Joining an increasing number of social networking sites catered to amateur and youth athletes is WePlay.com. The site focuses on youth athletes, parents and coaches. According to the National Council of Youth Sports, about 52 million children a year participate in organized sports leagues, so there’s a big market for this niche.

Similar to social media sites, on WePlay athletes can set up profiles, share pictures and videos, and add friends and join groups. Parents can keep track of games with a calendar, join groups, and arrange carpools. Coaches can keep in contact with players and parents, and share their coaching knowledge with other coaches.

But is this space getting too crowded? At least TechCrunch seems to think so. Other sites TechCrunch mentioned as being similar include TeamSnap, Rosterbot, EasyTeamManager, SportsVite, RedZone Leagues and YourTeam.ca. TechCrunch reported that the company behind WePlay has already gotten $1.87 million in funding, and the crowded space did not seem to affect the funding. But TechCrunch seems to have a point here that WePlay isn’t the only game in town.

One potentially differentiating factor is something that is mentioned in both the TechCrunch and New York Times coverage of this site. And that is that WePlay wants control of and the rights to videos and other content that is posted on the site. The New York Times mentions a video of 9-year old Tony Parker playing basketball. That could have significant value. If you or your kid uploads a video and becomes the next LeBron James or Parker, that video would basically become the property of WePlay. Something to consider before submitting that highlight video of your kid.