Participation in Youth Sports Declining: Part 2
Participation in Youth Sports Declining is a series of articles by staff writer, Brooke Maners. Part one cane be found here.
Noted in recent studies, another contributing factor to the dwindling number of youth participating in sports is the increase of travel teams. It’s been said travel sports often pull the most qualified coaches away from recreational teams. With travel leagues striving to hire the most experienced coaches, less qualified coaches are often left to recreational teams. This can hurt participation, especially if a child has a negative experience and chooses not to play again, or feels like they aren't good enough to play.
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An article in The Washington Post, “Youth Sports is the New Keeping up With the Joneses” explains there are many parents remain humble about travel sports. However, there is a suggestion that appears to be directed towards parents who believe their child’s participation on a travel team to be a “badge of honor.”
Andrew Lance, parks and recreation manager for the city of Lexington, elaborates, ”In the world of youth sports, you have rec programs, YMCA programs, and other accessible programs that are open to all skill levels and generally run at a lower cost. You also have private leagues and travel teams, which offer more intensive training and competition, but also higher costs and travel. By having these options, players are more spaced out in different programs, which limits numbers. Particularly in the entry level programs that have a lower cost and lower time commitment. These types of programs are where the drop in numbers are most visible. If these programs are not able to run due to low numbers, the people left out are generally the ones that cannot, or do not want to play travel ball, so then they have no opportunity to play.”
Jimmy Davis, in 1981 accepting his first championship trophy as a little league baseball coach in Churchland. {Contributed photo}
Jimmy Davis, a former coach for more than 20 years in Davidson county, offers, ”As for me, I think the only factor travel ball has is that all coaches want their kids to play it. In their minds, it makes the kids better and gives them more of a chance as they get older. But now, instead of a booster club having four average teams, they only have one that can compete. However, I think there’s a solution. Have everyone sign up at your local booster clubs, hold try-outs, pick the best players and make them a travel team. Then, get the BEST coaches to take over coaching the rest of the children, and make several teams. Teach those kids to play the game, improve their skills, and have a league for them too.”
Todd Rausch, head coach of Oak Grove High School’s boy’s varsity basketball team, and president and founder of the Carolina Impact Travel Athletics Association, shared his opinion.
“Travel athletics have become a culture throughout the US in today’s society. The traditional youth recreation leagues do not give what today’s families perceive as what they want. Although, I do believe they absolutely can if the right participation was there.”
Todd Raush, head coach for Oak Grove High School varsity boy's basketball team. {Contributed photo}
The mention of increasingly high costs to participate in youth sports certainly seems to be a major fault as well. A recent study found families spend approximately $692 per sport, per participating child, each year. This included registration, uniforms, and equipment. Families with multiple children, each involved in youth sports, can easily spend thousands of dollars each year. Youth sports is nearly a $17 billion industry, making it larger than professional baseball and approximately the same size as the National Football League.
Lance said, “There are rec programs and non-profit organizations that offer low cost and accessible programs. But, even with the lower cost, families have to make the best choice for their situation and finances. Participation can also be impacted by the ability to get a child to practice and games based on the work schedules of parents, access to rides, etc. When it comes to travel ball, the increased travel, uniform costs, and time needed for practices and games can have a substantial impact on accessibility.”
Mandy Kiser, mother of a local student-athlete, said she believes the expenses are much to blame for the decline in youth sports. “It’s my understanding the cost just to sign up can be in the range of $80 to $150, and that doesn’t include equipment, attire etc.” Kiser continues, “It is my hope to have affordable, structured, good quality sports offered to all families in Davidson County.”
Cassie Walker, mother of a local student athlete, says, “I don't know about other surrounding schools and their programs. But, lack of equipment, outdated equipment, and equipment that is just falling apart is a big issue at Tyro Middle School. Maybe it's because of my son's size, but everything he was given to wear for football at Tyro Middle was too big for him. Due to Covid, he didn't get to play last season. But if he would have, he would have been sent out in bubble wrap I suppose The equipment they do have was in such rough shape, I honestly don't know that there is any safety to any of it. We were told when he plays at West Davidson High School, that we would likely have to custom order all of his gear as they didn't have any his size. Our family doesn't have that kind of money to spend. We've been lucky at times finding deals, like used cleats and things that were still in good shape. I'm hoping he gets to play this upcoming year. But I just don't know what lower income families are supposed to do about equipment that they need to purchase on their own, on top of other fees.”
“Sports in America have separated into sport-haves and have-nots. All that matters is if kids come from a family that has resources. If you don’t have money, it’s hard to play. Money, measured in average household income, is the largest indicator of whether a child is going to be physically active or play sports. Families without resources are getting left behind, and that's what the data shows.”said Tom Farrey, a former reporter for ESPN and executive director of the Sports and Society Program.
