Two prominent youth baseball organizations have joined forces as Louisville-based Athletx Sports Group, a youth baseball events company, has acquired Morehead, Kentucky-based Baseball Youth, the nation’s largest youth baseball network.
The brands have merged to form 24-7 Baseball, a company that will produce a series of team and individual player events across the country while also communicating with thousands of players, coaches and families via print and digital media platforms.
24-7 Baseball, operating out of Louisville, will look to enhance the youth baseball experience for players, coaches and their families by providing a wealth of information ranging from national rankings, tournament recaps, team profiles and players to watch.
“We are ecstatic to have the Baseball Youth brand in our Athletx family,” said Aaron Flaker, Athletx co-owner and chief business development officer. “We have a really big vision of how to make youth baseball even better than it is today and the Baseball Youth brand will only further enhance our ability to offer quality information, products and services to the teams, players, coaches and families it serves.
“This allows us to be more of a voice in the industry. There are a lot of great sports stories in the youth baseball market and this will allow us to tell more of those stories. This gives us the chance to bring exposure to players at a younger age. We will be able to give kids and teens a chance to be known on a grander scale.”
Athletx Sports Group specializes in youth sports event management and is the parent company of Youth Nationals, which hosts 12 weeklong events, the Youth Baseball and Youth Softball Nationals, that are held in six venues across the country. Youth Nationals has hosted thousands of baseball and softball teams from 46 states and seven countries in age groups ranging from 9 to 15.
Baseball Youth is a national network that provides media coverage to the youth baseball market. It possesses a considerable media presence that includes the print and online publication of Baseball Youth Magazine and has more than 350,000 social media followers between Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. The organization has partnered with heavyweight brands like Louisville Slugger, Wilson, Rawlings, Easton, Mizuno, New Era, Topps, Disney and Big League Chew. Beginning in June, Baseball Youth Magazine is expected to print quarterly.
This combination of a championship-caliber youth baseball tournament host and an impressive media network figures to make a sizable impact on the youth baseball market. With a full-time staff of nearly 20, Athletx expects to take an already strong Baseball Youth brand and improve on it.
“Baseball Youth didn’t have the infrastructure that it will now. With our larger staff and more resources, we will be able to bring a lot of exposure to the youth baseball market,” Flaker said. “Youth baseball could use a strong national voice when it comes to its future growth and evolution. Adding the Baseball Youth media platform to who we are gives us the ability to help grow travel baseball more organically than just being a tournament provider.
“If we do our job and we are able to tell more stories, we have the ability to impact the entire industry.”
In a press release, Scott Hacker, founder of Baseball Youth said “In just a short time, Athletx has grown from a small tournament business to be known as the nation’s leader in weeklong youth baseball events. Their true professionalism and attention to detail is top-notch. By coming together, it allows Baseball Youth to focus more on the individual player while expanding our publishing and media network. We are truly excited about the future of Baseball Youth and the youth baseball industry as a whole.”
Jason Paha
