The nationally recognized Louisiana-based organization joins the CURVE Sports platform, bringing its deep development network, recruiting expertise, and player-first culture into CURVE’s growing operator-led ecosystem.

CURVE Sports today announced that Knights Knation Baseball has joined the CURVE Sports platform, which we believe further strengthens the company’s ability to support long-term player development, club leadership, and sustainable growth across youth baseball.

Knights Knation, one of the premier development organizations in the country, will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership while gaining access to CURVE Sports’ shared infrastructure, development systems, and technology platform.

Founded in 2007 by former Major League pitcher, longtime MLB scout, and current Los Angeles Dodgers National Pitching Crosschecker Jack Cressend, Knights Knation has built a nationally respected reputation centered around player development, recruiting support, relationships, and long-term athlete growth.

The alignment reflects CURVE Sports’ long-term strategy: building a baseball-first operating platform that supports great leaders, preserves local culture, and raises standards across development, operations, and the family experience—without centralized control.

“Jack and the Knights Knation leadership team have built one of the most respected development organizations in amateur baseball,” said Sandy Ogg, CEO of CURVE Sports. “Their experience, relationships, and commitment to doing things the right way align directly with how we believe the future of youth baseball should operate. This partnership is about supporting what they’ve built while giving them access to additional infrastructure, technology, and long-term platform support.”

Since its inception, Knights Knation has helped over 1,000 players continue their careers at the collegiate level, while also producing more than 100 MLB Draft selections and multiple Major League players. The organization operates a growing network of affiliate programs across the Southeast and beyond, with strong relationships throughout high school, collegiate, and professional baseball.

Through the alignment with CURVE Sports, Knights Knation will utilize the CURVE Sports platform, including:

• The Allegiance membership ecosystem

• The CURVE Test performance assessment platform

• Objective player development data and longitudinal tracking

• Expanded recruiting and player promotion support

• Operational infrastructure and administrative services

• Savings programs for travel, hotels, equipment, and family expenses

The partnership also reinforces CURVE Sports’ “Test. Train. Compete. Recruit.” development philosophy—connecting objective player evaluation, training systems, competition environments, and recruiting visibility into one integrated ecosystem.

For players and families, the partnership enhances access to:

• Clearer long-term development pathways

• Advanced performance testing and objective athlete data

• Expanded recruiting guidance and exposure opportunities

• Greater transparency throughout the development process

• A connected national network of aligned organizations and resources

Importantly, Knights Knation will remain led by its existing leadership team, with day-to-day operations, coaching philosophy, and culture unchanged.

“We built Knights Knation around relationships, development, and helping players maximize their opportunities both on and off the field,” said Jack Cressend, Founder and CEO of Knights Knation. “Joining CURVE Sports allows us to continue operating with the same vision and standards while gaining access to a broader platform that can enhance the experience for our players and families through technology, data, and expanded infrastructure.”

Knights Knation’s longstanding “#4L” philosophy — representing “Knights 4 Life” — has become a defining part of the organization’s identity, emphasizing lifelong relationships, accountability, development, and family culture throughout the program.

This announcement builds on the launch of CURVE Sports, which brings together Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers into a unified ecosystem. The launch of CURVE Sports is supported by a long-term partnership from Weatherford Capital, The Ogg Family, and Matthew Scattarella. Founded by Drew, Sam, and Will Weatherford, Weatherford Capital brings deep experience scaling mission-driven organizations, informed by a lifetime of competitive sports. Their relationship-driven approach—known as The Weatherford Way—prioritizes disciplined process, teamwork, learning, and long-term impact.

“Youth baseball is incredibly fragmented,” said Drew Weatherford, Founding Partner of Weatherford Capital. “Organizations like Knights Knation have been building real trust with families over decades through consistency, development, and leadership. CURVE Sports exists to support operators like Jack and his team with the infrastructure, systems, and long-term capital that can help them continue to scale their impact without compromising who they are.”

“This is how CURVE Sports grows,” Sandy Ogg added. “By partnering with experienced operators, supporting strong leadership, and expanding the platform in a way that strengthens the game, not fragments it.”

CURVE Sports plans to continue welcoming aligned organizations into its ecosystem as part of its mission to build a stronger, more sustainable future for youth baseball.

Stronger Together isn’t a slogan. It’s how the platform is built.

About CURVE Sports

CURVE Sports is a baseball and softball operating platform designed to strengthen clubs, support long-term player development, and improve the experience for families. By connecting Diamond Allegiance, CURVE Test Centers, and aligned baseball organizations, CURVE Sports provides shared infrastructure, development systems, and trusted data—while preserving leadership, independence, and culture. Visit www.curvesports.com 

About Knights Knation 

Founded in 2007 by former Major League pitcher and current Los Angeles Dodgers National Pitching Crosschecker Jack Cressend, Knights Knation Baseball is a nationally recognized development organization headquartered in Mandeville, Louisiana. Built on a foundation of player development, recruiting expertise, relationships, and long-term athlete growth, Knights Knation has helped more than 1,000 players continue their baseball careers at the collegiate level while producing over 100 MLB Draft selections and multiple Major League players. The organization operates a growing national network of affiliate programs and is widely respected for its experienced coaching staff, player-first culture, and “#4L” philosophy — Knights 4 Life. Visit www.knightsknation.com

About Weatherford Capital

Weatherford Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2015, the Firm aspires to partner with visionary founders and leaders to build enduring companies critical to the long-term growth of the economy, spanning technology, financial services, business services, sports, and public-sector markets. Through a relationship-driven approach rooted in long-term stewardship of capital and deep experience in public-private partnerships, Weatherford Capital seeks to empower organizations to create lasting value in sectors where regulation, governance, and public engagement shape how businesses and consumers operate. For more information, visit WeatherfordCapital.com.

Media Contact

Tom Judge
Chief Marketing Officer, CURVE Sports
tom.judge@curvesports.com
760.916.3828
www.curvesports.com

SOURCE CURVE Sports

In this CURVE Sports interview, we sit down with Brandon Johnson of KSA Bombers Baseball to learn more about the organization’s story, its player development philosophy, and where the program is headed next.

Brandon shares the history behind the Bombers, what the organization was built to represent, and how KSA continues to create opportunities for athletes to grow on and off the field.

From building a strong baseball culture to developing players, supporting families, and preparing athletes for the next level, this conversation gives an inside look at what makes the Bombers organization special — and what the future looks like as they continue to grow.

Hey everybody, I appreciate you joining me once again. My name is Matt Gerber, executive director for the Curve Sports Allegiance. I'm excited to welcome today, Brandon Johnson, founder and president of Bombers Baseball.

Originally started in Kentucky, but we'll get to that a little bit later on. Brandon, I appreciate you joining me, brother. Sure, thank you.

Awesome, man. So let's just jump right into it. Tell me about, you know, obviously you're running a travel baseball program, but how'd you fall in love with the game? Like, you know, what's your past growing up? You know, just give me the full story.

So just starting in Rec Ball, going first just Rec Ball to All-Stars and falling in love with it, just being around the coaches and just being a sponge and realizing at a young age that I wanted to coach just by being around them and seeing everything that they're doing, not only on the baseball side of things, but off the field as well. Just building off of that. And then going into All-Stars to high school with the same group of guys that I played All-Stars with all the way through high school, went to the final four of the state, thought baseball was done for me.

Should've went and played some first base and hit a little bit, but I was a pitcher. I knew my arm was done, so stepped away from baseball for two years or so. Moved down to Pensacola, Florida, where I was just going to school, just wanted to get out of the state.

Met a friend, Austin Lee, who was like, hey, you want to coach? It's like, let's do it. So started there with the Gulf Breeze Wave, then moved up to New York, just being a Yankee fan, wanted to go to New York. I was like, hey, let me find a coaching job up there.

Went up there, got an interview on my birthday. Got the job on my birthday and started there with the NYC Stars at the Baseball Center, NYC. Learned a ton from Lance Williams, who ran the NYC Stars until COVID.

And then COVID hit, had some family stuff going on. Grandparent passed away. I was like, hey, I need to move back home.

And then KSA came up for sale. They had a team, KVC, who was here, but they were going a different route. So the facility for sale, so no team, no bombers, anything like that.

So my dad was like, hey, let's start the bombers. So that's what got me back here. Started with no teams at first, just had teams practicing.

And then started with one team, to six teams, to 10, to 12, to now 14. So that's pretty much where we are now. Awesome, man.

So let's dive deep, a little bit deeper. Like, I love the story. I think you said it early.

Like, I knew I wanted to be a coach. And like, you hear that. I've heard that a couple of times.

And it's awesome. First of all, like, you know, you're probably a generation younger than me, right? That like, guys are kind of identifying earlier. Like, hey, I want to go be a coach.

And there's an opportunity to do that and to create something. So first of all, that's awesome. Are there any, if you look back, are there any specific coaches that maybe had an influence on you at the young age, high school age, where you were like, man, like, that person meant a lot to me? And tell me a little bit about that person and what they did for you.

Actually, a few. Tommy Parker, back in rakeball, Charles Ford, back to all-star days. You know, great baseball.

But the main thing I learned there was just hard work, toughness. You know, six-hour practices, two-a-days, all that stuff. And then Brian Wise, probably the best person I know on the planet, just from character to consistency to everything else, just can't thank him enough for not only the baseball side of things, but who I am as a person off the field and everything that he did.

And then moving back into the coaching world myself, learning from Lance Williams up in New York and just seeing the ins and outs of travel baseball and how he does things, how he is with the kids, the relationships that he has with the kids, the families, all that stuff. Just, I wouldn't be where I am without those guys. And then also my pitching coach, Steve Stimley, who played with the Royals in the big leagues, and he's turned into a great friend.

Still learning from him and all three of those, four of those other guys that I've talked about. Awesome. That's great.

So, you know, you kind of described, you bounced around, went and coached and, you know, the panhandle, then, awesome, right? The Yankees fan, young. I just want to go up to New York, find your way, find a, you know, get an interview and find a place to work, you know, somebody that can mentor you. When you came back home and you had the opportunity, you know, to purchase the facility and then start the teams, you know, was there something in your mind that you guys set out to say, like, we want to do, this is who we are and this is how we want to do it.

Kind of like what defines your guys' culture and what you're trying to accomplish? Mostly consistency, just day in, day out, realizing that, you know, things are going to go wrong, you're going to have adversity, but how are you going to overcome that? You know, you're going to have your slumps throughout the season, you're going to have bad games, whatever it may be, but the main thing, culture-wise, is just consistency. And then, you know, we started young. I had a non-U team, that was our first team and we literally had a month of practice before our first game, started super late.

None of those guys at that time should have been playing tribal baseball, but you could see the look in, you know, a handful of their eyes, like, hey, I want to do this, let's get after it. And then, you know, five years later down the road, those are guys that are still on my team that are doing their thing. Yeah.

So you kind of took maybe a different tack than some of the members of the Curve Sports Allegiance and really started in the youth market, right? And they're now kind of growing into the high school market. Tell me about some of the challenges you see in the youth market today and then give me some, you know, a lot of times people are, you know, online, they're, you know, they're screaming about everything bad. Tell me some of the good things that you see going on in the youth market today.

I think one thing is realizing that rec ball is going downhill everywhere, mostly because, you know, parents are like, my kid needs to be playing tribal baseball just to play with their friends or whatever it may be, but just trying to provide something better. But at the same time, I think it's also, tribal ball is in a really good spot when you're around the right people. And whether that's dad coaches or you've got ex-major leaguers, whatever it may be, tribal ball is in a really good spot, I think nationwide.

That just being able to provide more opportunities, more resources for the players that don't necessarily have that everywhere. Just trying to provide things for everybody. And I see a lot of organizations in my area, wherever else, whether they're a competitor or whatever it may be, there are a lot of good things going uphill for the youth baseball.

So you'd say the positives that you see is that, you know, even though the costs have gone up, right? And it costs more to play baseball that, you know, kids are getting, in your eyes, kids are getting, kids and families are getting more out of it. Because they've got people that are investing in it. Is that kind of what I hear you saying? Yeah, for the most part, I think obviously you've got the bad eggs that are in it for the money or for their son or whatever it may be.

But for the most part, I see a ton of commitment and investment from coaches and organizations. Yeah, I agree with you. I think a lot of times this world gets turned upside down by the charlatans or by the people that don't do it right.

And, you know, they get depressed. And, you know, when you get into it and you meet the people that are doing this every day, you realize that, you know, they're doing it because they've got a heart for kids and they, you know, want to train, whether it's young men in baseball, young women in softball, you know, they want to, you know, train the next generation of leaders. So when it comes to your guys' program with the Bombers, maybe you can tell us, tell us, you know, kind of the, first let's start with, you know, KSA versus the Bombers.

You know, what are the two entities? How do they work together? What does that look like for you guys? If I was a parent and I didn't know anything about you and I kind of heard about you and I called you for the first time, like, tell me about your program. So KSA is a facility. We've got five cages here, 7,000 square feet.

We have teams from all over the Lowell area and the San Diego, Mount Washington area, high schools, multiple high schools working out in your softball and baseball, middle schools, all that good stuff. And then the Bombers are travel baseball, travel softball, you know, player development. We're here to not just, hey, let's come practice, but trying to provide the resources, the tools, the membership, everything that we can to help your son or daughter get to where they need to be.

Okay, so I walk into the facility and I'm looking around like, what can I sign up for? What do I get? You know, how many practices do I do? Give me the full spiel. Yeah, so for the most part, most teams are in here twice a week and then they will go outside on their own. We also just got our own field.

So one team, a team may be in here once a week, they may be outside once a week. You know, they're going two times a week regardless. That being said, if the cage is open and a team wants to come in here, we're not charging you more to come practice.

Come get your work in. Even if another team's like, hey, let me pay. We're getting a Bombers team in here first.

Trying to provide a membership, 24 seven memberships with a key to get in if you want to come up here and hit it three in the morning. If you want to come hit it six in the morning before you're leaving to go to Florida, whatever it may be, you know, you've got a key to get in here and get your work in. That's awesome.

So let's talk about player development specifically. What would you say player development means to you? It's a word that's thrown out there a ton. You know, what would you define player development as? I think building a well-rounded athlete, a well-rounded baseball, softball player, you know, not making a PO at nine years old, allowing players to fail, you know, go make that Jeter jump throw, go practice that, you know, sports center top 10 play, but at the same time realizing, hey, we need to make 100% of the routine plays, getting the fundamentals down, but also letting, especially the younger kids, go try those things, go have fun, go be an athlete, go do the extraordinary play, but at the same time realizing, you know, let's get the consistent fundamentals down 100% of the time.

So one thing you just said to me, I just did an interview with one of our other new members, the Southern Squeeze down at Fort Myers, and he's got a big presence in the youth market and, you know, he also does high school as well, but one thing that you just said there was, you know, let them fail. And I think that there's a lot of people out there that don't have that mindset, right? They're trying to win the trophy at nine U, trying to win the trophy at 10 U, 11 U, even up to 17 U, right? At some point, you know, until you get to college or professional baseball, like this is a developmental pipeline, right? And I think the idea of letting the kid fail is so important. And I love to hear that from you guys, just kind of consistently now across the board.

Like you said, let them go make the Derek Jeter throw. He made the example, Brandon, of, you know, he had a shortstop that played with them since he was nine. You know, he couldn't figure out how to throw the ball, you know, from down here, would throw the ball all over the place, but consistently they did it, they did it, they did it.

And now this kid is going into his junior year, is going to be an SEC recruit, potential draft guy. And, you know, he said it was directly because they let him fail over and over again, right? So, you know, for the families, the parents, the coaches that are out there in youth ball right now, like as you're selecting your travel club to play for, I think, you know, I hear it a lot in my position, like what should we be looking for in a travel club? I think that that's a really good one to ask for, is do you let the kids fail, right? Yes, my philosophy there is, I'm going to be on you in practice. I'm going to be hard.

I'm going to challenge you. You know, obviously we're still going to have fun, but in game, if you strike out, you make an error, whatever it is, you lose the game, whatever it may be, I'm going to be the first one, you're good, let's move on. And I will take ownership for that, you know, at your next practice, we're going to work on that.

Yeah. So a couple more questions on player development. And obviously I think this area, this, you know, this world of youth sports is continuing to try to get better in this realm.

So if you don't have the answers, that's fine. But what do you guys do from a tracking standpoint? Is there any structure and accountability around your development? Are you guys presenting feedback to families? If so, what does that look like? If not, you know, do you have plans to kind of, you know, put that into your program going forward? Yeah, so we just got a wrap soda last year. We've had a hit tracks for the last four or five years.

