AGENDA

Research Agenda

Prioritized list of research topics for the SYNRGY wiki. Each item goes through a lifecycle:

Identified → Prompt Sent (to Trevor via Slack) → Researching (Trevor running in claude.ai) → Compiled (Claude Code processes into wiki) → Primer Ready

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Complete (research done, compiled into wiki)

• Las Vegas club soccer market — Club-by-club profiles, market structure, consolidation opportunity
• US tournament landscape — 50-75+ tournament profiles, five-tier hierarchy, ownership models, STP economics
• LVSA/JJRP diligence — Financial deep dive, Vegas Cup STP analysis, online reputation, team counts
• Nationals SC public research — 100-page report: founding history, financials, facilities, Michigan market context
• Michigan market landscape — 30+ clubs, tournament landscape, facility inventory, league ecosystem, consolidation analysis
• NY/NJ market entry — NJ market (125K+ players, 14 club profiles, PDA/Cedar Stars/STA/SJEB deep dives, EDP/3Step ecosystem, barriers, acquisition targets) + NY metro (ENYYSA 100K players, 8 club profiles, MLS academy affiliate networks, facility scarcity, Long Island consolidation). ~40 new/updated articles.

Prompt Sent (waiting for Trevor to run in claude.ai)

(Claude sends these to ai-ops. Trevor pastes into claude.ai Research, then shares the output.)

Researching (Trevor is running these)

Ready to Compile (Trevor has shared output, Claude Code needs to process)

Identified — Full Topic List

Markets — State-by-State Deep Dives

Grouped by region. Each produces: market article, club stubs, tournament stubs, facility notes.

Tri-State (Priority — target market)

1. New York — DONE
2. New Jersey — DONE
3. Connecticut — DONE (20 articles: 14 club profiles, Oakwood SC top target, CT United Academy free model disruptor, HS dual-participation conflict unique to CT)

Great Lakes (Priority — active deal market) 4. Michigan — DONE 5. Ohio — DONE (25 articles: 3 metro sub-markets, 15 clubs w/ 990 financials, top targets: Club Ohio $5.6M,CincyUnited$4.7M, Ohio Premier $3.6M)6.\ast \ast Illinois\ast \ast —DONE(18articles:NISL17K+players,EclipseSelecttoptarget,3StepownsChicagoFCUnited/Magic)7.\ast \ast Indiana\ast \ast —DONE(16articles:IndyElevendominateselitetier,HamiltonCounty$121K HHI, Grand Park, secondary markets underserved) 8. Wisconsin — DONE (14 articles: SC Wave ~4K players, FC Wisconsin ECNL owner = ECNL president, best as part of broader Great Lakes platform)

Mid-Atlantic (Priority — strong club density) 9. Virginia — Virginia Development Academy, Richmond United, SOCA, Arlington, Loudoun. DC metro vs Richmond vs Hampton Roads — three distinct sub-markets? 10. Maryland — Baltimore Armour, Pipeline SC, Bethesda SC, Maryland United. Proximity to DC market dynamics? 11. Pennsylvania — Philadelphia Union Academy, Penn Fusion, FC Delco, Pittsburgh Riverhounds. East vs West PA as totally separate markets? 12. DC — DC United Academy, Bethesda overlap, unique urban market constraints?

GA/Carolinas 13. North Carolina — Charlotte SA, CASL, NC Fusion, Charlotte Independence, NCFC Youth. Research Triangle vs Charlotte rivalry? 14. South Carolina — Charleston Battery Youth, South Carolina United, Greenville area. Emerging or overlooked? 15. Georgia — Atlanta United Academy, Concorde Fire, United Futbol Academy, Georgia Rush/Tophat, Southern Soccer Academy. Atlanta dominance — room for consolidation?

Florida (Priority — huge market) 16. Florida — Weston FC, South Florida United, Orlando City Youth, Tampa Bay United, Jacksonville FC, IMG Academy, Chargers SC, Florida Rush. Largest state youth soccer market? Regional sub-markets (South FL, Central, Tampa Bay, Jacksonville)?

California (largest market nationally) 17. Southern California — Surf SC, LA Galaxy Academy, LAFC Academy, Real So Cal, Pateadores, Slammers, Legends FC, SoCal Blues, Beach FC, Arsenal FC. Most competitive youth soccer market in the country? 18. Northern California — San Jose Earthquakes Academy, De Anza Force, Marin FC, Sacramento Republic youth, Bay Area clubs. NorCal vs SoCal dynamics?

Texas 19. Texas — FC Dallas Academy, Houston Dynamo Youth, Solar SC, Lonestar SC, Austin FC Youth, Texans SC, Challenge SC. Second-biggest state market after CA? DFW vs Houston vs Austin sub-markets? 20. Oklahoma — Energy FC, Celtic SC, TSC Hurricane. Small but growing?

Southwest (active deal market) 21. Nevada/Las Vegas — DONE 22. Arizona — SC Del Sol, Sereno SC, Real Salt Lake AZ, Phoenix Rising Youth, Scottsdale clubs. Snowbird seasonal dynamics? Facility quality (indoor demand in summer)? 23. New Mexico — Rio Rapids, Albuquerque Sol, small market deep dive

Pac NW 24. Washington — Seattle Sounders Academy, Crossfire Premier, Eastside FC, Washington Premier. Strong MLS Next presence? 25. Oregon — Portland Timbers Academy, Westside Timbers, East Portland, FC Portland. Timbers monopoly or competitive?

