What is wrong with organized Youth Sports?
It seems that Organized Youth Sports Programs are devaluing the future for Athletes in the Land of Liberty. This conflicts with the booming business Organized Youth Sports has become. Before gyms were shut down due to the pandemic in 2020, the estimated value of Youth Sports was topped at 19.2 Billion dollars. The projection is that in five years from now, this will be between 70 and 80 Billion Dollars. Which seems like good news. After all, we would like the next generation to grow up healthy. So what is wrong with Organized Youth Sports?
Sports identifies with the United States. International Student Athletes who want to play at the top level in their sport, know this is the most desired country to do so. Unfortunately, the US government does not regulate Organized Youth Sports. According to the National Youth Sports Strategy they published, the only thing the Federal Government does is tracking and monitoring youth sports participation. This means that the way Organized Sports is being organized is left to whoever gets involved! Sadly, this has created the current money machine that the majority of Organized Youth Sports Programs have become.
As a direct result, many young children in the US are being left out of playing organized sports altogether. Financial circumstances and the lack of resources are the main reasons. So it looks like Premium Youth Sports Programs are devaluing the future for Athletes due to the fact that they are only accessible for a select group of young athletes.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Feeling left out and overcharged
To find the right answer if children being involved in Youth Sports is worth all those costs involved, depends on who you ask. Parents, who have enough money to spend will side with Tournament Directors and Club Directors running tournaments and charging erratic amounts of entrance, parking and participation fees. On the other hand, families whose children can no longer participate in sports because of high monthly fees, out-of-state tournaments, pricey uniforms and everything else that will come at a charge, are feeling left out.
Right behind financial differences comes the lack of educated, experienced and compassionate Coaches. Since there is no regulation in place by the government, Youth Sports has become a ‘free for all’. Anyone can start their own Sports Club or Sports Training Business at any given time. Having received an education in Physical Education, or being trained in the sports profession they coach at, is not needed. Parents are too eager for their children to be enrolled in sports that they often simply buy into whatever the Club owner or Coach convinces them.
Youth Sports for all the right reasons..."
Welcome to the world of newly found Coaches, whose numbers have been skyrocketing. If you do not know what a newly found Coach looks like, you might have heard them yelling at referees or at their own players during tournaments or games. They might lack training in pedagogical skills and find it difficult to talk to their players according to the players’ appropriate age. Some of them might even struggle with some unfinished business regarding their own sports career… or what they thought they had deserved as a career.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
The value of a Great Coach
Luckily there are still a lot of great Coaches around. Yet the majority of these Coaches notice when they play other teams, how much the environment has changed. And unfortunately not for the better! It only takes one Coach to set the tone. If this happens to be a Coach who is verbally very present, loses her or his temper pretty quick and has done little in order to set ground rules for players and their parents, you can fill in the blanks on how things can go South fast.
The value of a Great Coach should not be underestimated. As parents, do your research regarding the program and Coach you sign your young athlete up for. Do not just drop them off at practice without the impression of how a practice is run. Even though teenagers can sound convincing, do not trust them blindly on them coming to you if problems within the team start to arise. Because most likely they will not until it is too late.
Maybe this is a better way to look at it; Young teenage athletes are one of the most vulnerable and influenceable people out there. The pressure that can be put on them by coaches, or the mind games some like to play, can be tough on them and can be damaging in the long run. Recently, more stories about College Coaches who have shown abusive behavior for years, have started to surface.
The same disturbing behavior starts unfortunately in Youth Sports. There is no accountability. A Coach who lacks strong coaching qualities, experiences and has not teamed up with a mentor-Coach and is coaching for all the wrong reasons, might compensate in other areas. Often in areas that are not beneficiary to your child.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
How is this hurting the future of athletics in the US?
Maybe the title of this post came across as dramatic. Yet, reading now that Premium or Elite Youth Sports Programs are devaluing the future for upcoming athletes in the US might makes more sense. Because of Youth Sports having turned into a full blown money machine, the access to Youth Sports for a huge amount of children sadly got cut off.
Looking ahead into the future, we can see the effect this is going to have on a further declining participation in High School Sports. With Los Angeles being the host of the Olympic Games in 2028, whose principle is that participating is more important than winning, this is not shining a bright light on America’s Athletic future!
just with the way it is (dis)organized…”
As parents, and especially as parents who love sports, change should start within us. We are the ones who should provide our children with a fun, safe and caring learning environment. Besides checking out a Coach and the program, be proactive in getting to know the other parents. As your child becomes part of a team, so should you.