Mostly it's on a team by team basis. With that being said, that's one of the main reasons I was excited to partner with you guys to see what you guys can provide, not only on the player development side of things itself, but also how we've relaying that information to the players, to the parents, having a plan to get to where they need to be. Love it.

So last question here on player development side. Walk me through, I'm playing on your team and I come to your practice. What does it feel like? Like, what am I going to get as a parent? What am I going to get as a player? A consistent routine.

I think that's the biggest thing. Players know what they need to do when they show up. The same warmups every day.

We want to constantly nail the same things down every day, but at the same time, I want them to learn something new every day. So I learn something new every day. I know you learn something new every day.

As soon as you think you know everything in baseball, you don't, you're wrong. Just being able to adapt, not only on the field, but off the field. Practice-wise though, doing the same things every day.

And then just being able to grow from that as well. So obviously the nine-year-olds aren't doing the same thing as the 14-year-olds, but start them young, get the fundamentals down. And then from there, doing new things every day, every year.

Keeping it exciting. Yep. Love it.

So let's talk about kind of growth and vision for your program. I know I started off by saying that you guys started obviously in Kentucky, but what are your plans and where do you want this club to be in three to five years? Yep. So back where I started my coaching journey down in Pensacola, we're starting the Do-Work Bombers.

With Do-Work, they're mainly basketball and football right now. Trying to get the right people involved to provide the right resources, the right tools, the right knowledge that we're providing up here. Consistently from Kentucky to Pensacola.

And keeping things consistent again. That's the big thing is this consistent. I don't want to just grow and have a Bombers team down in Florida.

I want to make sure that I'm providing everything that I can for the players and the parents to have a good experience, to make them want to play baseball the next year and have all the tools to get where they need to be. So my next question was going to be around sustainable growth, but it sounds like to me that you think sustainable growth is around, you know, structure and the right tools, essentially. Would that be correct? Being consistent, you know.

I don't want a Bombers team here wondering, hey, why are they doing that down there or vice versa, whatever it may be. Just making sure that our brand is our brand. We're doing things the right way, wherever it may be.

So if you could pick three words to describe your brand, what would those be? Prepared, consistent, respectful, and loyal. That's four, but I'll take it. Yeah, I'll just throw that in there.

So one more time for me. Prepare. Consistent.

Okay. Respectful and loyal. I love it, I love it.

And let's take that a step further on each of those. How, as the leader of the organization, obviously, you know, leadership is so important, right, in everything in life, but how would you say that you try to show by example, you know, being prepared, being consistent, being respectful, and showing loyalty? I think the main thing is just all the time that I put into it, I think we don't talk enough baseball. I think there's a lot of business.

Obviously, you've got to separate those two, but just not talking enough baseball with whether it's parents, players, coaches, especially, just there's too much of the outside things going on. I want to really hone in on being prepared on the baseball side of things, and then respectful, just respecting the facility, being respectful of a player that maybe they're good enough, but are they traveling two hours? Do they have another option that may be best for them? Obviously, we might want that player, but, you know, is it the right fit for them? I don't want to just pick a kid up and say, hey, yeah, we want you, but then they're turning their life around just to travel two hours a day, just to come practice. Loyal, just making sure that it's going both ways.

I'm an open book. If you want to call me, you want to talk to me, whatever it may be, but at the same time, let's make sure that you're doing the same thing back and returning that. Love it.

All right, we're going to kind of transition here to our last two phases of our conversation. First one, I'm going to start with some rapid-fire questions, right? One, you know, one sentence, one word answers, and then we'll talk a little bit about the Curve Sports Allegiance and, you know, why you chose to join. So first one for you is one trait you want every player in your program to have.

The ability to overcome adversity. Awesome. What's the biggest myth that parents get told in youth baseball? Already hit on this once earlier, but all parent coaches are bad.

If you had one piece of advice to give all the guys in your program, for the young athletes, what's that one piece of advice? It's a good one. Again, just it's repetitive, but be prepared. You know, I'm a big Derek Jeter fan.

He said the biggest fear in life is being unprepared. So whatever that might be, making sure that you've got your cleats on and you're ready to go at whatever time warmups are, you're not pulling in the parking lot or getting your cleats on, whatever it may be. And then also on the baseball side of things, are you prepared, ready to hit? Pitcher releases the ball.

Are you still standing still or are you ready to go? Love it. This is my favorite question. This one might take a little bit of time to think through, so if you need to pause, that's fine.

So imagine a world where all of travel baseball has come together and there's one governing body. You know, it's funny to think about that, but imagine there is, right? And you have recently been elected as the president of travel baseball, the president of amateur baseball. What's the first change you would make to the travel ball ecosystem? I would say getting rid of sanctions at the lower ages, letting players play with their friends, the right coach, it may be, you know, whatever it may be, not just looking, hey, my son's a AAA major player.

Obviously that wouldn't happen overnight, but if I could go back in time, getting rid of the sanctions and saying, hey, let's go play with your friends, whatever it may be and grow from the bottom, if it is, or you've got the group of studs that may be together instead of just, hey, let's go play on this major team, even though it might not be the right fit for your son or daughter. So would that be kind of your idea of kind of going back to the local roots more, right? Like, is that kind of what you're saying? Like make it easier to kind of be with your friends and to play with your friends as you kind of, in the youth ages, obviously as you get older, I think we could both agree as you get older specifically, not the youth ages, but as you get older, it's important to surround yourself with, you know, the same level players and to go seek out that good competition. But I think if I understand it right, it's like, at the young ages, like we're trying to teach the game, like let's not be so caught up in, am I on a major team? And if I'm a triple-A team, whatever it might be, let's just go compete and let's go learn the game together with good coaches.

Yep, and then also growing and having the ambitions of, hey, when you get to that high school level, are you going to be that player? Are you going to be that team? Instead of jumping on a team that's already established, grow as a team, you know. I think that's really important. Awesome.

All right, a couple of selfless plugs here for the Allegiance. What made you decide to join? So, as I told you before, just listen to the Buying St. Lot podcast. I heard about you guys, so I did my due diligence, looked down a little bit, got an interview with you.

Whenever you got on the Zoom call, I had no idea it was going to be you, and I've told you that I listened to your podcast that you had before about the Scorpions, all that stuff. So, that was a really big deal, this seeing yourself and everything that you stand for, everything that you do, you know about the game. That was a big thing, but then also, obviously, the player development side of things, how you're going to make things easier for my parents, for my families, make things seamless so that I can make myself available to the players more often.

Yeah, love it. Well, that's our goal, and we're absolutely looking forward to working with you, Brandon. Excited to have you on board, excited to help you guys grow and kind of take that next step.

Thanks for joining me today, and for all those currently in Pensacola or in Kentucky, you know, if you're looking for a great place to play. Where can they see you online, Brandon? Where do they go? KSABombers.com, Do Work Bombers on Facebook, or Bombers Baseball here in Kentucky. Awesome.

Brandon, really appreciate the time, brother. Yes, sir, thank you.

The new mobile platform will connect athletes, families, coaches, and organizations through a unified digital experience built for the future of youth sports.

 CURVE Sports today announced a strategic partnership with The Futures App to power the official CURVE Sports App, a new digital platform designed to connect and support athletes, families, coaches, and organizations across the growing CURVE Sports network.

Built in collaboration with The Futures App founder Jake Hirabayashi, the CURVE Sports App will serve as the centralized mobile experience for CURVE member organizations nationwide — delivering communication, schedules, development resources, player data, recruiting visibility, content, and organizational infrastructure directly into the hands of families and athletes.

The app is now available on the App Store and is already being implemented across organizations within the CURVE Sports ecosystem.

“This partnership is about building infrastructure for the future of youth sports,” said Sandy Ogg. “Great organizations need more than tournaments and uniforms — they need systems that help families stay connected, help coaches operate efficiently, and help athletes develop over time. The CURVE Sports App gives our organizations a modern platform to do exactly that while maintaining the identity and culture that makes each club special.”

The partnership represents another step in CURVE Sports’ mission to build an operator-led national ecosystem that empowers high-quality youth sports organizations through technology, leadership, data, and shared resources — without removing local leadership or autonomy.

The CURVE Sports App is designed to support organizations across baseball and beyond with features including:

• Team and organizational communication

• Scheduling and event management

• Player development and performance tracking

• Recruiting and exposure tools

• Media and content distribution

• Club-specific branding and experiences

• Longitudinal athlete engagement across the CURVE ecosystem

For The Futures App, the collaboration expands its mission of helping organizations create stronger athlete and family experiences through scalable technology.

“As someone who lived the athlete journey firsthand, I know how fragmented youth sports can feel for families and players,” said Hirabayashi. “CURVE Sports is building something different — a connected ecosystem focused on long-term development and real support for organizations. We’re excited to help power that experience through technology and create a platform that grows alongside the athletes and clubs inside the network.”

Organizations already utilizing the platform are seeing immediate operational and communication benefits.

“The CURVE Sports App has already helped us create a more connected experience for our families, coaches, and players,” said Eric Lassiter, founder of Power Baseball. “Communication, schedules, player development, and organizational updates are now all in one place. It gives our families a better experience while helping us operate more efficiently as an organization. That’s a huge win for clubs like ours.”

CURVE Sports continues to expand nationally through partnerships with development-first organizations that prioritize coaching, culture, player growth, and long-term athlete impact.

“Technology should support relationships — not replace them,” added Ogg. “This app helps bring our entire ecosystem closer together while creating a better experience for the people who matter most: the athletes, coaches, and families.”

For more information, visit CURVE Sports or download the CURVE Sports app on the App Store.

About CURVE Sports:

CURVE Sports is a baseball-first operating platform designed to strengthen clubs, support long-term player development, and improve the experience for families. By connecting Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers, CURVE Sports aligns coaching, development services, and trusted data into one integrated ecosystem—helping clubs operate more effectively while preserving independence and culture. For more information, visit www.curvesports.com

About The Futures App:

The Futures App is an all-in-one software platform for youth sports organizations, coaches, and training facilities. It combines player development tools with business operations features like scheduling, payments, communication, facility management, and website hosting. To learn more, visit www.thefuturesapp.com

Media Contact

Tom Judge
Chief Marketing Officer, CURVE Sports
tom.judge@curvesports.com
760.916.3828
www.curvesports.com

In this long-form conversation, CURVE Sports sits down with Artie Clyde of Southern Squeeze to explore the story behind one of the region’s growing baseball development organizations.

From its early beginnings to its long-term vision for the future, Artie shares how Southern Squeeze was built around player development, culture, opportunity, and creating an environment where athletes can grow both on and off the field.

The conversation dives into:

• The origins and history of Southern Squeeze

• The philosophy behind player development

• Building culture within a baseball organization

• Creating opportunities for athletes and families

• Challenges and lessons learned along the journey

• The future vision and expansion plans for the program

• What separates Southern Squeeze from traditional travel baseball models

This episode provides an inside look at the people, philosophy, and mission driving Southern Squeeze forward — and how organizations focused on long-term development are helping shape the future of youth baseball.

Thanks for joining me, everybody. My name is Matt Gerber. I'm the executive director of the Curve Sports Allegiance.

Excited to welcome one of our new members, Artie Clyde with the Southern Squeeze. Artie, I appreciate you joining me today, brother. Sir, I appreciate it.

I'm looking forward to our long-lasting partnership. Awesome, man. Well, let's jump right in. I'd love to learn a little bit more and have our viewers learn a little bit more about you. How did you fall in love with the game of baseball? Tell us a little bit about kind of, you know, your career, your background in the game. You know, I fell in love with the game.

My grandfather played in the Negro Leagues and my dad really instilled, you know, all the principles that baseball, you know, provides for a young man. And I was fortunate enough to play multiple sports, but really fall in love with baseball. And growing up in New Jersey, I had this just infatuation with playing all the time.

So I ended up committing to High Point University right out of high school and then going to Hillsboro Community College and then playing at Alabama A&M and Brewton Parker. It sounds like the transfer portal before the transfer portal. I played one year in the Frontier League for the Rockford Riverhawks.

In the meantime, I have a younger brother that's 10 years younger. And on all my, you know, off time, I was helping my dad coach his team. And once I decided I was done playing, I ended up taking over his team and helping him coach.

And, you know, I really fell in love with the coaching aspect. And I had a couple of mentors along the way outside of my father, you know, a guy named Keith Goodwin and another guy named Brad Boris. Brad let me spend a summer with him, with his Team Elite Prime team.

And I really learned the ins and outs of all the things that go on behind the scenes, which I think that leads us to now where we are, you know, a successful organization in the state of Florida. That's awesome, man. So let's take a, it's kind of a long winding road.

So let's start, tell me a little bit about the college days and then kind of the transition into coaching. Like, would you say that when you were playing, you kind of felt like that you might want to coach one day? Were you thinking about getting into something else? Like what led you to say, you know, hey, I'd really like to try to give this a try in the coaching realm? So, like I said, I have a younger brother. He's 10 years younger than me.

And he had a travel ball team that I used to help out while I was playing. You know, my college career was interesting because I was very athletic, a lot of talent, but never was able to put together, you know, where the rubber meets the road. And so fortunately for me, I was able to, you know, be athletic enough to play multiple positions, learn how to pitch, learn how to play third and first, learn how to play second, learn how to play the outfield.

And I was just really, you know, I was always influenced by my coaches to be the best version of me. So I wanted to give back. That's why I started working with my brother's team.

And then once I was done playing, I was actually, it was in the middle of the recession and I couldn't get a job. I was trying to figure out what to do. So I went back to, I was trying to go back to grad school.

I was gonna go to FAU. And one of the coaches that helped me along the way, you know, asked me if I can come in, if I pass the GRE and I'm able to make it into their grad school to be a grad assistant. So I knew that coaching was right on the fingertips.

And then I couldn't pass the GRE. And randomly I was throwing in a ballpark and a scout from the Cleveland Indians was there. When he saw me throw, he referred me to the Rockford River Hawks.

I went out there and finished a year, had a small taste of what independent professional baseball was like, which, you know, was able to almost complete my resume as far as playing background was concerned. I felt like, you know, if I was able to go coach on any level, I felt like with that on my resume, it helped me apply for any job. And as I coach now, I continue to grow with, you know, things like TrackMan and Driveline and PitchLogic and all the technology that we have for our players to show progress in the numbers that are involved that show progress.

Sorry to, you know, get off in left field, but I do think it's, you know, important that we always evolve. And that started when I was a young 18 year old kid at High Point University. Yeah, I love it.

And we'll definitely get into the, you know, the player development side of what you guys do and looking forward to diving into that a little bit later. Let's talk about Southern Squeeze in specific. I know you mentioned that you spent a year with Brad Boris

Brad is the owner and founder of Team Elite in Atlanta, also a member of the Allegiance. But tell me about, you know, the early years of the Squeeze. A couple of questions that maybe you can touch on here for me is, you know, was there a problem that you were trying to solve in your market, in your area? And what was the original vision for your program? Yeah, so we, I started coaching a 13 year old team that was really good.

And it has players that have gone on and had professional careers. But I felt like we missed on a couple of things. I felt like there was no commitment.

There was a lot of pressure for those kids to perform and there was no practice. So we would grab, you know, the best players in all parts of the region, we put them together and we go to, you know, Disney World of Sports, or we go and play down in Miami. We would go play in all these big events.

And it was great as far as competition was concerned, but it wasn't fulfilling as far as development. I felt like I could have had more impact on player development. And then I ended up getting invited to a, into a spring training workout with the Red Sox over here in Fort Myers.

And a friend of mine named Keith Goodwin took me to one of his practices afterwards. And he said, this is what I do with my program. And he had a whole practice layout.

Well, I had very good networking skills and we were able to, you know, kind of blend the two together. This is around 2015, 2014. And once I realized that you can do both is when our program or my vision for my program started to get a lot clearer.

Myself and Keith met Brad Boris. And I did an internship with Brad for almost a year. I went up to Atlanta

He showed, you know, all the things that he does for player development, his network. He was, you know, he's like an older brother to me. And I took bits and pieces along the way.

And I said to myself, okay, look, it's very hard for a new program to have the Kumar rockers of the world want to play for you. And it's also hard to get, you know, at the time division three players to compete on a high level. So what I planned to do was take those kids that were falling through the cracks and give them an opportunity to develop and then compete on a bigger stage like Brad had his teams playing on in the tournaments such as the Wilson Premier Event, the World War Bad in Atlanta, and Jupiter and a lot of these events where we have become to find our niche was maybe not the draft pick, but helping that division two player not fall through the cracks and helping that very talented kid find a juco then go to division one.

