The New Arms Race in Sports: Education x AI
From Academies to Algorithms. Inside the rise of hyper-personalized training, learning, and scouting.
Before diving in today…
I wanted to remind you about our upcoming event in New York City for members.
Want to join this room of investors, founders, and executives in sports?
The Collision of Sports, Education, and AI Is Just Beginning
It might feel cliché to say it, but education is the ultimate low-hanging fruit of AI.
Why?
Because 1:1 tutoring (or in the context of sports, 1:1 training) has always been the gold standard.
Now imagine that tutoring/coaching is:
Superintelligent
Available 24/7 for a low cost
Personalized to your learning style
Continuously improving based on your behavior
That’s not coming…it’s already here.
And it’s going to have a MAJOR impact on sports (especially downstream).
Let’s Dive In 👇
The Entire System Shifts
AI tutors/coaches aren’t just helping students pass tests, or athletes improve their swing…
They’re redefining how we learn and who we become.
By 2035, I believe every student — from kindergarten to six-year college athletes — will have their own AI tutor that tailors lesson plans to their passions and pace.
Think:
Geometry through football formations.
Writing through NIL brand storytelling.
Economics through NBA trade scenarios.
Fine-tuned AI will substantially enhance education for the average human/athlete.
Why?
For starters, 1:1 tutoring/training has always been the gold standard of education.
Nothing beats a deeply knowledgeable and patient tutor/trainer with the ability to personalize a lesson plan to a student’s interests/learning style (and either speed up or slow down to optimize comprehension).
Top creative entrepreneur Scott Belsky has been studying tutoring and mapping these pillars to the ideal design of AI agents.
Here’s his analysis:
1. Tutor for life, tailor-made for you
The more you use next-generation AI tutors, the more tailored they will become.
With an extended context window of every aspect of your learning style, struggles, interests, and strengths, the tutor will be optimized specifically for you in ways no human could ever be.
Tutors will have the world’s data set at their disposal to triangulate the type of learner you are.
Key Takeaway: We’ll look back and realize how ridiculous it was that traditional education failed to accommodate different learning styles, different interests, and forced us all to conform to a common curriculum.
2. Variable pacing and personalized context
There are infinite ways to teach a concept, and pacing is never a constant.
The ideal tutor can speed up whenever you get it (and slow down when you don’t).
If a child likes horses or race cars, every worksheet and math problem can be reimagined for better engagement.
Key Takeaway: Perhaps we can encourage and support more creative risk in ways that are tailored to our passions.
3. Market expansion of education
We typically think of education in traditional pillars — K-12, high school, college, and then on-the-job training modules.
But with the wide availability and accessibility of a hyper-personalized super-intelligent tutor at our fingertips, will education permeate our lives in unexpected ways?
Some thoughts:
Will AI help athletes determine at a young age which sport they have the best chance of going professional in?
Will young kids with a passion for aviation proactively start tutorials on aerodynamics and go deep in advanced units of mastery out of sequence with traditional paths of education?
Will our personal AI tutors proactively determine our interests and guide us down meandering paths of intrigue to discover and develop passions at our own pace, which may greatly transcend and eventually supersede the very concept of “grade levels”?
The greatest impact of AI in education is the confidence it instills.
Key Takeaway: When software meets you where you are, becomes tailor-made for you, and taps into the unique aspects that make each of us special, we become significantly more capable and confident in our everyday work and life.
Both education and sports are undergoing transformational moments that will create some unique situations.
I believe there are significant opportunities to develop tools within the “sports x education x AI movement.”
This Changes Sports Forever
AI is transforming the way young athletes train, learn, and get discovered.
What used to be fragmented — school, sports, personal development — is now becoming one unified, intelligent system.
Prep schools, academies, and club programs are already racing to implement these tools.
There are multiple ways it will be put to use:
1. Smarter personalized training
AI-generated training plans will adapt in real-time to performance data, injuries, and energy levels…optimizing every rep, every session, and every day.
2. Digestible sports science for every age
Complex concepts like biomechanics, nutrition, and recovery will be delivered in age-appropriate formats — from animated explainers for young athletes to in-depth modules for elite prospects.
3. Interactive film sessions with voice-based AI coaches
Instead of passive video reviews, athletes will engage in real-time conversations with AI assistants that break down plays, suggest alternatives, and quiz them on situational awareness.
4. Academic + athletic paths
The old tension — school vs. sports — dissolves. Students can now study for the ACT in the morning and master zone coverage by the afternoon. Dual-track optimization becomes standard.
5. A new scouting and recruiting lens
Coaches won’t just evaluate highlight reels. They'll see AI-curated profiles showing learning agility, progression curves, mental toughness, and “potential” quantitified.
The New Arms Race in Youth/College Sports
Just like sports science trickled down from the pros…
…this will start at IMG, Spire, Montverde, and elite academies — and quickly filter down to local club teams and high school programs.
AI-powered education won’t just create better students.
Three Predictions
1. Private schools & academies will experience hockey-stick growth as AI helps kids learn better, find passions, optimize themselves, and figure out the optimal sports for them to succeed.
2. As AI education improves, we will see athletes transition directly from prep academies to miniaturized sports leagues like Unrivaled or The Snow League, rather than attending college.
3. Junior Colleges (JUCOS) will likely fade away, and “sports academies” with their premier education and facilities will potentially extend from middle school to sophomore year of college.
Sports is at the forefront of the transformations across education & technology.
Exciting times ahead!
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