It has been more than two years since the World Health Organization created a committee to combat the “global public health concern” of loneliness, and a Baltimore-based social sports network is coming to L.A. to help.

Sports and Social – doing business as Volo Sports – borrowed its name from the Latin phrase for “I fly.” As the largest adult social sports company in the U.S., its footprint in L.A. began in Santa Monica last month after acquiring its biggest competitor, New York City-based ZogSports, in June 2025.

Giovanni Marcantoni, founder and chief executive of Volo Sports, shared that the “epidemic of loneliness” is one of the fronts that a social sports league like Volo can tackle for adults and youths alike, regardless of their skills in specific sports disciplines. Volo offers an array of sporting events including soccer, Skee-Ball and pickleball. Customers can sign up and play in leagues or daily pick-ups without having to wait for friends to join. Since its inception in 2010, Volo has attracted more than a million lifetime registrations.

“People are lonelier than they’ve ever have been, and we have a thing where they don’t have to be lonely,” Marcantoni said. “They can meet people and have a genuine human interaction…we try to meet people where they are.”

‘True mission’

The sports leagues will be operating a different market here in L.A. with a large geographic spread, distinct from its origins on the East Coast. Kendra Hansen, general manager of Los Angeles and San Jose for Volo, noted that fostering neighborhood communities is key for L.A. given the spread. For now, Volo’s offering is concentrated in West L.A., but plans are underway to expand further inland.

Marcantoni also shared that the high costs of youth sports leagues prompted Volo to offer a foundation to help children play sports for free with part of the revenue from adult leagues. The Harris Poll measured an average spending of $1,016 per child per family in 2026 – up 46% since 2019 – a heavy cost on low-income families.

“If you see our shirts on the back that says we play so kids can play for free … at the end of the day, our goal as a company, the true mission, is [for] a million kids [to] play for free across the country,” Marcantoni said. “The best thing in the world is when families come up to us and thank us and say, hey, thank you for doing this.”

Going forward, Volo also hopes to stimulate the local economy by partnering up with food venues for after-match meals and events, such as Santa Monica Brew Works on Colorado Avenue.

“We want to make your city fly – economically, in every way, as well,” Marcantoni said.