And there's multiple ways it's gonna crack. And I think that, you know, a lot of players can reach their ultimate goal, but not everybody has the same road to get there. And we're just here to facilitate different avenues.

Yeah, I love that Artie. So what I hear you say is, you know, you guys have kind of taken a different tack than, you know, the per se elite travel baseball, right? Focusing on kids that really need someone to be an advocate for them to need player development and, you know, have aspirations of playing at the next level no matter what that might be. And that's super important, right? At the end of the day, I think that there's, you know, our industry gets hyper-focused on, you know, the top 150, the top 200 players, but that's such the tippy top of the spear, right? And there's so many kids out there that are floundering, that aren't getting good advice, that aren't getting direction on where they should be going and what they should be doing.

So obviously really refreshing to hear of a program like yours that's focused on those types of people. So a couple of follow-up questions, and then we'll kind of move on to more about, you know, what does it mean to be part of Southern Squeeze? But, you know, from the startup, from, you know, when you first started getting going, what were some of the early challenges that you faced and, you know, what made you keep going, right? Because you're to a point now where you guys have a pretty well-established program, you've grown, right? But in those early years, I know it probably wasn't easy, right? So what were some of those challenges you faced and what kept you going and saying, I want to continue to do this? Well, you know, I think the first challenge was, you know, being able to tell Brad like, hey, I'm going to do something different and still keep a good relationship. So, you know, respectfully, I said, hey, you know, I'm prepared to start something in Southwest Florida.

I didn't think it was gonna take off like it had. I had, you know, one group of guys that believed in myself as a coach, myself as an organizational head. We had a really good year.

We had multiple players that went off and played division one baseball. And all of the kids that were on that original team ended up playing in college somewhere. Now, we have one player that's still playing with the Minnesota Twins from that original group.

And that group grew from one team to two teams, to two teams, to four teams, four teams to eight teams. And the next challenge that I faced was, how do I keep our culture the same? You know, once it turned from, you know, two to four, I wasn't as hands-on anymore. So I had to find the right people to help me, you know, with the same morals, the same ethics, the same beliefs, the same developmental beliefs.

It's very challenging to find those people that are like-minded because, you know, as everyone knows, you know, there's old school baseball, there's new school baseballs, there's coaches that let the kids wear their earrings, there's coaches that don't. There's so many different things that it was a huge challenge to find coaches that were like-minded so that we can facilitate our culture throughout the program. And then once we were able to overcome that, and I realized that, you know, I had to bend myself a little bit and I didn't, you know, know everything.

I think that, you know, we were able to overcome a lot of obstacles in itself. The next challenge that I ran into was how to handle, you know, questions in regards to the recruiting process and how to make myself accessible, you know, to all of the families in our program, whether you lived in Alabama or you lived in my backyard. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't a family and part of our program that I didn't meet or that I didn't talk to, that I didn't spend my time with.

And so I had to figure out a way to take a step back off the field and let the coaches that I coached coach. And we've become very successful because I become accessible to everyone. So when they have questions about the recruiting process, which is, in my opinion, the most important part of being an athlete, because you don't wanna set yourself up in a situation where you feel like you gotta transfer out.

You don't wanna set yourself up in a situation where you feel like you're gonna graduate college in debt. You don't wanna set yourself up where you're, you know, overwhelmed with schoolwork and all the other things that come with being a college baseball player. So my role has now been, hey, I can advise you through this.

I can walk you through this and I have the time to walk you through this. Yeah, I love that. So you talked a little bit about culture.

So if there were, you know, two, three, four words that could describe Southern Squeeze's culture, what would you say those are? Respect, integrity, toughness is IQ. Yeah, first of all, IQ, yeah, I love that. IQ, right? Absolutely.

That is intelligence, okay? I really pride our guys on being the best that they can be in the classroom. Being, you know, we have kids that have gone to Brown. We have kids that have gone to Swarthmore, MIT.

You know, there's a lot of very intelligent, Emory, a lot of very intelligent kids in our program. Air Force Academy. But I also think that our players are very tough.

You know, during COVID, we had a couple of players that went on and maybe been undersized, but the coaches took my opinion on the player, regardless of how they couldn't see them. So they took my opinion on the player and they were able to compete the next year because they got tough kids. They might not have got the six foot five, you know, 95 mile an hour arm, but they got the five 11, 91 mile an hour arm that was able to play in a lot of tough situations.

I think that respect is another one. I think that our guys, you know, will respect their coaches, respect the accountability that the coaches have for them. I'm not always the easiest person to play with four and neither are my coaches, because we expect a lot, because we know that the college coaches expect a lot.

And then integrity, you know, just say what you mean and mean what you say. So, you know, I try to, you know, do everything for every player that I say I'm gonna do. And I think that, you know, that in return, our players respect what our coaches do for them.

So they give us a hundred percent on and off the field. Yeah, love that, man. And so important in this day and age to have defined culture, right? And define things that, you know, are kind of nonnegotiable for you and for your program.

You mentioned earlier, you know, going back to your time with Keith, you know, going to a practice and seeing things could be done differently. If somebody walked into one of your practices today, is there anything in specific that they would notice about that practice? I think that there's a lot of movement at our practices. I'm a firm believer in, you know, developing motor skills.

And the more that you are able to move to the baseball, the easier it is for a player to develop those certain steps. Just like a dancer, a dance rehearsal, you break down those steps over and over and over and over again so that you can close your eyes and you will stand in the same spot. It's just like, you know, making sure that you take, you know, the correct swing or you take the correct route to the baseball over and over and over and over again, which will in turn turn into routine plays being made, good swings being made.

And of course, you know, I think that, like I said, efficiency of practice, you know, don't walk to pick up baseballs because, you know, if you walk, that's time, you know, and time is of the essence. So the faster you can get me back the baseballs, the faster I can hit them back out to you. So I think our practices are very efficient and I think they're very repetitive.

And I think that as far as player development is concerned, those are the things that the individual needs to make himself a better individual. You know, as far as team baseball, we try to keep it simple. Hey, first and third, throw somebody out.

You know, if you wanna throw to third, throw to third, if you wanna throw to second, throw to second, throw somebody out. You know, show off your arm. You know, that's an opportunity, right? Like if there's six college coaches watching you, they know eventually that guy from first is gonna try to get second.

So it's an opportunity for the catcher to showcase his talents. You know, I think that situational hitting, right? There's a guy at third base or, you know, I really don't promote them to squeeze the guys in if there's five guys watching you hit, you know, because we know that you're gonna get pitched to, you're gonna get pitched around, and, you know, coaches wanna be able to see you barrel ball skills. And I think that, you know, whenever you get an opportunity to make a mistake, it's okay to make a mistake, but don't hold the baseball, or don't, you know, try to be perfect.

If you mess it up, mess it all the way up. And I think that, you know, all the people that are at a collegiate level or higher understand that, and they can see, you know, what a kid is like based off their mistakes, probably based off their mistakes more than their success. So, you know, we really encourage the boys to go out there, play hard, you know, and it all stems from practice.

So we practice fast, we practice efficient, you know, practice hard. So I got one more question, kind of on the club identity and culture side. We're gonna do a little like role play, okay? So, you know, I'm a parent of a 15-year-old kid, and I've come across, you know, your website, and I call in and say, hey, Mr. Clyde, my name's Matt Gerber, I've got a son.

He's 15 years old. Can you tell me a little bit about your program and why I should come play for you? What would you say to that? I said, absolutely. I think that we're the premier organization in Florida.

I think our structure and what we do for our boys is second to none. I think that we give them an opportunity to practice and develop their individual skills, and then also play at a high level. I think that, you know, the tournaments that we are registered in, and we compete in, are the best ones in the Southeast.

And as your son will grow in the program, we do things above and beyond to help him, you know, with the recruiting process. I think that our network is very strong. I think that our bus tour that we run is super efficient.

I think that our showcases that we run are super efficient. I think that every tryout that we've run, we've had at least 10 coaches in the last three years out of each one. I think that there's so many opportunities for your son to grow, but the most important thing, this isn't the last conversation that you and I will have about your son and how we can help your son.

So once you sign up, that doesn't mean that's the end, you won't hear from me. Anytime you need me, anytime you need to have a conversation, anytime you need direction on which camps to sign up for, which camps not to sign up for, where your son stands, as far as metrics are concerned, in comparison to other players or even college players. I'm here to answer those questions for you.

So, you know, I think that our organization is the top organization when it comes to personability. Yeah, love it, love it, love it. So let's talk a little bit about your player development philosophy.

You see you're sitting in a beautiful indoor facility. The term player development gets tossed around a ton, right? What does player development really mean to you? And how important is structure and accountability and development to your program and even to your facility? I think that player development is allowing players to fail. You don't want to take a negative, right, and base your negative sentence on, you know, the positive that comes out of this.

But what happens is when a player fails, you know, there's a lot of things. A coach can feel a certain type of way. His teammates can feel a certain type of way.

The fans or other parents in the stands can feel a certain type of way. And if you don't let that player miss that ground ball, if you say, okay, well, hey, we're taking them out or we're not letting them play that position again, there is no true development. Baseball's a very unique game because there's so many games that you play throughout the course of a season.

There's so many ground balls that you get throughout the course of a season that you're going to mess them up. But I think that if you can take the almighty wind and throw it in the trash and allow your players to play and make mistakes and learn and grow from those mistakes, that's true player development. And then you can monitor the progress and you can say, and I have a shortstop that, you know, I got him from when he was 13 years old.

There's a slow roller hit, he picks the ball up, just like he's at a Tommy Namski video, picks it up, shuffle, shuffle, throws it, safe. And I said, hey, you have to throw that ball on the run like this. He goes, I don't know how to throw it on the run.

And I know the transition from the smaller field to the bigger field is different because the balls come up on you faster. And most of the plays that you make are shuffle, shuffle. But, you know, we went through a long stretch where he's throwing the ball all over the place on the run.

But if you see him now, he's very accurate from multiple arm angles, from multiple balls in the hole, forehand, even obviously the routine plays are very solid because we allowed him to make those mistakes. And we created an expectation within the families, within the team, that us winning that 12 year old baseball game or us winning that 13 year old baseball game doesn't mean anything. What means something is when he got here at 12 and now he's 14 and a half, he is one of the best shortstops in our area.

Probably in the state because we allowed him to make some mistakes. And we have multiple players with the same situation. And I think that, you know, when you get on these super teams, well, you gotta win, right? You gotta win.

If I'm a bigger organization or if I had this expectation of winning, well, it puts too much pressure on the coaches and the kids to figure out the right plug and play to win. Which I think, you know, it's still good. I wanna play against the teams that, you know, plug and play to win because that gives me, you know, an opportunity to know where my guys are at.

But at the same time, I also think it creates a lower ceiling because my guys, you know, my shortstop that throws the ball away on the run also knows how to play second, also knows how to play third. He also pitches. He also plays right field, left field, and center field.

And he can catch a little bit. So I give him the opportunities to fail everywhere in order for when he gets to high school, if there is another shortstop there, that's okay. As long as he hits, he can go play second or third or right or left or center.

And I think that that, in our eyes, is the true player development. And it starts at, you know, nine, 10, 11, and 12. If a player came in here at 15, 16, or 17, I think that the player development aspect really turns into the physical development aspect, right? You know, these guys that come in, you know, you gotta eat well.

You gotta sleep enough. You gotta lift. You gotta have a routine.

You gotta stretch. You gotta make sure that your muscles are flexible. You gotta make sure that, you know, every time you wake up, you're preparing yourself.

You stretch before the game well. You prepare yourself mentally well. And I think that, you know, once they become 16, 17, or 18, the physical and player development go hand in hand.

Came in at 15, I'm hitting the ball off the tee at 80. You know, at 15 and a half at the last one, I'm, you know, my ball exit speed is 87 and all that's tracked in our data. So metrics do play a part in the recruiting tools, um, in the recruiting process

So I think that, you know, player development really starts at young ages and, and, and a lot of the coaches have to take winning and make it secondary. Um, and those players can grow, but as the kids get older, it does transition into physical development, and then hopefully the player comes out. How you, how you cook them.

Yeah, man. I, I love that, um, perspective on it. And, you know, I've done a lot of these.

I talked to a lot of different guys across the country, and I think you have this idea of failure is so important, right? Not only in baseball, but you know, that's why baseball is such a beautiful game and such a reflection of life. Right. And, um, if we're not giving young kids the, um, the ability or the opportunity to fail and telling them, it's okay, get back up and try it again and try it again and try it again until you get it, um, you know, how are we supposed to develop? So, you know, the good thing is already, I think, you know, this, there's a lot of good guys out there, um, across the country that are, that are of the same mindset and are doing this, but the more that we can put it out there that, you know, these types of things are what, what are important and, you know, not necessarily, you know, winning the 12U, whatever it is, um, but just continuing to, um, to, to foster, you know, growth in players.

And like you said, and then once they get, you know, to that high school age where they're like, Hey, I really want to do this, then it's, you know, physical development and it's arm strength and it's back speed and it's all those things that matter. Right. Um, but at a young age, you know, like you even, you even mentioned, um, and I'm a big believer after watching my daughter go through this, that I think every kid, if I could, if I could have one mandate, right, for every kid that wants to be an athlete, it'd be, be a gymnast for three or four years when you're really young, right? Just go learn how to move and be an athlete.

Um, and I think the more that we can do that, the better off we'll be. So a couple more questions here, um, for you, and then we're going to do some rapid fire stuff. So two kind of questions that you can answer and then, you know, some kind of quick back and forth.

So, um, first one is, is, you know, you guys have, you know, built, like you said, from the, from the one team to the two to the four to the six to now having, you know, multiple teams and multiple age groups, um, where do you want your club to be in three to five years? Um, what would be success for you? Um, and how do you balance, um, you know, who you are, um, with ambitions of, you know, of growth and becoming bigger over time? Um, you know, I, I battle this all the time.

It's a, that's a great question. Um, I think that I want continuity, right? So I want to grow in continuity.

So if I don't have more than 25 teams or 29 teams, I think we have right now in total, that's okay. As long as we grow in continuity and all of the rosters are full, all of our coaches are preaching the same thing. Um, I think that organically things will grow.

Um, but I definitely don't want to bite off more than I can chew. And I think that, um, you know, as far as success is concerned, I think that the success lies in when, you know, our players reach their goals. So every player has a different goal.

Some players that come in our program just want to make the high school teams. Some players want to be professionals. Um, and we're supposed to be able to facilitate, um, all those things, um, with, you know, our indoor facilities, um, with, uh, ACT and SAT tutors with our coaching abilities, um, and our opportunities that we present our players.

So growth isn't necessarily going to come from, you know, the amount of people, but I think that it's going to come with the efficiency of our program. Love that. Love that.

All right. A couple of rapid fire questions for you. These are, these are more fun.

Um, what's the biggest myth in youth baseball that you'd love to dispel? Yeah, Lee, here you go. My son is a shortstop. That's a good one.

Okay. Um, what's the most underrated skill in baseball? Being a good teammate. Okay.

Um, what does leadership mean to you? Leadership is the most valuable thing. Without leadership, you can't grow. You can't do all those things because, you know, um, if you, if, if there's eight guys depending on you to throw a good pitch, or if once a, uh, releases your hand, then there's, you know, eight guys depending on that guy to catch it.

And once it's hit, there's, you know, eight guys depending on you to make the play. Um, so I think that, you know, if you're a good leader and you stay positive, um, anything can happen and you're, you're able to make this world a better place. Love it.

Here's my favorite question in the interview. This one might take a little bit longer of a response, but imagine in a world where, you know, travel baseball, we're so together, let's call it across the country that there was a commissioner. Okay.

And, and you already were named commissioner of all of travel baseball. Okay. What is the most important and first thing you would do first day in office? What rule or what, what change would you make? I would certify all the coaches.

Um, and that would build continuity within the league. So if, um, you know, somebody is upset and they want to take their son and starting a team, he has to go in through, you know, the league and say, Hey, you know, these are the things that all of our coaches need, you know, they need to understand player development and need to understand, you know, CPR training. They need to understand, you know, leadership, morals, ethics.

Um, I think that, you know, that would be, you know, some sort of coaches certificate that way, you know, our players, um, aren't being skewed and, and, and we don't have families playing in them for the wrong reasons, whether it's, Oh, well, we're playing on this team because they win or, Oh, we're playing on this team because it's free or, Oh, we're playing on every team that we can possibly find because, because we can't, you know, um, because ultimately, um, you know, you play every weekend, it's not healthy. Um, you play for free, you lower the expectations and you think that you're, um, given, you know, you're, you're, you're, you're becoming, um, taking people for granted. So, um, and I think that, you know, if somebody is upset and they know that this process is, you know, something that you have to go, you know, it teaches that kid how to work through it, you know? All right.

