Cindy Holland and Annie Imhoff, and Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden. The fund also gained new investors, such as Elizabeth Yee of the Rockefeller Foundation and Beth Brooke, former global vice chair of public policy at Ernst & Young. Monarch remains focused on established women's leagues like the NWSL, the WNBA, and England's Women's Super League. Managing Partner Jasmine Robinson emphasised the firm's hands-on approach to scaling investments and driving sustainable growth. 'More capital in women's sports signals continued expansion. Teams and leagues need this capital to scale and attract top operators,' she said. The firm holds stakes in three NWSL teams'Angel City FC, San Diego Wave, and the upcoming Boston expansion club. Rising valuations in women's sports validate the sector's growth. In September, Willow Bay and Bob Iger acquired a controlling stake in Angel City FC at a record $250m valuation. Robinson noted that institutional investors increasingly recognise the long-term returns in the space....

Sports analytics is fueled by fans, and funded by teams. The 19th annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference (SSAC), held last Friday and Saturday, showed more clearly than ever how both groups can join forces. After all, for decades, the industry's main energy source has been fans weary of bad strategies: too much bunting in baseball, too much punting in football, and more. The most enduring analytics icon, Bill James, was a teacher and night watchman until his annual 'Baseball Abstract' books began to upend a century of conventional wisdom, in the 1980s. After that, sports analytics became a profession. Meanwhile, franchise valuations keep rising, women's sports are booming, and U.S. college sports are professionalizing. All of it should create more analytics jobs, as 'Moneyball' author Michael Lewis noted during a Friday panel. 'This whole analytics movement is a byproduct of the decisions becoming really expensive decisions,' Lewis said. 'It didn't matter if you got it wrong if you were paying someone $50,000 a year. But if you're going to pay them $50 million, you better get it right. So, all of a sudden, someone who can give you a little bit more of an edge in that decision-making has more value.'...