NIL, Youth Sports, and the Pressure Pipeline | Dave Yoo of Onsides

NIL may officially begin in college, but the pressure now starts much earlier.

In this conversation, Dave Yoo, founder of Onsides, breaks down how youth sports has quietly become a massive industry shaped by travel, private training, recruiting, branding, and rising expectations for both athletes and parents.

Eric Kasimov and Dave discuss the growing cognitive load families carry, how NIL is pushing pressure downstream into younger ages, and why the future of youth sports may depend on reducing chaos instead of adding more to it.

Key Takeaways

NIL pressure is moving downstream into younger athletes  Youth sports has quietly become a $50B+ ecosystem  Parents are carrying a massive emotional and logistical load  The gap between recreational sports and elite club sports keeps growing  AI can reduce stress when it solves real-world problems  Travel, recruiting, and training culture are reshaping family life  Athlete branding now starts earlier than ever  Youth sports still works best when kids simply get to play  Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:30 The size and growth of the youth sports market

04:00 Why Dave Yoo started building Onsides

06:00 The chaos parents manage across sports platforms

08:00 Cognitive load and the hidden pressure on families

11:00 Private coaching, training, and monetization

13:00 How Onsides uses AI carefully