So just a couple more questions here already to finish this up. Um, one of them is going to be a selfless, uh, promotion here. So, um, let's talk about the curve allegiance a little bit.

Um, you know, what attracted you to being a part of it? And most importantly, I think, you know, what do you think that it can do over the longterm for not only your program, but for the amateur space, um, as a whole? I think, uh, the curve allegiance is a great program for us to be a part of, um, due to the fact that you guys are doing what's best for the players and the families. Um, I think that, you know, it's been a true concept of how to help players develop and how to make this process as affordable as possible and, you know, making sure that there's no fluff. Um, I, I appreciate, you know, uh, Alex Og and all the help that he's, you know, done for us, um, he's been amazing and answers the phone at all times a day.

Um, and I think that, you know, with, with your assistance, it makes our program that much better. Love it. And then what do you think kind of longterm, you know, as we continue to get the right people, um, around tables, right? I know that you're planning on coming to the summit here at the end of the year.

Um, you know, what do you think that this group of people can do, um, in this space together, I think in the longterm, um, I think that this could be the founding fathers of the new, you know, travel baseball world. Um, I think that, you know, it's grown, um, tremendously under, you know, the tournament of organizations that they have in place right now, but I do think that there is a place for, um, the diamond allegiance and all that we provide that might, you know, make a huge turn for the better, um, not saying that the stuff that we have going on right now is bad, but I am saying that, you know, there is space for like-minded organizations, um, to pull together, to help our players, um, to the forefront of, you know, their goals. Awesome.

All right. Last question here already. Um, you know, as you continue, obviously down the path and, of, you know, leading young men and being a resource for families, um, you know, if you can put yourself down the road, 30, 40 years, and, you know, you're sitting in that rocking chair on the porch somewhere and, um, you know, just relaxed and looking back, um, what do you want your legacy to be in Southwest Florida? Um, what do you want your legacy to be, uh, the Southern Squeeze's legacy to be when it's all said and done? Um, I, I want to, I want to be known as, uh, somebody that will always do the right thing for your son.

Um, whether the right thing is something that you want to hear, don't want to hear, um, that when you look back at it and you say, man, you know, Artie did right by me, Southern Squeeze did right by me. Um, I think that the most important thing is how you treat others. Um, and if you treat others well, uh, others will treat you well.

Yeah. Love it. Couldn't have said it any better myself

Well, Artie, we're, um, as you know, um, for those that don't know, um, I was after Artie for a really long time to, to join up and become a part of the Allegiance, um, just thought the world of him and the way that he ran things. And, um, super excited to have you on board. Um, and as we kind of get the train moving here, I'm super excited to see what this all looks like, uh, in the coming, coming months, years.

Um, and glad Artie that you and the Squeeze are a part of this. I appreciate you taking the time today to talk with me, um, to let the world know a little bit more about your program. Um, and if somebody is interested in the Squeeze, uh, where can they reach you guys at? Oh, you can reach us on, uh, Facebook at, uh, Southern Squeeze Baseball.

You can reach us on Twitter on SQZ Baseball, or you can reach me directly. Um, I'm always accessible. I don't want to put my cell phone number in there.

All right, brother. Well, we appreciate your time and, um, hope you have a great summer season. Best of luck to you guys.

CURVE Sports is proud to announce USA Prime New England as an Official CURVE Sports Testing Location, expanding the CURVE Sports performance and development ecosystem into one of the premier baseball regions in the country.

The partnership brings CURVE Sports’ integrated athlete evaluation platform directly to players and families throughout New England — helping athletes better understand where they are today, how they can improve, and how they can position themselves for future opportunities.

Built around the CURVE Sports philosophy of:

Test. Train. Compete. Recruit.

the collaboration will provide athletes with standardized performance testing across three core pillars:

• BALL

  Objective baseball performance metrics and sport-specific data.

• BODY

  Movement quality, rotational power, speed, explosiveness, and athletic development metrics.

• BRAIN

  Vision, cognition, reaction time, processing speed, and decision-making performance.

By combining these areas into one connected athlete profile, CURVE Sports helps coaches, organizations, players, and families make more informed development decisions over time.

USA Prime New England has built a strong reputation for player development, experienced coaching, and creating meaningful opportunities for athletes throughout the region. Their commitment to long-term athlete growth aligns closely with the CURVE Sports mission of supporting development-first organizations with modern infrastructure, technology, and data-driven tools.

“This partnership is about more than testing,” said CURVE Sports. “It’s about helping athletes train with purpose, helping coaches develop players more effectively, and helping families better understand the development journey. USA Prime New England represents the type of organization we want to build alongside — committed to coaching, development, and doing things the right way.”

Athletes training within the CURVE Sports ecosystem gain access to measurable benchmarks, longitudinal tracking, and a more complete understanding of performance development over time — helping bridge the gap between training, competition, and recruitment.

As CURVE Sports continues building a national network of connected development organizations, partnerships like this strengthen the mission of creating better systems, better information, and better opportunities for athletes across the country.

Stronger Together.

CURVE Sports sits down with Chad Hinds of Marucci Prospects — a nationally recognized program built on development, exposure, and doing things the right way.

Since 2010, the Prospects Organization has helped place over 390 players into college baseball programs across all levels, while continuing to grow its national footprint through its partnership with Marucci Sports.

Chad shares:

• The mission behind Marucci Prospects

• Building a platform for development and exposure

• Relationships with college coaches and pro scouts

• Growth through the Marucci Franchise Club

• The future of player development in a national landscape

This is about creating opportunity — and delivering it at the right time. Stronger Together.

My name is Matt Gerber, executive director of Curve Sports at the Allegiance. Today I'm joined by Chad Hines from Marucci Prospects. Chad, I appreciate you joining me today.

Thanks for having me. Absolutely, brother. Well, Marucci Prospects, a nationwide house name, one of the newest members in the Allegiance.

I just want to spend a little time today getting to know you, Chad, to understand your "why." Then we'll learn more about the Prospects, specifically, and how they're going to run their program and what's important to you. And then we'll wrap up here, talking about the Allegiance, where we're going, and what excited you about being a part of what we're doing.

First of all, how were you in baseball? I played NAE baseball back in the '90s. And from then on, I moved on from the game, probably for 13 or 14 years, until I had a 5 or 6-year-old son who showed me an interest in baseball. And then, it's the old adage of, hey, you played past school, you're going to be the coach.

So, that started when I was 7 or 18, and it just kept going. But that was really... It's kind of funny how you play the game your whole life, and then you wake up, get a job, go home, have kids, get married, and all that. And then you go back to school and it's like, hey, it's like riding a bike.

It doesn't feel like you've strayed from the game. But, you know? A new perspective. With young guys, trying to encourage what maybe you were encouraged to use when you were a kid.

And so that was it, you know? Obviously, I played the game, I strayed for a long time, like a lot of parents do, and then I came back to it. And, you know? Fast forward to today, and here we are in 2026, and I've been doing this for several years now. That's pretty cool.

Okay, tell me about... We know the prospect started about 20 years ago. So, maybe tell me about its origin story, and then how you got involved, when you got involved, and what that was. Sure, yes.

The prospect started in the early 2000s, and he started with a couple of very high school teams. A lot of kids from the SEC, ACC, Big 12, draft picks, among those teams. And really, exposure first.

It was all about exposure. It was a time when that took precedence over everything else. But it began with development.

It was about finding the best players in the country, surrounding those talented guys with a team, and going out and playing. And, obviously, you know, you were playing against this team. At that time, at your average level.

So, it really started there. I got involved about five years later. And I really started as a director, like I said, about five or six years later.

And, you know, my goal was really to build on what was already in place. And that was, really, how can we go from a lot of talented school agents to, how can we build this 9-to-18 age group? And that was my goal. And, you know, it's taken time to get there.

We started building the youth. And, yes, today we're stricter, more, you know? 9 to 18, equally displaced, where you wanted to get to, what we wanted to expand. But, you know? Before it was all about exposure.

And we were very successive. And, you know? We played like kids. And, you know? A lot of professional guys, a lot of great players.

But that can't really be sustained as an organization. You have to build. Most organizations are built from the ground up, starting with youth.

We've built from the ground up, starting with a top-level school. And that's fine. That's where we started, where we've come from to where we are today.

Yes, that makes a lot of sense. So, what problem would you say you're trying to solve, that you're currently trying to solve, or that you're trying to solve in the market? What was the thing you wanted to gravitate toward that made you say, as someone who hasn't been in baseball his whole life, right? That went away and now it's back. What was it as a father, as a dad, that made you say, hey, we can do that better, right? Is there anything that stands out to you? Yeah, I think seeing how, you know, Jeff's dad, I don't know, the coach, with that pretty talented kid, you know? He wants him to play, to play short-term and in the middle of the field, even if he's a left-hander.

But, you know what? There's a lot of that. And that, you know what? I'm going back to, you know what? 7U, 8U. I was trying to close myself off from the right people, for the right reasons, you know? Who's in this for the long haul, sincerely? And it's not, it's about this group of kids, this group of teams.

And really, you know what? Put your best foot forward and try to do things the right way, again, with the right people, for the right reasons. And that, I think, is what separates us today. We generally have some good organizations in baseball, but we have some of those organizations that, you know, continue to play with two outside players.

And, you know what? It's all about, hey, you can struggle with the paycheck, you can be a traveling baseball player. That's not what it used to be, that's what it is today. And just, you know what? Try to change the narrative as much as we can, as individuals, as an organization, and, you know what? Document what we do.

Here's our calendar, here's our development plan. And, you know, being transparent with families about, you know, where the kids are, where we want to take them? And I think more of that needs to happen. And, you know, you see organizations doing it the right way, really being transparent with families and kids, and playing with better schedules, really challenging teams.

You know, we're not chasing trophies. We want our fair share of trophies, but that's not the goal. I have a hand in a lot of the schedules, and we create the schedules to go play, you know, 500, 600 baseball.

We don't want to go to 38 and 2. What did that do for us? And that's where I really see it, you know? You go on social media and you see all these clubs. Hey, we won all these tournaments. Okay, is the kid getting better? That's it.

You put the kid first. You know? You start thinking, okay, how can we make this player better, this team better, and overall, the organization better? Yes, 100%. I love that.

With that in mind, player first, you know? Not chasing trophies. That would answer my question of, you know, what's different about you guys? Well, first, your development first, you know? And you're focused on, you know? The player instead of necessarily the team. Although I love baseball because it is, in my mind, one of the only baseball sports, to a certain extent, but it's an individual sport within a team game, you know? So, you have to be focused on that player.

But as you start to focus on development, two questions here. If someone were to walk into one of your team practices, is there anything in particular you think they would notice or point out? And then, picking up on that, are there two, three, four words that come to mind that describe your organization's culture? Yes, I think if you walked into one of our practices, you would see organization, structure, resources, you would see fundamental repetition. That's where we want to start, that's where we want to master.

You know, we've come a long way. You know, like I said before, we were an Exposure First Organization and we've shifted more towards development, obviously, but we're still a hybrid. There are some players we've maybe acquired—16 players—and they're ready to be expelled, so we're going to focus more on the Exposure side for those guys, but you know, you talk about culture, and I think that's still evolving, especially with, you know, Indiana's rebranding to Marucci, obviously, with Curve Sports, so I think that's still evolving, but, you know, three words, probably: acquire, develop, and expel.

You know, we want to acquire younger players, we want to have a strong hand in that development, and then we want to expel them at the right time for that player, and every player has their own timing, their own timing. So, you know, I think that adds up to where we are today, and that, you know, can evolve over the next, you know, 18, 24 months, but that's what we're hoping for. Yeah, I think that, for me, you know, the same thing as the parents, you know, development, and you can be expelled through exposure, right? And a lot of kids are today, right? They go out at the school level and they're looking for exposure, and they're not ready to be expelled, or they're trying to expel themselves to the wrong place, right? And when you do that, you're going to get expelled again and again, right? And so, I think, you know, where you're at, is having this balance between development and improvement, and then, you know, also when you're ready, going out there and trying to get into colleges, like everyone has that goal, is important, but, you know, we've talked a lot before, Chad, about the pendulum and travel football and new sports, right? Like, you know, when it first became a business and really focused, I think, on this side, which was player development, right? And then the elite of the elite had the opportunity to go and play in some really good tournaments and face some guys, right? And then, you know, I think a lot of the reasons you described, even when the average started, you know, there was this great opportunity because the recruiting was happening earlier and earlier, right? Seventh and eighth graders were being recruited, and it wasn't just for SEC and seventh and eighth graders and seventh and tenth graders, it was all the way down, right? There was a weaving effect, right? So, if you weren't there and they didn't see you early, you were behind the elites, and that was true, right? You could be a kid, you know, during that time period, who was, you know, a junior in high school, and was Latino, and I know I've experienced it, it would be like, hey, this kid is better than, you know, three-quarters of the kids who are committed, and all the schools would be like, well, sorry, we're done, we're full, and there was no opportunity for that kid, right? Well, nowadays, obviously, it's the opposite, right? With the way the rules are and all, it's given, I think, the whole industry the opportunity to take a breath and understand that the pendulum is swinging back toward development first, and that you want to play, you want to have fun, right? Those are important things as a kid, like, you don't want to, we don't want to create these boxed monsters, right? But at the same time, you know, the empathy in playing all the time and the exposure can be pushed down the path a little, and I think, you know,The more organizations we have that do this, and not only do it but change their operational model around these things, right? The best offices in the industry will be there, and those are the types of groups we're looking for when it comes to Allegiance curative sports, right? So let's talk a little more about club identity and culture with the prospects.

How would you define success for a player in your organization? That's a good question. We've talked about that a lot over the summer and winter, and it's really, you know, developing a kid to achieve whatever their next goal is. When you're talking about youth players, you know, obviously, their goal is to make the senior school team.

Also, you know, as a young kid, how quickly can you get to that high school level? But the high school kids, you know? How can we create opportunities? You know, multiple opportunities for you, at any level of play, from a college perspective. So it really depends on the kid, you know, okay? It's appropriate, and, you know, what we see are three different levels, if you will, you know, it's like our middle school and our high school, and we want to make sure they develop at a pace to be ready for that next level. I mean, you know, middle school baseball is becoming more and more popular in our area, so obviously you have the middle school kids playing on the big league teams, you know, how do you get a kid who isn't, like you said, a high school player? How do you prepare him for high school? It's a long road from 5-6, you know.

So, you know, it really depends on the age group, the player's level, and that's what we want to do. You know, we have our top-level teams, we have our mid-level teams, and then we have a couple of development teams. How quickly can we expedite that process? Yeah, and I think that's one thing you just mentioned, that's changed in the last, you know, 10 years at Travel Wall.

You know, originally it was, at least, just the older kid playing. For me, you know, a lot of people in the industry look down on or say how bad it is for organizations to have multiple teams. I look at it differently, Chad.

I think people like you and the people who write for organizations that are part of what we're doing, those are the types of people we want to have on multiple teams, right? Because we want them to understand, like you said, that there are different levels, right? If you're a high-level player, this is what you have to achieve, right? You have something different than the guy who, you know, has to, you know, hold on and continue to improve to reach his goal, whatever goal, and, you know, having good baseball players who are providing opportunities, to me, is what this industry needs most, and, you know, the more consolidation there can be around the people who are doing well, I think the industry will be better. So, you know, the people who are listening to this, the parents who are listening to this, you know, just because your kids are on the development team of an organization like the Prospects, it's not a bad thing, right? You're surrounded by good baseball players, good coaches who are going to be invested in your kid and make him better, and they're not just going to tell you what you want to hear, and I think that's really, really important, right? Yeah, and another thing, going back to that, to trust the process as well, you know, I could go, I could go name after name with those kids, and, you know, 11, 12, you know? At that 13, those kids ended up playing ProBase, you know? It's because, you know, whether they were baseball players, they kept at it, they had a chip on their back, or whatever, so you just have to trust the process, whatever, whatever plan in front of you, trust that process, but, absolutely, it's up to the kid, you have to put in the work. Yeah, and I think, you know, we're going to get into this a little bit more about having realistic expectations about, you know, what you're up for, right? And understanding that, you know, this career for your son is a marathon, not a sprint, and, you know, I was listening to a podcast the other day, it was a soccer podcast, but they were talking about how the U.S. soccer program is, purposely, not taking the most talented, the biggest pre-teen, or pre-pubescent, 13-year-old in their national programs, they're looking for the most projectable kids, because in soccer it's different from baseball, when, you know, the U.S. team, baseball, they have to win 12-year-olds, so they're going to take the best, the biggest kid, right? In soccer, they're looking for a program that develops kids over time, so that 12-year-old, when he's 19 or 20, can play in the World Cup for the U.S. team, right? And, so, the people in our sport, for me, are the college coach or the pro team, right? What they're looking for, at a young age, even in high school, is, you know, are you constantly improving or are you staying the same?Right? If you're that 12-year-old who's going to throw 80 kilometers per hour, you're throwing 80 kilometers per hour when you're 16 years old, right? And, so, understanding as a parent, this is a stepping stone, a ladder, and like you said, I think all of us who have been in the game for a long time, we have a litany of names we could pull from our heads, of kids who weren't the best when they were 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, even if you look at the big leagues today, if you look at Team USA, if you look at, you know, Scooble, if you look at Miller and all these guys who, you know, will tell you they were late developers, right? So at the end of the day, you want to be your best later in life, not at the beginning, so trust the process, find someone you trust.