Mountain West 26. Colorado — Colorado Rapids Youth, Real Colorado, Colorado Rush, Pride SC. High-altitude training market niche? 27. Utah — Real Salt Lake Academy, Utah Celtic, La Roca FC. Growing market, LDS community involvement? 28. Idaho/Montana/Wyoming — Small market survey — any competitive clubs worth tracking?

Midwest 29. Minnesota — Minnesota United Academy, Shattuck-St. Mary’s, Minnesota Thunder, Tonka United. Strong hockey crossover dynamics? 30. Missouri — St. Louis CITY2, SLSG (St. Louis Scott Gallagher), KC Athletics, Sporting KC Academy. Historic soccer city — does reputation drive enrollment? 31. Kansas/Nebraska/Iowa — Sporting KC overlap, Sporting Blue Valley, Iowa Rush. Grouped survey of smaller markets

New England 32. Massachusetts — NEFC, Valeo FC, Bolts FC, FC Stars, GPS (Global Premier Soccer). Boston metro concentration? 33. Connecticut (covered above with Tri-State) 34. Rhode Island / NH / Vermont / Maine — Small market survey

Deep South 35. Tennessee — Nashville SC youth, Memphis clubs, Tennessee SC. Nashville growth market? 36. Kentucky — Lexington FC, Louisville City youth, Kings Hammer crossover from OH 37. Alabama / Mississippi / Louisiana / Arkansas — Small market grouped survey. Any standout clubs?

Competitors & Business Models

38. 3Step Sports — Full profile. Portfolio of 20+ brands (VSL, USSSA, NextGen, etc.), Bregal Sagemount ownership, estimated $200M+ revenue, geographic footprint, operational model, M&A history, strengths/weaknesses
39. Pioneer Sports Group — Full profile. Newer entrant, different strategy? Club portfolio, ownership, revenue model, compare/contrast with 3Step
40. Unrivaled Sports — Profile if enough public info available
41. Other consolidators — Survey of smaller rollup attempts (EDP Soccer, Kings Hammer, Rush Soccer, Albion SC national network). Who else is trying to build a platform?
42. Club economics deep dive — Revenue breakdown (tuition 60-70%, tournaments 15-20%, camps, merch, facility rental), cost structure, margins by activity, per-player economics ($2K-5K/year avg), seasonality, how economics vary by club size (100 players vs 500 vs 2000) and market (NYC vs Midwest)

Industry Structure

43. Player pathway deep dive — How does a youth soccer player progress from rec to elite? Age-by-age breakdown (U8 rec → U10 travel → U12 competitive → U14 elite → U16 national → U18 college/pro). What decisions happen at each stage? How do clubs, leagues, and families interact? What’s the cost curve? Why does this matter for a platform acquirer?
44. Recent structural changes (MLS Next / ECNL evolution) — How have MLS Next and ECNL evolved over the last 2-3 years? MLS Next’s push for more control over league play and player development (single-entity model aspirations?). ECNL’s response and counter-moves (ECNL-RL expansion, Boys ECNL growth). Girls Academy positioning. How are these platforms competing for club affiliations? What does the future hold — consolidation into 2 mega-leagues? What does this mean for independent clubs and for an acquirer?
45. League ecosystem explainer — ECNL vs MLS Next vs Girls Academy vs DPL vs US Club vs USYS. Structure, fees ($5K-25K/club), player requirements, coaching mandates, value proposition, trajectory. How do clubs choose? Can they play in multiple? What’s the trend? Who’s winning?
46. Software landscape — SportsEngine (NBC/Dick’s), TeamSnap (acquired by Vista), Stack Sports, PlayMetrics, Sprocket Sports, GotSport, TotalGlobal Sports. Market share, pricing per player ($2-8/player/month?), switching costs, data lock-in, integration points. What does a “tech-enabled” club look like?
47. Stay-to-play / tournament economics — Hotel block economics ($7-10/room/nightrebates),marginprofile(30-50$126M settlement, sanctioning body role, tournament ownership consolidation, conflict-of-interest structures
48. US Soccer governance — US Soccer Federation structure, state association roles, registration fees, how governance affects club operations. Where is reform headed?

Specialized Topics

49. Facility ownership models — Municipal partnerships, lease vs own, turf replacement cycles ($500K-1M), indoor facility economics, capex requirements, revenue contribution, how facilities affect club valuation
50. Facility inventory by market — As state-by-state research completes, extract and catalog all named facilities into facilities/ wiki section. Indoor vs outdoor, ownership, club tenants, capacity. Build the definitive facility map.
51. College placement pipeline — NCAA D1/D2/D3/NAIA, how commitment process works, ID camps/showcases ($200-500/event), does placement record genuinely drive enrollment, which clubs have best track records, Title IX impact
52. Youth sports insurance/liability — Concussion liability, abuse/SafeSport requirements, insurance costs per player, how this affects club operations and M&A diligence
53. Referee shortage — National stats, impact on game scheduling and growth, club referee development programs, how this constrains market expansion

Parking Lot (future, lower priority)

• International comps (UK, Canada, Australia club models)
• MLS expansion impact on youth clubs (historical case studies)
• Esports / digital engagement in youth soccer
• Private equity in youth sports — deal history, multiples, outcomes (Bain, Vista, KKR involvement)
• NIL impact on youth sports recruitment
• Travel/away game economics for families
• Title IX and gender equity in youth club soccer
• Olympic Development Program (ODP) — is it still relevant?