While advances in technology are usually exciting and nearly inescapable, they’re not always easy to understand or implement — especially among team dealers steeped in “that’s the way we always did it.”

The National Sporting Goods Association is welcoming four iconic figures into the Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame. The class of 2024 is comprised of Glenn Barrett (OrthoLite), Cathy Pryor (Hibbett Sports), Karsten Solheim (PING Golf), and Mike Thompson (Rawlings).

Although nearly all team sports suffered drastic participation and sales declines during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, few felt it as drastically and completely as basketball — an indoor sport with close physical contact at a time when both of those were actively discouraged.

Now that the darkest days of the pandemic are in the rearview mirror, tackle football, the bread and butter of team dealers for generations, is back with a full playbook. The proof is in the numbers: In the 2021-22 school year, 11-player football was the most popular boys’ high school sport...

There is no denying that participation and sales for most team sports, male and female, experienced setbacks during the key pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 — but 2022 thankfully marked a bit of turnaround.

When it comes to youth basketball, the image is more about the reliability and steadiness of a Larry Bird, with flashes of Steph Curry’s brilliance.

Soccer has long been touted as America’s sport of the future and has been one of the fastest-growing team sports in the country for a generation now. As the nation’s demographics continue to evolve, the data is finally catching up to those claims.

Now considered the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., pickleball accrued 4.8 million players last year, soaring 14.8 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the 2022 SFIA Topline Participation Report.

Now considered the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., pickleball accrued 4.8 million players last year, soaring 14.8 percent from 2020 to 2021, according to the 2022 SFIA Topline Participation Report.

Team dealers have always prided themselves on their ability to create and maintain personal relationships with coaches, schools, athletic directors and other clients.

Over the past two years, the pandemic left the entire team sports industry reeling, but now that the virus is finally (hopefully) entering the endemic phase, football is ready to reassert its dominance and many dealers are experiencing a welcome surge in sales.

Light Helmets, first established in 2018 as SG Helmets, was the brainchild of former racecar driver Bill Simpson, who also founded Simpson Racing and Impact. After meeting Simpson, current Light Helmets CEO Nick Esayian and a group of partners and investors purchased the assets of SG Helmets and...

With few exceptions, 2020 and 2021 were not banner years for team sports participation or sales, female or male, but as the pandemic enters the endemic phase and spring arrives, renewed hope and fresh opportunities for the team market are blossoming.

Light Helmets, first established in 2018 as SG Helmets, was the brainchild of former racecar driver Bill Simpson, who also founded Simpson Racing and Impact. After meeting Simpson, current Light Helmets CEO Nick Esayian and a group of partners and investors...

Americans are quitting work in record numbers and many economists expect the “Great Resignation” to extend well into 2022. While some people (primarily Baby Boomers) are opting to retire or start their own businesses, others are remaining on the sidelines due to COVID fears or childcare issues.

With few exceptions, 2020 and 2021 were not banner years for team sports participation or sales, female or male, but as the pandemic enters the endemic phase and spring arrives, renewed hope and fresh opportunities for the team market are blossoming.

A slow boat to China used to conjure images of the longest trip imaginable, but these days the idiom can be reversed, referring to extensive delays of container ships that are traveling from Asia to U.S. ports, arriving only to sit at anchor sometimes for weeks waiting to be unloaded.

A slow boat to China used to conjure images of the longest trip imaginable, but these days the idiom can be reversed, referring to extensive delays of container ships that are traveling from Asia to U.S. ports, arriving only to sit at anchor sometimes for weeks waiting to be unloaded.

The usual methods of doing business have been upended since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 and the old ways of doing things are long gone. The “way-we-always-did-it” strategy no longer works, even in traditional bastions such as the team market.

For decades team dealers have focused on developing and maintaining personal relationships with their customers, perhaps more so than in any other segment within the sporting goods industry.

The summer of 2021 is a time of rebirth and re-opening for America and, thankfully, for the team sports business as well. As more state and local governments and agencies give the go-ahead for a full reopening, the team market is enthusiastically ramping back up to full strength.

The summer of 2021 is a time of rebirth and re-opening for America and, thankfully, for the team sports business as well. As more state and local governments and agencies give the go-ahead for a full reopening, the team market is enthusiastically ramping back up to full strength.