The prospects do a good job in both areas. So we talked about player development for a bit, what is real player development to you, both from the field and also from a kind of responsibility standpoint at the organizational level? When I think about real player development, I think about the whole player development, and not just from a skill standpoint, but football intelligence, instincts, as a player in general, and that's what we've been trying to instill here in recent years when, you know, we've been able to get our players on the field. You know, we have, you know, maybe we have that kid who, you know, can throw you from right field, can throw you from third base to right field, the kid has a weapon, but, okay, now you understand, player, you know, what's the right game there? And it's like, you know, everyone has a great arm, but what do you have between your eyes? And that's, you know, more and more colleges are looking, hey, is this kid coachable? Do you understand the basics, you know, of what we're trying to do here? And I think, you know, to talk a little bit about how we can help prepare the kids for high school baseball as well, because as it is, you know, you have a lot of great high school coaches here, but you have some who are high school science teachers who have been doing this for 20 years, and he didn't play the game at a high level, he doesn't really understand it, so how can we help him as a coach to better develop players coming up through his ranks? So we, in that way, and having communication with those kids, what are we trying to do with the player? But, you know, it's a lot, between years, it's, you know, baseball, EQ, instincts, and obviously the tools.

Yes, absolutely. And from an organizational standpoint—and maybe you're doing this now, maybe not, maybe it's something you want to look at doing—how are you giving that support to the parents and players? How do they understand where they stand and, you know, what their path forward is? Well, we want to establish a baseline as quickly as possible, and that's generally in trial or soon after, and as we progress into next week, like getting touchpoints on some of those measurable metrics, and then, you know, at the end of March and April, before we have to let them go back to high school, or, as it's called in baseball, middle school, like, see, okay, where did we get to? And then we have to adjust that plan. If we didn't see the kinds of improvements we were hoping for, well, let's look at ourselves. Was it something we did wrong? Did we not have that player more accountable? What was he doing in his own space, behind the scenes, when nobody was watching? So it's a sort of collection of data that we're going to look at if that child didn't progress as they should have.

Yes, I think that's a good point. What you just said is, you know, programs, you know, training facilities, whatever, you know, most of the time you're going to the top, you know, maybe three times a week, you know, typically, maybe two practices, right? And so, for the players to understand that, you know, what you can do on a daily basis, right? To improve your game is really, really important, right? The tools are going to give you, but only the person who, you know, grabs the key or, you know, puts the key in is going to be the one who's successful, right? So you have to use those tools. Why do they do it for so long? We only have to nephew someone, you know, an office, you know, our plan has to be very strong, but we also have to have a kind of backup plan for when things aren't going well on the ground with them. Yes, 100%.

And we'll talk a little bit at the end about some of the tools that, you know, they provide us with, that might help you do that at scale across your organization. So let's spend some time talking about growth and future vision for your organization. Two questions here.

What does sustainable growth look like to you? And how do you balance, you know, local roots with, you know, big ambitions for, you know, growth across the country? Yes, it's... Can I repeat the question? Yes. What does sustainable growth look like to you? And then, how do you balance, you know, the local roots you have and started with the ambitions to, you know, take this nationally, essentially? Right. I think sustainable growth first with retention.

You know, we've been very fortunate; I've had a bit of a knack with that method for the last few years. We're at around 80% retention right now. We want to be at 90%+.

We're growing that way, so that's positive. You know, locally, you know, like when we started as Indiana Prospects back in the early 2000s with, you know, a couple of teams. You know, we still have those values ​​of, hey, we're, the mothership is based in Indiana.

You know, we have several players from all over the country playing for us here at the mothership. You know, it's about maintaining those Indiana values, where we came from, the talent that initially came to the table, and that's really our barometer of who we want to continue being. And how do you create that across the different age groups, throughout the entire organization? You know, what we do with the affiliate model—12 affiliates in 10 states across Canada—is really replicate the success we had, and that's the model we built in Indiana, and we replicate that across the country.

You know, they're going to have their own flavor, they know that very well, but how can we get some best practices, some lessons, and really learn from that and be able to make that affiliate, or help make that affiliate as robust as we are here on the mothership? Yes, I love it. And so, where do you want to see this organization in 3 or 5 years? You know, I think it's going to continue to grow. We've grown quite a bit in the last 3 years.

I think it's going to continue to grow, but, you know, I'm not looking to be the biggest organization in the country. That's not the goal. I've been very selective about scaling slowly with the right people, for the right reasons, because, you know, I've spoken to a lot of people over the year, very interested people, and I can tell, you know, within the first 10-15 minutes of a conversation, are they sincere about this? Is this someone I want to work with? Is it all about the money, or is it about the child? And that's how I prefer the conversation.

First and foremost, you have to be a tree of faith, because you're going to wear the uniform, you're going to use the products, obviously, but it has to be about the child, it has to be about creation. I want to see, what are you currently planning? What are you doing? How can we increase that? So it's going to be slower growth, but it's going to be growth in the right way, because, you know, we don't want to add anyone in, because there are going to be challenges we don't want to face. And we're going to call it what it is.

Today, here, you know, at the end of January 2026, we know, we have a global brand that we need to maintain. We have a partnership with current sports that we need to maintain. So, you know, there's more responsibility on our hands than there ever has been.

It's very important. Yes. And it is important.

And, you know, again, one of the things that makes us really great at Curvesports is, you know, these shared ideas and working together and being stronger together. And I think one thing that really struck me there is, you know, people are what matter, right? If you have the right operators across the country who want to be part of something bigger, you know, every time you go to an ABCA or whatever, you know, a gathering of coaches from all over the country, and you hear, you often hear a lot of the same things, right? The same issues, the same desires, right? From the grassroots. And so, again, our goal at Curvesports is to listen to those people, you know, to provide a platform through our clubs like The Prospects, for them to come together to be part of something that's bigger than what you're doing today, so that we can all make a change in this industry and start putting it back the way it should be, right? And that's the subjective theme here at Curvesports and the alliance of what we want to do.

So finding the right people, not just at your level, but, you know, even the guys who are running 10-team organizations across the country who are doing a great job and want to be part of something bigger, you know, this is their opportunity to be a part of that, and, you know, through someone like you. So what excites you most about, you know, the next chapter and the next iteration of The Prospects? And, hopefully, that will involve maybe an answer to the question of why you decided to join the Curvesports alliance. You know, it's funny because if you hadn't reached out to me, I would have reached out to you because, you know, I've done due diligence with you guys, and I'm sure you do due diligence with us.

It just comes, you know, starting with the franchise, you know, with the franchise group status with Marucci Ferg. We've been with him for 11 years now, and knowing that there's another entity out there like you that can add value to what we're doing... You know, it was a mess. I'm excited about what we've been doing at Boots on the Ground over the last few years from a development and growth perspective.

Now we're able to collaborate with you and the added value you bring. I feel like, you know, our offering is as strong as it can be, and that's what excites me. What's the future? Well, you know, we need to get everyone excited about what you have to offer, and that's not always easy, but, you know, we have to do our part to get everyone on board and really take advantage of your offerings.

But, you know, moving forward, it's just the continued added value of partnerships like Marucci, like you, you know, that brings it kind of full circle. And I feel like we have something to offer that most organizations don't. Yes, 100%.

So, you know, when we talk about, you know, the offerings we have, I know, let's back up a bit, we talked about player development and how difficult it is to potentially scale, you know, through an organization. Are there other things specifically within the CurveSports offering and the app that you thought would help you scale that and that you're looking forward to using? Absolutely, the library, you know, I'll talk specifically about the scaling instruction. You know, we've addressed that before and often because we saw a kind of deficiency with our players in general.

So we took that instruction into account and broke it down. And now we're going to go through the others to see what's actionable right now. Where do we need to fill it in right now? So, you know, there's a lot there.

We need to go through that, what it means for us, what it means for different age groups. But absolutely, the offers are things that, and we have some things we can add.

We can also add to the app things we've used in the past, but it's just an information platform, video, and instructions. It's amazing. So, a couple more questions here.

These are the funniest ones for me. We'll start with the biggest. If there was something like a traveling football commissioner and you'd signed up for it, what would be the first thing you'd do? I'd roll out a non-negotiable, universal code of conduct that players and parents would sign.

That would be where we'd start. What area would that code of conduct focus on? What problems do you see? Let's play the game the right way. Let's respect the game.

We're going to respect the opponent. The players' fans, the parents' fans, whatever, we're going to act accordingly. We're going to go back to the way we were, where it's more bearable.

We're going to encourage our players, we're going to support our players. But I'm a bit old-fashioned. We're going to go back to the way we used to be.

I love it. And often, if you can fix the attempt, many of the other problems you could answer with that question can be fixed. I think one thing our founder, Sandy Ogg, says a lot, which I've taken from him, is that your values ​​need to be aligned before you can create any kind of value.

And in today's sports, focusing on the values ​​of the parents, the players, the organizations, is super important. And trying to return to some kind of, if we can, some form of loyalty between... It's a two-way street, too. I'm a parent.

I know my perspective on all this has changed a lot since becoming a father of athletes. At the end of the day, the parent, the player, and the consumer should all be getting the most out of a situation. But also, if the organization does a good job, like you said, they'll get 80% of the attention, trying to focus on getting the other 90%.

That tells me that the parents feel they're getting their values ​​from you. And it's probably because their values, the parents' values, and your values ​​are aligned. And finding those kinds of people is incredibly important.

Two more questions here. One will be about player development and skills. The other will be more from a leadership perspective.

What, in your mind, is the most underrated skill in baseball, and something you've seen kids have that has propelled them to be more successful than perhaps their skill set might indicate? I think one of the simplest is just playing baseball. I think a lot of that is instinct, baseball IQ, but absolutely work on it. I think a lot of kids have probably forgotten that, they don't have the time to do it, they haven't gotten around to doing it.

Come on, Pache, hit it. Don't hit it. I think it's huge.

Kids who play baseball have good instincts. I think you're off the mark. Yeah, and if... I'm sure if you interviewed a bunch of schoolboys, one of the first things they probably have to teach—I'm not even saying re-teach, but they probably have to teach—is how to pitch baseballs properly.

And I couldn't add more to that. Knowing when it's time to move from first to third place and make those tough tournaments happen. And even for kids who think baseball is boring, one thing I always tell them, especially for school kids trying to get exposure, is that if a school bus comes around, you're a hitter, he'll come watch you play.

If you're lucky, maybe you'll get 15 strokes. That's really luck. Most of the time they're just trying to make a call and get 5 to 10 strokes.

So maybe, in, let's say, 10 shots, maybe in those 10 shots, you're 4 for 10, you're doing great. You have 4 shots, and maybe you hit twice. So, now you have 8 bullets in play.

In my mind, it's eight opportunities to show how fast you can run home to first, how fast you can run around the bases. Those are the things that college kids are always looking for, and I think the parents and players don't always understand. It's the moment when they get that clean hit, that right-handed hitter gets that clean hit on the 5-6, and he just takes a nice stroll around first base.

Sometimes, yes, that's great. That's a good thing to do. We're not telling you to give up.

But the kids who are watching you play also get the mindset that it's time for me to show what I can do, to play the game hard, and to play the game the right way. Actually, I have two more for you. What do you think is the biggest myth in youth baseball? The U-Kid Stad 12 is going to be a Stad 16.

We've talked about this before. I love Stad Blumers. I've seen so many cases where we've had players like that.

They were the best version of themselves at 12-13 years old. Former Blumers, full Beards. That's real.

I think a lot of those kids have jumped ship. They've been the best players on the field for so many years. They're not continuing to work hard.

I think there's a lot of truth to that. Yes, 100%. Last question.

For you, as the leader of your organization, and likely a leader in your community and in the things you do, what defines being a leader? What does being a leader mean to you? In my case, I think I'm very fortunate to have the team I have with TJ Weir, Hayden Hines, and Austin Stout. These guys are very passionate. They're capable.

And they believe in their goals. And I believe my job is to help them improve. Perhaps that means sharing information, mentoring, coaching.

But I believe that leadership and success are on my side; if I do better, I'll do my job. Absolutely. You have a phenomenal team, guys you really care about.

Not only, as you said, Mother Earth, but also the opportunity we've had to integrate and have conversations with the guys who are running your partnerships. A lot of good people throughout the team. And the kind of people that, as you know, we want to be involved with in sports.

And we feel we can make a big difference in this industry moving forward. So, Chad, I definitely appreciate the time today. Welcome to Allegiance and Cur Sports.

And I'm looking forward to the next few years of exciting moments and growth for both of us. Me too. I'm grateful for the opportunity.

I appreciate you having me, Owen.

How Dakota Selects saved thousands and brought teams closer with Engine

The Problem

Dakota Selects runs a busy fall program that picks up immediately after the Fargo Youth Baseball summer season. This means the team’s travel logistics need to shift quickly between different tournaments, locations, training programs, and rosters. Coordinating blocks through traditional “stay-to-play” models often created challenges: limited flexibility, locked-in contracts, and a lot of manual work for a small volunteer-led staff.

They needed a solution that would help simplify coordination, and free up time for coaches and volunteers, without adding complexity or overhead. 

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The Evaluation

Dakota Selects first learned about Engine through their partnership with The CURVE Sports Allegiance membership, an organization that connects elite youth programs with trusted vendors and partners. After exploring Engine’s platform, the team was immediately drawn to its no-contract model, and focus on real savings. Not to mention the UI was simple and easy to use, so there were no concerns about sharing this out to families and volunteers.

“The cost savings were the biggest thing,” they shared. “We’ve already saved close to $30,000 for families and around $8,000 for coaches and staff rooms—just from bookings.”

While they had experience using other platforms like SaxSports under the SportsConnect umbrella and local CVB partnerships, Engine stood out for its ease of use and responsive support.

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The solution

With Engine, Dakota Selects can now manage all of their team travel through one simple, easy-to-use platform. Families can book directly using custom travel links, ensuring that everyone stays together while still getting competitive rates. Not only does this help save the families money and headaches, the athletes are able to stay closer together, fostering better relationships between teams and players. Engine’s group travel tools make it easy to coordinate across tournaments, while its customer success team provides fast, personal support whenever issues arise.

“The communication from the Engine team has been awesome,” said the team. “Ashley and the support staff have been great—any time we’ve had a hiccup, it’s been resolved quickly.”

They also appreciated Engine’s flexibility, allowing families to book independently while still benefiting from the organization’s negotiated rates and rewards.

‍

The Impact

Since adopting Engine, Dakota Selects has seen measurable results in just a few months. The organization has saved families over $30,000 and reduced its own travel expenses by another $8,000, all while making trips smoother and easier to coordinate.

“Engine has completely changed the way we handle travel. Families are saving money, our kids are staying together, and we’re putting those savings back into the program. The process is smoother, the experience is better, and it just makes sense. At this point, if you’re not using Engine, you’re doing it the hard way.”

Through The CURVE Sports Allegiance membership partnership, Dakota Selects also receives Platinum-level Engine Rewards, using points to offset coach travel and reinvest in the program. Beyond the savings, families now stay together more often, creating stronger bonds between players and coaches, an outcome that aligns perfectly with the program’s mission to grow both on and off the field.

CURVE Sports sits down with Tony Crivello of NorCal Baseball — one of the most respected programs in youth baseball.

From its origins in 1992 to producing MLB talent like Jimmy Rollins, Pat Burrell, Dontrelle Willis, and Xavier Nady, NorCal has built a legacy grounded in doing things the right way.