It is okay to do your research on how certain programs are being run. Before paying exorbitant amounts of money to a Coach that tries to convince you that he or she can help with the possibility of earning an athletic scholarship, get some important questions answered first. And once your child starts playing on a team, he or she should be your number one resource whether the program is the right fit to her or him.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Don’t buy into the latest hype of what other parents are doing
The latest trend seen around social media platforms is proud parents and sometimes even young athletes themselves, announcing that they are Nationally ranked in their age range. Unless they are in High School, respectable Coaches will probably tell you that no one is interested that much in their individual Sports talent at this young age. It can also create a false self image. In my opinion, their focus should be on having fun while developing their sports and social skills.
The message I want to share here is; “Do not believe everything a Coach or social media tells you. Do not go for the current hype nor blindly follow what other parents do or say.” Just apply common sense a little more often and listen to your child. If you want to find out how she or he really thrives at playing sports, check in with your young athlete. And make sure that ENJOYING themselves is always priority number one.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Will Youth Sports change?
Most likely, there will not be any regulation for Youth Sports anytime soon. What is sad in all of this is that young athletes, great coaches and referees who started this journey for the love of the sport, are walking away. The amount of young athletes who drop out of organized sports altogether when they reach High School has gone up, according to the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS). Great Coaches who feel that coaching is more of a struggle than it brings them satisfaction, are taking a break from the whole circus. And most of them are not coming back after that break.
Besides Coaches and teenagers pulling out of organized sports, the biggest group showing parents how valuable they are in order for their kids to play sports, are referees. Instead of respecting all the work they put in, reports of referees being physically and verbally abused by Coaches, athletes or their parents have come to the surface on social media on a weekly basis. How ridiculous and alarming is that?
Parents who are wasting a fortune so their kids can play for a Top notch Elite team yet their behavior during games causes a shortage of officials. Resulting in games being canceled. And no more games means no more Sports, correct? And who is losing in all of this? Exactly… their own kids and their teammates!
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Team up with like minded sports parents and coaches
As mentioned earlier, due to the lack of regulation people have just been left to figure out how Youth Sports should be run. Now there is a positive in all of this; In this country, that still prides itself for loving sports, everyone involved in Youth Sports agrees how important Sports still is. Offering young kids and teenagers sports activities and ways to live healthier. At the same time providing more social interactions by building friendships and hopefully a lifelong appreciation of sports are the cornerstones of Sports Education and Participation.
If you happen to be a Sports Parent who found a great Coach and great program, you might not be aware of what is going on in other gyms or wherever organized sports takes place. You are lucky and together with the parents of your son’s or daughter’s teammates, can make a big difference at games and tournaments, by showing how Youth Sports should be run and enjoyed.
What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Is it time for change?
As a Parent, if you are tired of wasting too much money on your young athlete’s sports career, consider other options. Look for a Coach and club team closer to home where having fun, making friends and teaching fundamentals are top priorities. A club team that plays local tournaments and where the entrance and parking fees are considered doable.
Save the extra money you were wasting at the former Club team, for your Athlete’s future. Some Coaches and programs might have made you believe that your son or daughter will definitely be a star and will get a full ride scholarship at a Division I institute. The reality though is that there are not that many athletic scholarships available, so it might be wiser to start saving up for College.
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What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
How is this hurting the future of athletics in the US?
Maybe the title of this post came across as dramatic. Yet, reading now that Premium or Elite Youth Sports Programs are devaluing the future for upcoming athletes in the US might make more sense. Because of Youth Sports having turned into a full blown money machine, the access to Youth Sports for a huge amount of children sadly got cut off.
Looking ahead into the future, we can see the effect this is going to have on a further declining participation in High School Sports. With Los Angeles being the host of the Olympic Games in 2028, whose principle is that participating is more important than winning, this is not shining a bright light on America’s Athletic future!
What is wrong with Organized Youth sports in the USA?
Together, we should team up!
It would be too easy to complain about what is not working, without sharing a solution. Together as parents and Coaches who run healthy programs, we can team up. As Sports Parents, it starts with having your child enrolled in Youth Sports for the right reasons. Not to constantly win and stock your house full of trophies but for your young athlete to have fun. Learning valuable life lessons, getting athletically skilled and developing a lifelong participation in and appreciation for Sports should be the other main reasons.
Do your research and find your athlete the right sports program, where Coaches have knowledge about pedagogics (knowing how to teach), are certified or even have their Physical Education degree. If they possess the right qualities and characteristics to work with a young and vulnerable group of children from different backgrounds, cultures and financial situations, you are better off.
Luckily, there are enough Coaches who see the need for this and find help. They are getting a certified Coach training them, or find a Mentor or Coach to work with them or follow courses through certified organizations.
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