More than 26 million children ages 6 to 17 played team sports in 2014, a decline of nearly 4 percent from 2009, according to a widely cited survey from the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. The total number of sports played fell by almost 10 percent.
Part of this decline is attributable to the recession, particularly in low-income urban areas. But experts fear larger socio-economic forces are at play, particularly in the suburbs, where the shift to elite competition over the past two decades has had increasingly far-reaching consequences: children play fewer sports and the less talented are left behind in recreational leagues with poor clubs. coaching, uneven play and the message that they are not good enough. Seventy percent of children stop playing sport at the age of 13.
“The system is now designed to meet the needs of the most talented kids,” said Mark Hyman, a professor of sports management at George Washington University and The George Washington University. author of several books on youth sports. “We no longer value participation. We value excellence.”
And those who study the issue say they know who to blame: the parents.
“The adults won,” Hyman said. “If we wiped the slate clean and reinvented youth sports from the ground up by prioritizing the physical and emotional needs of children, how different would it be? Nothing would be recognizable.
The Aspen Institute, the Clinton Foundation and several amateur and professional sports organizations are working on solutions. Officials met last month for a roundtable discussion at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York and earlier this year at a summit in Washington attended by the U.S. surgeon general. Dick’s Sporting Goods is making a direct appeal to customers, asking for donations at checkout to Sports mattershis new program to pump money into underfunded youth sports teams.
The hardest problem, Hyman said, is that no parent wants to “unilaterally disarm” and acknowledge that the system is broken.
“It’s virtually impossible to resist if you want your kids to play competitively,” said Elizabeth Pelcyger, a Washington mother whose son felt pressure even from his baseball teammates because he didn’t play all year. “They could somehow point out that he hadn’t played since he was 4.”
Many adults trying to solve the problem remember a simpler, less competitive and less expensive time in youth sports. There were no travel teams, no far-flung tournaments – an industry now worth $7 billion. There were games with friends and leagues in neighborhood parks, with the main focus being on having fun. All the children in the neighborhood played together: the stars, the valiant ones, the daisy pickers. One of the most popular films of the 1970s: “Bad news bears“.
Surprisingly, kids still manage to make it to the big leagues.
“Sports was everything in my life,” said Dick’s general manager Edward W. Stack, who played baseball and football. “I don’t remember all the teachers I’ve had, but I remember all the coaches I’ve had. If I didn’t have these things, I don’t know what I would have done.
Although Wall Street analysts have expressed some concerns about how the decline in participation could affect the sporting goods industry, Stack says, “The whole issue hits home very personally. It’s not a business question. I saw how much my life has been influenced by sport.
There is little debate about the value of playing sports for children, although the risk of concussion in contact sports, particularly football, has become a concern for parents, pediatricians and coaches. Yet active children are less likely to be obese and are more likely to have better test scores, attend college and have higher incomes. And when active children become parents, they start the process again with their children. Built on Gatorade and shin guards, it’s a virtuous and healthy loop.
That’s the idea. This is no longer reality.
Over the past two decades, sports have become an investment for many parents that they believe could lead to a college scholarship, even if the chances are slim. Parents now introduce their children to the sport at a young age, jockey their way onto elite travel teams, and spend small fortunes on private training, expensive equipment, gifts, and trips to tournaments.
Youth sports are the new trend for the Joneses.
“Parents try to outdo each other,” said Tony Korson, founder of Koa Sports, a nonprofit sports league in Montgomery County that attempts to provide an alternative to the sports status quo for youth, with qualified coaches and encouragement of multiple sports. “You have a parent who says, ‘I traveled to Tennessee for a tournament.’ Another says, ‘Well, I flew to California.’ And then, ‘Oh, my son is going to Puerto Rico.'”
Some parents, generally those from outside, look at the situation with astonishment.
“What I want to know is why are there so many families playing travel sports?” asked one poster on DC Urban Moms and Dads, a popular online discussion forum. Someone responded, “Honestly, I think there are a lot of parents who love that,” adding, “in their own minds, they’re excited that their son is an ‘elite’ athlete.” Another person responded: “What playing a travel or club sport can do is take a kid who is a good athlete and give them a boost. »
But no one bothered to ask the children what they wanted. Now, researchers are starting to investigate children. It’s no surprise that they have a different idea of what youth sports should be.
Amanda Visek, a professor of exercise science at George Washington University, recently surveyed nearly 150 kids about what they found fun about sports. (His sample included children who engaged in travel and recreational sports.) The children identified 81 factors contributing to their happiness.
Also at the bottom of the list: participating in tournaments, cool uniforms and expensive equipment. Top of the list: positive team dynamics, hard work, positive coaching and learning. Every time Visek presents his findings to parents and coaches hungry for victory, there is a lot of pushback.
“They don’t want to believe it,” she said.
Yet the biggest reason kids quit sports is because it’s no longer fun.
Here’s what youth sports look like today: The most talented kids play on travel teams as young as 7 (or sometimes earlier), although many athletes flourish much later; top coaches (often fathers who are former college athletes) manage travel teams, leaving responsibility for recreational leagues to helpful but less competent parents; and coaches of elite teams pressure young people to play only one sport (the one they coach), even though studies show this leads to injuries, burnout and athletes who are not well balanced.
Especially in the field of specialization, parents believe that they are making the right choice when it comes to scholarships.
“I’m done trying to tell parents the odds are against them,” said Hyman, the GW professor. “It’s a loser’s game. They don’t want to believe it. The best approach is to tell them that what they are doing is not helping you achieve your goal.
Those who study the issue are more concerned about the millions of kids who just want to play sports for fun but get the least attention.
“Recreational leagues are becoming much less sustainable,” said Tom Farrey, a sports journalist who runs the Aspen Institute. youth sports initiative. “These kids kind of know they’re second rate and they get over it quickly. The quality of coaching isn’t as good. The kids are falling behind. It becomes a cumulative effect.”
With the decline of traditional team sports – the number of children playing touch football is down more than 7 percent, softball is down 5 percent and baseball, basketball and soccer are down. drop of almost 2 percent – niche sports could benefit from some of the dropouts. Lacrosse is up nearly 12 percent. Field hockey is up almost 8 percent.
Meanwhile, the race is on to implement solutions. The Aspen Institute made eight recommendations, including revitalizing local leagues, reintroducing free play, encouraging sports sampling, training coaches and, perhaps most important, asking kids what they want.
The biggest sports organizations are taking action. Major League Baseball is partnering with the Positive Coaching Alliance to train youth coaches. The United States Tennis Association encourages sports sampling and hosts roundtable discussions on the subject. Next year, U.S. youth soccer will move from 11-on-11 games to 9-on-9 and 7-on-7 games, which youth sports advocates say will be more fun and increase skill development.
“I hope these ideas can help make a difference,” Farrey said. “You’re not going to change the culture by telling parents to stop acting like jerks.”