Tony shares:

• The origins and growth of NorCal Baseball

• The philosophy behind developing complete athletes

• How tradition and work ethic shape their culture

• The importance of relationships over transactions

• Where the program — and the game — is headed next

  
  

This is a conversation about more than baseball — it’s about building players for life. Stronger Together.

All right, buddy, thanks for joining me again. My name is Matt Gerber. I'm the executive director of the Allegiance and Curve Sports.

Got with me today, an exciting guest, Tony Cravalho with NorCal Baseball. Tony, I appreciate you joining me today. Yeah, thanks.

I appreciate you guys taking the time and getting to know us a little bit better. Awesome. So let's jump right in.

Obviously, NorCal has been around for a really long time. But can you tell us the origin stories of NorCal Baseball and then how you got involved? Yeah, sure. So really, how it began was way, way back in like early 90, like 93, 94.

Excuse me. My partner, Rob Bruno, was actually a scout for the Angels at the time, and he created what we called the NorCal Angels. At the time, it was kind of a scout team before there were really some scout teams.

And it was, you know, one of those kind of deals where he went out and recruited a whole bunch of guys to play. And then there wasn't a lot of teams to play during that time. So it was pretty much going around and playing the junior colleges during the fall and playing some teams around the country that they could find during that.

And so I think we actually during the early days, too, like we would play like the little league allstar teams who were getting ready for the tournament. Like so whoever we could find, that's who we would play. Because back then, baseball wasn't what it is now.

And so at some point, he actually came and recruited my brother. I have a younger brother who played, played at Bishop Fresno State. And then he recruited my younger brother.

And I had just kind of finished up some schooling and realized that I wasn't going to be playing baseball any longer. But I still loved being around the game. Love the idea of being on the field.

It's hard to give up. And so he asked me if I was interested in helping. And I said, sure.

You know, I again, I didn't have a whole lot to do. And this was something that was important to me. And so we actually coached together that first year in 1995 after Rob had kind of done his thing for a couple of years with the Angels and the Black, he called them the NorCal Black Sox.

And so we kind of met up in 95, coached together. I thought coaching was super easy because that first year we had Jimmy Rollins playing shortstop and Xavier Nade playing third base. You know, we had all these guys.

I think there was like eight or nine guys in the big pro players at the time. So I thought, coaching, this is cool. But obviously, as you get a little bit older, you're on another team.

Just not. But that's how it started. And then the next year, we both kind of did a team and they just kind of grew from there, honestly, from where we were.

But that's that's how it began was one team. We coached together. We actually won during that time.

It was the AAU was the big event. We went back and we won the AAU 16-U World Series. And like I said, it's I thought it was easy.

I thought we'd be winning all the time. But things change from time to time. Well, you definitely probably thought one thing is probably the best team, one of the best teams you probably ever had was the first year.

It definitely was one of our best. When we try to rank some of our best teams of all time, obviously, that that group is is right there. You know, we've got a couple more that definitely compete with that team for sure.

But like I said, that was you have some all time great guys on that group. So if we go back to 95, then at that time, you know, what problem were you trying to solve by bringing together a team and kind of parlaying off of that? Like, when did you start to kind of realize that this might become like a program? And what was your vision for that program? Well, I think it was initially, you know, after that first time we coached together, Rob and myself, you know, we kind of understood or we talked a little bit about like what what it was, why we did it. And really, the initial thing was the scout part of it, right? With OK, let's put together these teams, because there were some scout teams back then, you know, the Dodger down south and, you know, the Angels, stuff like that.

So you definitely had some some scout teams that were around and you had teams starting to pop up. You know, I like club teams. And so this was an opportunity for us to start drawing some of the Northern California talent.

I mean, I think a lot of people don't understand how good baseball is in Northern California in the sense of the history up here. I think everything's California, Southern California, things like that. But when you start talking about the greatest players from California, you're talking about Bay Area, right? I mean, you're talking about some of the greats.

And so it was an opportunity for us to kind of open up some of these these avenues for some of these kids. And in reality, what was funny was that, you know, when we started, we were pulling a lot of kids from, you know, like Lowell, from, you know, Oakland, from places like that, where we actually thought this was an opportunity for kids who maybe weren't going to get it. Oakland Bay, Ruth, at the time, was, you know, like this powerhouse, you know, and they had a great history and they still do.

Like, they still have this kind of like draw of, you know, like, man, what you have all this ability in the area and stuff, and they were awesome. And we just thought this was a great way to help maybe some of those kids that, you know, there were Jimmy Rollins. Right.

But they were good players. And so it was an opportunity for that. And as it as a program grew, we got more and more interest for some players.

And then Robin, myself, I think, just kind of thought this is something pretty good here. We feel like we're making a difference in some of these kids' lives. And I know for myself, I know for Rob, too, but I've always, you know, I've always kind of felt that, you know, I'm a religious guy.

I'm a believer in Christ. And it's something where I feel like, you know, God puts something in your soul and your heart to be to be a mission out there. And it just so happened I was lucky enough that I felt like it was baseball.

So outside of just the games, it created great relationships with players. And, you know, I'd hope to, you know, think that a lot of these players, when they think back about playing for me or playing for Rob or whatever it is, it's like, hey, they helped me with baseball. They helped me understand things that made me a better player.

But honestly, they made me a better person. And that all my players knew, like, hey, yeah, Coach Tony's not perfect. You know, none of us are.

But at least we knew he cared about us and he had our best interests. And he he was an example for me, you know. And so we take a lot of pride in that more than we ever do.

We always say like, yeah, we love the fact that we've had gold glovers and MVPs and all these pro guys. That's awesome. And again, that's that's ego driven stuff.

But at the end of the day, when I stop or when I think about what I really do, it really comes down to like, man, we have awesome teachers and lawyers and firemen, you know, all these things. These guys that are giving back and they talk about this stuff. And so being able to affect lives like that is, man, I I feel blessed every day that I'm allowed to do it.

Yeah, 100 percent. And I think that resonates. And buddy, I've gotten to do a couple of these, obviously, over the years with groups that are involved with us.

And I think that that's the one thing that rings true is that the people that have done this for a really long time and are sustainable in the industry do it because they care and they have passion. And it's just it's such a refreshing thing to hear, honestly. So so let's parlay that into, you know, we kind of define your why.

But, you know, as a club, could you describe your culture or what it means to be play for NorCal in a couple of words, two, three words? Yeah, I mean, we we we call it our hashtag, OKG, our kind of guys. You know, we we have a certain type of player. And I don't mean like physically.

Like, I mean, yes, we have elite players of that. But we're talking about the type of players who are, you know, way back in the day. You know, it used to be a way your palms down or a palms up guy.

We want the guys that are palms down, right? Guys that are scratchy and clawing, not the guys that have their hand out saying, what can you guys do for me? You know, we we spent a lot of time with players and families and we've turned away a lot of players because we have that conversation and no fault of anybody's. But you can tell sometimes when a family's and what can NorCal do for me? And it's like, that's that's a valid question. But maybe not the first question.

Maybe the question should be like, hey, how do we partner together? What can you do to help us? And, you know, we leave our in it. We live our gene, our dreams, things like that. Like we want to be part of the journey.

We don't want to be a little box to check off on your way to do something else. And we want people committed. And I tell every single person that I invite to play for us that we expect a commitment from you because I'm committing myself to you and your family.

Like I'm saying that you're part of NorCal. When you call me, I'm going to answer. Maybe not right away because we get busy, but I'm going to try to help in every way I can.

So we just ask for that back. And honestly, our culture has been that way. We have players who come to us and say, hey, coach, this guy's not an OKG.

He just isn't. Doesn't mean you're a bad person. It just means he doesn't fit with what we do.

Yeah. And yeah, I love it. Would you would you describe NorCal as development first, exposure first or something else when you're talking about your identity and your culture? Our number one thing is developing.

I mean, we we take good players. We take players that are OK. I think Rob and I and our staff does a really good job of projecting.

So we get a lot of those eighth grade boys that come and play for us. Those players that come and play like, yeah, are they the best players right now? The answer is no. You come out to our elite league and you'll see, you know, 60 kids and you'll see maybe 20 that you're like, hmm, I'm not sure about this kid.

But, you know, we see long arms, high waist. We see kids who are like growing. We see a parent who's six, three.

We see all of these things. So we're willing to develop and like take time. I tell kids in eighth grade, I said, guys, we want to win because we're competitive as heck and we're going to do everything we can.

But let me tell you something. What we care about is when you are in your sophomore or junior year and it really matters, we want to make sure you're ready. So we want to develop you.

So, yeah, if your number one goal is to win the elite tournament championship for eighth and ninth and tenth grade, like that's not what our focus is. Yes, we want to win. Yes, we're going to try.

But we're not going to sacrifice our player development to win a game. You know, yeah, we're we're about development. 100 percent first.

We are true believers in especially nowadays. People will find you if you are good. But schools will find you pros will fight.

That's their job, right? So, yeah, we're development first. And I said the exposure part comes with the fact that we've been around when Rob and myself call coaches. They know they're getting a legit evaluation of a student and a player like we're not going to we're not salesman.

Yeah, and I think most families out there, it's really important to hear that because most families out there, you know, think that it's the the team that they're on within an organization or whatever it might be. Right. That's going to get them recruited.

And first of all, you have to have the requisite skill set set and you need to surround yourself with people like you guys. Right. Like Rob, like you, Tony, that can pick up a phone call phone.

And, you know, whether it's, you know, top end division one or, you know, division three, that when that phone rings, they know that they're getting somebody that they can trust and is going to tell them the truth. I say all the time recruiting is about relationships. It really is.

Right. Yeah. Do that across the board.

So I think that's something that parents that see this and listen to this, you know, need to continue to internalize. It's important to put your son with an organization like NorCal, with people that have a proven track record of delivering the the end goal result that you're looking for. So I want to ask a couple more questions on the development stamp from a development standpoint here, because development's a term that can get tossed around a lot, you know, in our world.

What what does real player development mean to you? And if I were a parent of a player coming to you and saying, hey, I want you to develop my kid, like what would that look like in real time as I play for NorCal? Yeah. So one of the first things that we try to do is we try to explain to families and parents like, hey, we all have a dream, right? You wouldn't be contacting us. We wouldn't be part of this if you didn't have a dream.

And our kid has a passion for the game of baseball. So the first thing we do is we try to say, OK, let's let's look at what it is you want, right? Hey, I want to be a pro. I want to play college.

That's all awesome. Let's let's set that dream because we didn't have dreams. We wouldn't work for stuff.

But what we want to do is also start setting the realization. Let's take a look at what does it look like as a player size wise, right? Physicality, things like that. Let's start to like really hone in on, OK, I want to play Division one baseball. OK, well, what position do you play? All right. Well, I'm a center fielder. OK, well, do you run at what's what's your what's your 60 time? If you're telling me you're a seven one, like, look, man, you're not playing center field in Division one baseball.

Like the average time is somewhere around six, seven, right? I mean, like you have to be unbelievable as far as routes and all that kind of stuff to be a you know, above a six nine. So physicality, I say, hey, one thing you should do, go watch a J.C. game. Look at the size out there, right? I mean, things like that.

And then we say, OK, how fast are you? How strong are you? Things like that. So we can start to set that bar for you, what it's going to look like. Right.

Bigger, faster, stronger. Those types of things. Secondly, it's about the mental side, right? We start working mental side stuff immediately because that's what's that's the separator.

If everybody runs a six, eight, you know, if everybody runs a six, eight, what is it that makes you different? Right.

If everybody takes 500 swings a night or whatever it is, everybody's training nowadays. Right. So now the separator, which used to be physicality, athleticism. Well, now we've got all kinds of physical athletes playing baseball. What's the separator on the mental side? How do you recover? Right.

How quickly do you recover as far as like when something doesn't go your way? And so that's how we start with the development. And then we say, all right, we're going to take that into the game. Right.

Here's some skills we've been working on. We have, you know, mental side coaches that we we offer up to our our our families and players. I think that we just had a series with D.L. Martin, who she met with a lot of, you know, did some zoom calls with people and talked about what it takes to be a elite athlete mentally.

You know, we spent we used to spend a lot of time with, you know, Alan Jaeger and the mental side of breathing and all these types of things. So even way back when we were before we had all this information, it was about learning how to breathe, learning how to live in the moment. And now that we've I guess you can say all that has grown and there's more information available.

We've tried to stay on top of it and offer that stuff up to our families. Like, are you the mentally strongest person on your team? The answer should be, I'm not the strongest. I'm right there with them.

So, yeah, that's that's one of the developments. Like, so we want to make you complete. We're going to get you.

We're going to play 100 games. That's not development. That's learning how to try to play a game, not how to prepare for a game, not to be the best at a game.

You know, that's just that's like trying to play chess and no one ever explained to you how chess works. You just got to move the pieces around. I'm moving the pieces around like we want you to understand there's a strategy behind it.

And that means training physically, mentally. What games do I play? What events do I go to? All of that matters nowadays when it talks about development. Yeah, I love that.

Great answer. One more question on the development side. And you kind of answered it, but I want to dig a little bit deeper here because you've got such a wealth of knowledge when it comes to this.

What do players need off the field to succeed on the field? So number one, you need support, especially young, right? I mean, because if you're talking about you can't drive, you can't do things like that. You need some parents that are going to support or guardians, whoever you're with, right? An aunt, an uncle, a coach, someone who's going to be supportive of you. Because it's true.

I'm in education. So I've been in education my whole life. And so I always come from this kind of like education background.

I was always alt ed. And so these kids who maybe didn't have everything. Right.

And so they ended up making bad choices. But that's OK. Let's see what happens when we give you support.

And it's amazing what happens when a kid knows someone believes it. Right. So development itself starts with like, OK, do I have someone who believes in me a little bit and can help support? And if they don't, let's try to find how we can make that happen for you.

And then what they really need at this point is a plan. Right. How to prepare.

Like I said, going back to that. How do I prepare to be the best? OK. If I'm not going to be big, OK, but I need to be quick then.

Right. If I'm not going to be if I'm not going to, you know, throw ninety five, whatever it is, well, how can I be the best whenever I am at? There's something called the capability gap. And I didn't make it up.

I stole it. Right. I heard it years ago.

And I know that, you know, Nick Saban and some of my favorite coaches, you know, Jimmy Johnson, all these guys talk about the capability gap. And that's kind of what I base off. Hey, look, our job is to try to develop you in the sense that whatever you are capable of, whatever that is, how do we get you there? I can't I can't make a kid a six, seven runner.

We can train for it. Doesn't mean you can get there. Yep.

What are you capable of? If you are physically capable of running a six nine, then let's get you to six nine. So if we can make every player, if we can close that capability gap for all of our players, we're good. And you are as good as you're going to be.

And that's our goal. So you want to be good on the field. You have to close whatever what your capability gap is.

OK. And so that means training mental. How many players have we seen that are absolutely studs but are mental midgets and their game eventually stops? So that your gap is mental.

So that's that's where our focus needs to be for you to be an on the field beast. Yeah. And would you say in, you know, in all the years you've done this, the guys that have made it to the upper echelons of the game, it's it's a lot to do.

Obviously, they've got the physical capabilities that but they've been able to fill that capability gap because of their mental awareness. Absolutely. I mean, we've had some really great shortstops, and that's I mean, if you talk about, you know, you talk about Jimmy Rollins, you talk about Brandon Crawford, Troy Tulewitski, and we know Kevin Kramer.

These guys, they were the smartest guys on our team. They had the biggest baseball IQ. We always thought like we mean, Rob, always that like Jimmy Rollins was the third or fourth fastest guy on our team.

But he was the best base runner. He could always steal a base. He could always do those things because he just had the IQ.

He could read things. He just had that. You know, same thing with Brandon Crawford, like super athlete, no doubt.

I mean, his physical ability could take him. But there's a reason why he played that long. I mean, when he was with us, he was the smartest guy.

When he was at UCLA, he was probably the smartest guy. When he was with the Giants, let's face it. I mean, how many plays did you watch Brandon Crawford and go, whoa, that's pretty special.

That's not because he just randomly did it. That's because he's he's playing chess or something like that's going on. So 100 percent, it's it's the mental side that separates.

So let's talk a little bit now, kind of transitioning back to NorCal as an organization. You guys have been doing this since 1995 Trailblazers, obviously in the industry. Where do you want NorCal to be in three to five years? And then, you know, to add on to that at the end is, you know, what kind of legacy do you hope to leave with all the work that you've done with NorCal? Yeah, so it's you know, it's it's an ever changing man.

But this this last few years has been like on hyperspeed with the way this the game's changing. The landscape of youth baseball is changing, especially when you're starting to talk about it was trickling down. Right.

From from pro to college now, when you have, you know, the portal and all this kind of stuff that like, honestly, it kind of stinks for kids that they have to start dealing with all this, that they feel as an eighth grader, a ninth grader, a tenth grader that you need an advisor now, like an advisor to play baseball. And I don't I don't know if it's good or bad. I don't try to cast on like I don't want to be the old guy who yells at clouds and says, back in the day, you just played, you know, things like that.

But but what I also want, I want to be we want to be obvious about that and then be conscious of what's happening. But for us, I think trying true like now we're just going to keep developing guys. We're going to adjust the landscape like we always have.

You know, back in the seven to eight years ago, like when they were recruiting eighth graders. Yeah, we had to take our young teams to events that they had to go to. Right, because that's what it counted.

I love the fact that at least they moved it back now to, you know, you can't get recruited. You can't really have conversations to that till after your sophomore year.

I would love for it to go back to their junior year. Yeah, because what we've done like the last few years with our young guys, you know, eighth grade and freshman is we talk to our families a lot about, hey, we're going to focus on your development because in reality, like you don't need to do a lot of those things around the country anymore because they can't recruit you anyway. Yeah. And remember, coaches have to recruit their own team.

Number one, that's number one. And college coaches have to recruit their team.

Yeah. Number two, portal. Right. Number three, JC, because all those guys that normally would go to campus are at JC now and then high school.

So the pecking order has changed. Yes, the top guys are still going to go, of course. But those mid-range guys who normally would have gotten recruited pretty heavily are now, you know, struggling.

So we're adjusting to that, trying with our families. So where do we want to be in five years? Where we are right now, we still feel like we're in the top program. There's some great programs out there that have been around for a long time.

You know that, you know, CBA and GBG. And, you know, I mean, there's a bunch of me up here.

We have, you know, like the Zoots do a great job up here. And Eric and the CCB guys and, you know, Adam over at the Alpha and those guys, they're all good programs. They do great things for kids. We just always want to be in that group.

And we always will. You know, like, yeah, we can all, you know, fight over who's the best ever. And it doesn't really matter.

Honestly, what matters is the players who come through our programs and our groups all have something in common. That's that's the goal to make them the best player in person possible. Yeah, I love it.

Do you feel like the pendulum is, you know, you mentioned, you know, when we started, I would say it was around the AAU circuit and those type of things. But, you know, the pendulum in my mind, you know, I started in travel baseball in 2005, so about 10 years after you. But when I first started, it was, you know, development first.

And, you know, then, like you mentioned, recruiting started happening earlier and earlier. Thanks to Coach Savage out there on the West Coast and Coach O'Sullivan over here on the East Coast. Right.

And then everybody had to follow. And then we had to react, like you said, to then we had to put the players in those situations. And then it became about playing and getting exposure with these new rules.

Two questions. Do you do you think, one, that the pendulum is swinging back to development first? And then, two, how are the parents and the players reacting to that? Do you feel like they're getting up to speed with that or it's taking them some time to realize that they don't necessarily need to chase that exposure so early on? So it's a good question. And I think the the pendulum is set up to swing back to development, meaning like and it's good that that's happening so you can't get recruits a little bit later with the portal and all that kind of stuff.

I think we try to explain and inform our parents that, hey, this is not six, seven years ago, like you really are at a disadvantage if you're a high school player at this point, meaning like you don't have that. The colleges aren't bringing in 12 dudes anymore. They're recruiting class because they don't need it.

Right. Yep. So I think that that's good and bad just because good, because you start to realize, well, I'm going to have to stand out more.

So I've got to focus on my training more. It's not about games. It's about how I play in games.

There is a little more focus where we need to be this like instead of casting this big net, I'm going to go to this event. This is showcase in this showcase. We need to be a little more focused in on the let's go to some school camps and some things like that, that you can really like this is where you could fit.

They have a need for stuff like that. I think that's that's changing in a good way. Parents, on the other hand, when they hear that, sometimes they get they they feel I think they start to get a little desperate, like, well, what's going to happen? And then these guys come in and say, look, I want to be your advisor.

I want to I want to walk you through the next four years. Yeah, I again, I don't know if they need that or not. I just think that.

And again, I don't fault anybody for trying to provide a service that a family is looking for. So nothing wrong with it. But I also think that it's one of those things that if a parent in a family doesn't feel like their club can provide that for them, maybe you're in the wrong group, right? If you can't call me or coach Rob or coach, these guys will coach for us and say, hey, look, we're being asked to go to this event.

Like, should we? And if you don't feel like we can give you a good enough answer or you don't trust our answer, then. You know, I mean, maybe they said maybe it's not the right. I wouldn't want I mean, my son is a junior right now.

And if I wasn't a coach or something, but knowing what I know, like I would want to be able to trust the guy he's playing for and the program he's playing for, right? Like, hey, guys, you got invited to, you know, the, you know, three top top 20. I don't even know, you know, whatever it is.

Sure.

Is this something you should go to? And if they're like, no, man, like, look, he's schools are going to be there, not going to recruit him anyway. Doesn't really matter. Like, I want to be able to trust that.

Yeah. So I think parents are caught in a tough spot because they want to make sure that no one has being a parent. I have twins, actually, a son and a daughter.

They won't play softball. Obviously, my son plays baseball and they're both juniors. So I get the, hey, I'd love for them to keep playing at the next level.

And I think they both can. But I start to realize you start to feel that like urgency of it. Am I doing everything as a parent? I could.

And so I think that's what parents kind of get wrapped into. Like, well, I'm going to hire this guy to come help us because I just want to make sure that I did everything I could. No fault, no foul.

But I still think at the end of the day, it comes down to, like you said earlier, who's going to pick up the phone and call? I'll say Northridge or USD or hey, if you're good enough, you're going to call Stanford and be like, look, this is a kid you guys want. Or if they call us, they know like, hey, this is a kid you want. Like when parents say, hey Tony, can you call Stanford for us or Cal? I'm like, your son's a 2.7. He's not going to either of those schools.

What would you like me to say? I have a kid who could play there, but he can't get in. You know what I mean? So you want people to give you that type of information, not just saying, hey, sure, I'll call anybody you want. Yeah, 100%.

I think the ones that are sustainable in the industry do exactly what you said. They create that trust factor, right? And like you said, I do think there is room. I've seen an upswell of that advisor type of person in the recruiting process.

Not everybody has access to Tony or to, you know, whoever it might be that does a really good job. Yeah, but buyer beware as well, right? With just make sure that I think what I hear is make sure you find somebody that you can trust that has a proven track record of, you know, again, getting kids to that level, right? At the end of the day, that's what you want. Yeah, like I said, I have no problem with guys who come in and help.

Because again, I get like like anything in life, right? Some guys are there for the right reason. This is just what they're doing. Then there's, you know, some guys are capitalizing.

But again, no harm, no foul. Parents want it. I've always said, look, every level way back when, when, you know, people were complaining about, I remember like six, seven years ago, everyone was really complaining about.

I'm watching these tournaments, 12U, and there's like these triple or double A teams that are awful. Why are they even out there? And I'm like, hey, wait a second. Like.

Just because these kids aren't great at sports or great at baseball doesn't mean they don't get to play it. Who are we to say only the players who are good? That to me was, and so for me, if you feel you want somebody, like you said, you don't have access to play on the team that you want, or maybe whatever it is, but you want some help, absolutely. Go find people that can help you.

That goes back to that support system I was talking about. Find whatever supports you can and hopefully it works out for you for sure. Great advice

A couple more questions here. We'll take a couple more minutes of your time if you don't mind. We're going to talk a little bit about the Allegiance and just a couple questions surrounding that.

I know that I talked with Rob for years about the Allegiance, but once you guys kind of got into the weeds with me and started to talk through things, what stood out about the Allegiance model and what do you think being part of this stronger together context means for NorCal? I think you see it play out in all sports, right? And you see it playing out in college football right now, in college baseball. All these sports where you kind of have these leagues, these teams kind of jumping ship and creating these leagues and stuff. Well, same idea here.

Look, again, I love the fact that there's teams everywhere. And I know some people in the business don't like it. They think there's these horrible teams out there and there's teams.

And again, man, that just needs more kids playing baseball. So whatever. And for us, we've always looked at it as the more teams that are out there, the more we're able to stand out.

Because you start to realize, OK, this is clearly better than everything or most things out there, right? And so for years, we've had great relationships with a lot of the groups that are with Allegiance. Like I said, with GBG and CBA and these guys. And we've always done great stuff with them.

And we're always better when we're playing them and when we're doing things with them. And so this is kind of one of those things where it allows us to kind of all walk in together. Yeah, we compete against each other and stuff like that.

But this is a little bit more where, hey, look, we're all part of something. I know that eventually we want to like grow this and it's like, hey, we can have an event where I'll go to and all this kind of stuff. So for us, that's where that was the draw, right? Like we're around good people we trust, right? You know, like John, you know, CBA and Mike was, you know, with GBG and, you know, all these guys on the West Coast that do a really good job.

We've known them for years. You know, we've always had good relationships with them. You know, the guys, you know, back east and stuff

Again, we used to, when we used to go back there, a lot of good relationships with those guys. So, you know, for us, it was just kind of like the right time for that to happen. And so that made sense to try to jump in.

Yeah, love it. Well, we are super excited to have you guys and have people of your, not only obviously of NorCal's caliber, but of your personal caliber being part of rowing our boat to where we want to go at the end of the day. You know, we've put out there in media and we mean it.

We want to find, you know, the 30 best operators across the country that really care about this game and want to move this game in a positive direction. Like you said, I think that, you know, there's a lot of people out there, Tony, that want to, you know, bash all these teams, right? And I'm on the same page as you. Like the other day, we want more kids playing, but we also want more kids under the leadership of people that are going to give them good, solid advice, right? I think bearing out that vision and doing it as a group is something that's really, really exciting to me and I hope for you guys as well.

So that's all my questions for today, Tony. I certainly appreciate the time. And again, the Allegiance is honored and excited to have NorCal join.

I've been looking forward to working closely with you guys as we move forward. Yeah, like I said, we're excited about it. You guys offer a lot

And so, like I said, we're pumped to be part of it. We want to help grow it in any way that we can. And again, we just think good people together with a one clear vision is what baseball is about, what life is about, right? You want to surround yourself with good people so they lift us all up.

And we think that happens with, you know, with something like Allegiance and all the teams involved. So we're pumped and we're excited you guys were part of what we are doing now. All right.

Thank you, Tony. Appreciate your time. You bet.

Have a great day.

The Florida-based organization joins the CURVE Sports platform, expanding development pathways for players and families while reinforcing the company’s operator-led approach to youth baseball.

ORLANDO, FL. April 21st 2026 — CURVE Sports today announced that POWER Baseball has joined the CURVE Sports platform, marking an expansion of the organization’s development ecosystem into Florida, which we believe further strengthens its ability to support long-term player development, club leadership, and sustainable growth across youth baseball.

Power Baseball, a respected development organization known for its disciplined coaching, competitive teams, and commitment to long-term player growth, will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership while gaining access to CURVE Sports’ shared infrastructure, development systems, and technology platform.

The alignment reflects CURVE Sports’ long-term strategy: building a baseball-first operating platform that supports great leaders, preserves local culture, and raises standards across development, operations, and the family experience—without centralized control.

“Power Baseball is exactly the type of organization CURVE Sports was built to support,” said Sandy Ogg, CEO of CURVE Sports. “Brian and his team have built a strong program by focusing on coaching, development, and relationships with families. Our role is to give great operators access to the infrastructure, data, and long-term support that can help programs like Power Baseball to keep growing without losing what makes them special.”

Founded in 2016 by two experienced high school head coaches — Eric Lassiter, Jesse Marlo — alongside training facility owner Brian Dempsey, Power Baseball was created to build an opportunity-focused travel baseball program grounded in transparency, advocacy, and education, guiding families through the recruiting and development process to help foster long-term success at every level of baseball.

Since its founding, the organization has grown beyond its Florida roots to support affiliated Power Baseball programs across multiple regions, including South Carolina, North Carolina, and New York, serving baseball and softball athletes through a growing network of development-focused teams and training programs.

Through the alignment with CURVE Sports, Power Baseball will gain access to expanded resources, including the CURVE Sports Performance Testing system, objective player development data, operational support, and platform-level services designed to reduce administrative burden and improve outcomes for players and families.

For players and families, the partnership enhances access to:

• Clearer development pathways 

• Objective testing and performance insights through advanced player assessments

• Expanded services, events, and recruiting support


• Greater transparency and confidence in development decisions


• Savings programs for travel, hotels, and baseball expenses

Importantly, Power Baseball will remain led by its existing leadership team, with day-to-day operations, coaching philosophy, and culture unchanged.

“We started Power Baseball with a clear goal — build a program centered on development, accountability, and creating real opportunities for players,” said Brian Dempsey, Founder of Power Baseball. “Joining the CURVE Sports platform allows us to continue leading the organization the way we believe it should be run, while gaining access to better systems, performance data, and long-term support that will help us serve our players and families even better across our growing Power Baseball network.”

This announcement builds on the launch of CURVE Sports, which brings together Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Center into a unified ecosystem. The launch of CURVE Sports is supported by a long-term partnership from Weatherford Capital, The Ogg Family, and Matthew Scattarella. Founded by Drew, Sam, and Will Weatherford, Weatherford Capital brings deep experience scaling mission-driven organizations, informed by a lifetime of competitive sports. Their relationship-driven approach—known as The Weatherford Way—prioritizes disciplined process, teamwork, learning, and long-term impact.

“Youth baseball is incredibly fragmented,” said Drew Weatherford, founding partner of Weatherford Capital and co-founder of Collegiate Athletic Solutions. "This dispersion makes it harder for the best programs to reach the players and families who need them most. Brian and his team have built exactly the kind of program that we believe is poised to grow — and CURVE Sports exists to help make that possible, connecting experienced operators to the infrastructure and long-term capital that can help them scale their impact."

“This is how CURVE Sports grows,” Sandy Ogg added. “By partnering with seasoned operators, supporting strong leadership, and expanding the platform in a way that strengthens the game—not fragments it.”

CURVE Sports plans to continue to welcome aligned organizations into its ecosystem as part of its mission to build a stronger, more sustainable future for youth baseball.

Stronger Together isn’t a slogan. It’s how the platform is built.

About CURVE Sports

CURVE Sports is a baseball and softball operating platform designed to strengthen clubs, support long-term player development, and improve the experience for families. By connecting Diamond Allegiance, CURVE Test Centers, and aligned baseball organizations, CURVE Sports provides shared infrastructure, development systems, and reliable data—while preserving leadership, independence, and culture. Visit www.curvesports.com 

About Power Baseball

Power Baseball is a development-focused baseball and softball organization founded in 2016 by experienced high school coaches and training leaders committed to building strong athletes through disciplined coaching and long-term development pathways. Headquartered in Florida, the organization supports a growing network of affiliated programs across multiple regions, including South Carolina, North Carolina, New York, and the Gulf South, providing competitive team opportunities and training programs for athletes across the country. Visit www.powerbsb.com 

About Weatherford Capital

Weatherford Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2015, the Firm aspires to partner with visionary founders and leaders to build enduring companies critical to the long-term growth of the economy, spanning technology, financial services, business services, sports, and public-sector markets. Through a relationship-driven approach rooted in long-term stewardship of capital and deep experience in public-private partnerships, Weatherford Capital seeks to empower organizations to create lasting value in sectors where regulation, governance, and public engagement shape how businesses and consumers operate. For more information, visit WeatherfordCapital.com.

Nothing in this press release is an offer to sell securities.

Media Contact

Tom Judge
Chief Marketing Officer, CURVE Sports
tom.judge@curvesports.com 
760.916.3828

www.curvesports.com

Makes Big Move In Midwest

Curve Sports Makes Big Move In Midwest

The club baseball platform has partnered with Pitch 2 Pitch, a Minnesota-based developmental organization.

The addition follows the blueprint laid out by Curve CEO Sandy Ogg in an interview with Buying Sandlot back in February — P2P will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership, but will gain access to Curve’s developmental systems, infrastructure and tech.

It also sheds further light on Ogg’s vision to establish a network of about 30 “super clubs” nationwide.

P2P will expand its footprint significantly in the next 12-18 months, founder and CEO CJ Woodrow told Buying Sandlot — moving into other parts of Minnesota as well as North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Curve and P2P also plan to build a 180-acre campus in Victoria that will have 20 youth baseball and softball fields, five full-sized baseball fields and a 150K-square-foot indoor facility. The fields will be turf; Woodrow said the complex will make quality competition more accessible and affordable for the region.

"The idea is to create the supply chain and the network across the area so that people are driving 3-4 hours, not 10," he said. "It's going to be the epicenter of our region for everyone to come to and have accessibility options."

Woodrow said USA Softball has already signed on to host events 10 weeks a year; a major soccer club may also partner with the facility.

Curve launched earlier this year, unifying Diamond Allegiance — a club partnership network — and the Curve Test Centers data and metrics assessment platform. The venture is backed by Weatherford Capital.

Ogg, a former Blackstone operating partner, plans to acquire about 100 clubs in total while leaving local culture and leadership untouched, shifting focus back to local competition. Academics are also part of the long-term vision, he said.

Alignment with the respected development organization reinforces CURVE's operator-led platform—enhancing infrastructure, data, and long-term support while preserving leadership and culture.

MAPLE GROVE, Minn., April 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CURVE Sports today announced that Pitch 2 Pitch has joined the CURVE Sports platform, which we believe further strengthens its ability to support long-term player development, club leadership, and sustainable growth across youth baseball.

Pitch 2 Pitch, a respected baseball development organization known for its player-first philosophy, disciplined coaching standards, and strong community relationships, will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership while gaining access to CURVE Sports' shared infrastructure, development systems, and technology platform.

The alignment reflects CURVE Sports' long-term strategy: building a baseball-first operating platform that supports great leaders, preserves local culture, and raises standards across development, operations, and the family experience—without centralized control.

"Pitch 2 Pitch has built something real—strong leadership, a clear development philosophy, and deep trust with families," said Sandy Ogg, CURVE Sports CEO. "This isn't about changing who they are. It's about supporting what they've built and giving them access to a broader platform designed for long-term success."

Founded with a commitment to long-term player development and growth of 'the Millers' teams, while doing things the right way, Pitch 2 Pitch brings on-field expertise and organizational leadership into the CURVE Sports ecosystem. Through this alignment, Pitch 2 Pitch will gain access to expanded resources, including the CURVE Sports Performance Testing system, objective player development data, operational support, and platform-level services designed to reduce administrative burden and improve outcomes for players and families.

For players and families, the partnership enhances access to:

• Clearer development pathways aligned to baseball's long timelines

• Objective testing and performance insights through advanced player assessments

• Expanded services, events, and recruiting support

• Greater transparency and confidence in development decisions

• Savings programs for travel, hotels and baseball expenses.
   

Importantly, Pitch 2 Pitch will remain led by its existing leadership team, with day-to-day operations, coaching philosophy, and culture unchanged.

"We built Pitch 2 Pitch by staying focused on development, relationships, and doing right by players and families," said CJ Woodrow, Founder and CEO of Pitch 2 Pitch. "Joining the CURVE Sports platform allows us to strengthen that foundation—giving us access to better systems, data, and long-term support—while continuing to lead our organization the way we always have."

This announcement builds on the launch of CURVE Sports, which brings together Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers into a unified ecosystem. The launch of CURVE Sports is supported by a long-term partnership from Weatherford Capital, The Ogg Family, and Matthew Scattarella. Founded by Drew, Sam, and Will Weatherford, Weatherford Capital brings deep experience scaling mission-driven organizations, informed by a lifetime of competitive sports. Their relationship-driven approach—known as The Weatherford Way—prioritizes disciplined process, teamwork, learning, and long-term impact.

"Pitch 2 Pitch has earned something that can't be manufactured: genuine credibility with athletes and families, built on disciplined development and consistent leadership," said Drew Weatherford, founding partner of Weatherford Capital and co-founder of Collegiate Athletic Solutions. "In a market as fragmented as youth sports, that kind of trust is rare. CURVE Sports exists to support and scale leaders like CJ and his team, bringing infrastructure, data, and long-term capital behind operators who know how to build it the right way."

"This is how CURVE Sports grows," Sandy Ogg added. "By partnering with experienced operators, supporting strong leadership, and expanding the platform in a way that strengthens the game—not fragments it."

CURVE Sports plans to continue to welcome aligned organizations into its ecosystem as part of its mission to build a stronger, more sustainable future for youth baseball.

Stronger Together isn't a slogan. It's how the platform is built.

About CURVE Sports

CURVE Sports is a baseball and softball operating platform designed to strengthen clubs, support long-term player development, and improve the experience for families. By connecting Diamond Allegiance, CURVE Test Centers, and aligned baseball organizations, CURVE Sports provides shared infrastructure, development systems, and trusted data—while preserving leadership, independence, and culture. Visit www.curvesports.com

About Pitch 2 Pitch

Pitch 2 Pitch is a player development–focused baseball and softball organization committed to building strong athletes, leaders, and teammates through disciplined coaching, clear development pathways, and a player-first culture. Pitch 2 Pitch serves players and families through comprehensive training, competition, and long-term development programs including their team, The Millers. The P2P Millers program is a nationally ranked and recognized organization that competes at the highest levels, with a history of producing college and pro players; 50+ players, on average, go on to play in college annually. For more information, visit www.pitch2pitch.com.

About Weatherford Capital

Weatherford Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2015, the Firm aspires to partner with visionary founders and leaders to build enduring companies critical to the long-term growth of the economy, spanning technology, financial services, business services, sports, and public-sector markets. Through a relationship-driven approach rooted in long-term stewardship of capital and deep experience in public-private partnerships, Weatherford Capital seeks to empower organizations to create lasting value in sectors where regulation, governance, and public engagement shape how businesses and consumers operate. For more information, visit WeatherfordCapital.com.

Nothing in this press release is an offer to sell securities.

Media Contact

Tom Judge
Chief Marketing Officer, CURVE Sports
tom.judge@curvesports.com 
760.916.3828

www.curvesports.com

Inside Curve Sports’ Launch

Sandy Ogg's initial entrance into the youth sports industry was a philanthropy project.

The former Blackstone operating partner launched the Diamond Sports Foundation with his wife after being exposed to access barriers when a group of players from the Bronx joined their son's travel team based in Rye, New York, for a weekend.

"I realized pretty quickly that if we were going to do good and make youth sports, and in this case youth elite travel baseball, more accessible to kids who couldn't afford it, we were going to have to build a business," he told Buying Sandlot. "We were going to have to do well in order to do good in a systematic way."

That process took another big step last week with the launch of Curve Sports with the backing of Weatherford Capital.

The new platform unifies Diamond Allegiance, a national elite baseball club partnership network, and Curve Test Centers, which measures athlete assessments and metrics.

Ogg founded both organizations and will be the CEO of the combined company, which will deploy capital directly to clubs rather than to large-scale tournament operators and other overarching platforms.

"I have felt, and I continue to have even more conviction, that the heart of this is the club," he said. "Because that's where the parents are, that's where the players are, that's where the coaches are. That's where the action happens. ... But they are under-capitalized and underfunded."

Ogg's vision is to have about 30 "super clubs" nationwide and shift focus back on local competition and development. He expects Curve will acquire about 100 total clubs to reach this goal. Diamond Allegiance has about 70 clubs in its network, but it does not own them.

Ogg said Curve has made one acquisition so far and is working through several more— he wants club owners to retain a significant stake and continue day-to-day operations.

Facilities is also a point of emphasis. Ogg expects Curve will mostly acquire/partner with existing, underutilized facilities within its super club footprints. Curve Test Centers tech will be integrated into these facilities, bringing the testing capabilities and data discovery process to the local level (it currently has a facility on-site at LakePoint Sports).

Ogg also hopes to establish academies that pair academics with the clubs. He and Weatherford Capital both have ties to IMG Academy. Ogg is also the board chairman for Nord Anglia Education, a UK-based private school operator with over 100K students in 37 countries.

"Our first priority is to assemble this super club network, and then get the flywheel in place," he said. "We (want to) have the best leaders, the best coaches, the best parents and we're developing the athlete to be everything they can be."

TO READ MORE:

CURVE Sports Launches Unified Platform Combining Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Center

Key Takeaways

• CURVE Sports brings together Diamond Allegiance’s 70+ independent clubs and 15,000+ players with CURVE Test Centers’ athlete testing infrastructure

• Weatherford Capital, a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management, is backing the launch

• The platform builds on more than five years of relationships established by Diamond Allegiance

• Partner clubs retain full independence in leadership and culture while gaining access to shared infrastructure and performance data

• Additional backing comes from The Ogg Family and Matthew Scattarella

A New Operating Model for Youth Baseball

CURVE Sports officially launched February 5, 2026 as a baseball-focused operating platform designed to connect clubs, athletes, families, and performance data under a single ecosystem.

The Tampa-based company combines two existing organizations: Diamond Allegiance, a national network of independent youth baseball clubs, and CURVE Test Centers, which provides objective athlete testing and longitudinal performance tracking.

Sandy Ogg, CEO of CURVE Sports, framed the launch around infrastructure gaps in the current youth baseball landscape.

“Baseball has always been about long-term development, trust, and relationships. But the systems supporting the game haven’t kept pace with its growth.”

The platform is designed to give clubs shared resources without requiring them to give up operational control. According to the company, partner clubs will maintain independence in leadership and culture while gaining access to operating standards, development resources, and performance insights.

What Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers Bring to the Table

Diamond Allegiance has spent more than five years building a national network of high-performing youth baseball clubs. The organization currently includes over 70 independent member clubs representing more than 15,000 players.

The network operates around shared standards for player development and sustainable club operations, but each club retains control over coaching decisions and organizational culture.

CURVE Test Centers adds an objective data layer to the platform. The testing centers provide sport-specific athlete assessments and track performance over time, giving players, families, and coaches measurable benchmarks for development.

By combining these two entities, CURVE Sports aims to create what it calls “coordinated, data-informed development pathways” that align with baseball’s longer development timelines.

Weatherford Capital Leads Investment

The launch is backed by Weatherford Capital, a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. The firm was founded in 2015 by Drew, Sam, and Will Weatherford.

Drew Weatherford, Founding Partner and co-founder of Collegiate Athletic Solutions, emphasized the need for integrated infrastructure in youth sports.

“By building a unified platform that supports the full athlete journey, educate, test, train, compete, and recruit, we’re replacing fragmentation with continuity and subjectivity with repeatable standards, defined pathways, and measurable results.”

Additional investment support comes from The Ogg Family and Matthew Scattarella.

Weatherford Capital describes its approach as relationship-driven and focused on long-term stewardship. The firm invests across technology, financial services, business services, sports, and public-sector markets.

Addressing Fragmentation in Youth Baseball

The press release points to a common challenge in youth baseball: families are investing more than ever in year-round development, training, competition, and exposure, but the infrastructure supporting that investment remains fragmented.

Clubs often manage complex, disconnected systems. Families navigate unclear development pathways. Performance data lives in silos.

CURVE Sports positions itself as a solution to that fragmentation, offering a connected ecosystem that spans testing, training, competition, and recruiting.

For families, the company says the platform will provide greater clarity and continuity across the full development journey, helping ensure that time, energy, and resources are invested wisely.

Ogg was clear about what the platform is not intended to do.

“This is not about consolidation or managing clubs. It’s about serving great leaders better, preserving independence, raising standards, and building something durable for the next generation of baseball players.”

What Comes Next for CURVE Sports

CURVE Sports plans to continue expanding its network of aligned clubs and partners nationwide. The company’s stated focus areas include long-term development, sustainable operations, and the overall health of youth baseball.

With Weatherford Capital’s backing and an established network through Diamond Allegiance, the platform enters the market with existing relationships and infrastructure in place. The addition of CURVE Test Centers’ data capabilities gives the organization a testing and tracking layer that many independent clubs lack on their own.

Whether the model gains traction beyond its current 70+ club network will depend on how effectively it delivers on its promise of shared resources without sacrificing club autonomy.

READ MORE: https://youthsportsbusinessreport.com/curve-sports-launches-unified-platform-combining-diamond-alleg...

Backed by Weatherford Capital, CURVE Sports brings together Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers to support clubs, athletes, and families through a connected, baseball-first ecosystem

TAMPA, Fla., Feb. 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- CURVE Sports today announced its official launch as a unified, baseball-first platform designed to strengthen the foundation beneath youth baseball. Built to support club independence while raising standards across development, operations and player development, CURVE Sports connects clubs, athletes, families and trusted data into a single, aligned ecosystem.

CURVE Sports brings together two established organizations – Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers – under one mission, one platform, and one shared future for the game. Diamond Allegiance is a national network of independent, high-performing youth baseball clubs committed to long-term player development, shared standards, and sustainable club operations. CURVE Test Centers provide objective, sport-specific athlete testing and longitudinal performance data, helping players, families, and coaches better understand development over time and make more informed decisions.

Youth baseball sits at the center of the broader youth sports economy, with families investing more than ever in year-round development, training, competition and exposure, yet the infrastructure supporting that investment has remained fragmented, forcing clubs to manage complex systems while families navigate disconnected experiences and unclear development pathways.

CURVE Sports was built to address that gap.

"Baseball has always been about long-term development, trust, and relationships," said Sandy Ogg, CEO of CURVE Sports. "But the systems supporting the game haven't kept pace with its growth. CURVE Sports exists to strengthen the foundation beneath baseball so clubs can focus on coaching and culture, athletes can develop more thoughtfully, and families can feel confident in the journey."

The launch of CURVE Sports is supported by long-term partnership from Weatherford Capital, The Ogg Family, and Matthew Scattarella. Founded by Drew, Sam, and Will Weatherford, Weatherford Capital brings deep experience scaling mission-driven organizations, informed by a lifetime of competitive sports. Their relationship-driven approach—known as The Weatherford Way—prioritizes disciplined process, teamwork, learning, and long-term impact.

The platform builds on more than five years of relationships, trust, and industry leadership established by Diamond Allegiance, a national network of over 70 independent member clubs representing more than 15,000 players, while adding a robust technology and data layer through CURVE Test Centers. Together, they enable coordinated, data-informed development pathways aligned to baseball's long timelines—without changing how clubs lead, coach, or preserve their individual cultures.

Through CURVE Sports, partner clubs gain access to shared infrastructure, operating standards, development resources, and longitudinal performance insights—while remaining fully independent in leadership and culture.

For players and families, the platform brings greater clarity, continuity, and confidence across the full development journey—from testing and training to competition and recruiting—reducing confusion and helping ensure that time, energy, and resources are invested wisely.

"This is not about consolidation or managing clubs," Sandy Ogg added. "It's about serving great leaders better—preserving independence, raising standards, and building something durable for the next generation of baseball players."

"Weatherford Capital's investment in CURVE Sports is rooted in a deep conviction that youth sports needs an integrated operating system to truly evolve and meet the demands of today's increasingly competitive landscape," said Drew Weatherford, Founding Partner of Weatherford Capital and co-founder of Collegiate Athletic Solutions. "By building a unified platform that supports the full athlete journey — educate, test, train, compete, and recruit — we're replacing fragmentation with continuity and subjectivity with repeatable standards, defined pathways, and measurable results. This empowers local youth sports communities to scale what matters most: character, competence, resilience, and life-long opportunity. We believe this partnership will strengthen the foundation of the game, ensuring youth development matches the caliber of the collegiate and professional pathways that follow."

CURVE Sports will continue expanding its network of aligned clubs and partners nationwide, with a focus on long-term development, sustainable operations, and the enduring health of the game.

About CURVE Sports:

CURVE Sports is a baseball-first operating platform designed to strengthen clubs, support long-term player development, and improve the experience for families. By connecting Diamond Allegiance and CURVE Test Centers, CURVE Sports aligns coaching, development services, and trusted data into one integrated ecosystem—helping clubs operate more effectively while preserving independence and culture. For more information, visit www.curvesports.com

About Weatherford Capital:

Weatherford Capital is a private investment firm with over $1 billion in assets under management. Founded in 2015, the Firm aspires to partner with visionary founders and leaders to build enduring companies critical to the long-term growth of the economy, spanning technology, financial services, business services, sports, and public-sector markets. Through a relationship-driven approach rooted in long-term stewardship of capital and deep experience in public-private partnerships, Weatherford Capital seeks to empower organizations to create lasting value in sectors where regulation, governance, and public engagement shape how businesses and consumers operate. For more information, visit www.weatherfordcapital.com.

Media Contact

Tom Judge
Chief Marketing Officer, CURVE Sports
tom.judge@curvesports.com
760.916.3828
www.curvesports.com

SOURCE CURVE Sports