The Current Pulse of Youth Sports | By Dr. Bradley Kayden
Introduction
I am not a medical doctor. However as even those that finished last in medical school can tell you, without a strong pulse you're not in a good state.
I love youth. I love sports. I love youth sports. As much as it pains me to tell you this, none of them are in a good state right now.
Youth sports is without a strong pulse.
At the heart of the matter (pun intended) lies major changes that have happened to youth sports. The difference between 20th and 21st century youth sports is dramatic. Almost night and day.
Change is nothing new. But more lately, the changes in youth sports have been less about youth and their sports development. This changes how we like to think about the role youth sports plays in our children's lives.
Change can be a good thing. The new change in youth sports, arguably, not so much. How do I mean?
Let’s take the pulse of youth sports.
I love youth. I love sports. I love youth sports. As much as it pains me to tell you this, none of them are in a good state right now.
Youth sports is without a strong pulse.
At the heart of the matter (pun intended) lies major changes that have happened to youth sports. The difference between 20th and 21st century youth sports is dramatic. Almost night and day.
Change is nothing new. But more lately, the changes in youth sports have been less about youth and their sports development. This changes how we like to think about the role youth sports plays in our children's lives.
Change can be a good thing. The new change in youth sports, arguably, not so much. How do I mean?
Let’s take the pulse of youth sports.
A Shift from Youth Development to High Competition
There is an ever growing economic divide in America. Youth sports did not create it. But without strategies to reduce costs and increase sports opportunities, many children, especially those in inner cities, will remain limited in their opportunities to play sports.
Something organizations do have control over is the professionalization of youth sports. A new elite focus has happened. With it comes the slippery slope of a highly lucrative revenue model. It shifts focus away from youth development and instead onto high competition.
With high competition comes increased costs. Just how expensive? Atlantic journalist, Derek Thompson's article American Meritocracy is Killing Youth Sports digs into just how expensive youth sports' travel leagues are. He further provides perspective of how youth sports organizations are siphoning off talented youth athletes from well-off families--and leaving everyone else behind.
The thinking is more games will teach kids sports success in a more direct fashion. The other way of thinking is it will raise revenues and catapult youth sports into the 21st century, financially-speaking.
But with the costs of youth sports rising out of control because high competition demands the evolution of travel teams. The greatest cost might not be monetary but be the incredible time demands being thrust upon the American family divided.
There is an ever growing economic divide in America. Youth sports did not create it. But without strategies to reduce costs and increase sports opportunities, many children, especially those in inner cities, will remain limited in their opportunities to play sports.
Something organizations do have control over is the professionalization of youth sports. A new elite focus has happened. With it comes the slippery slope of a highly lucrative revenue model. It shifts focus away from youth development and instead onto high competition.
The thinking is more games will teach kids sports success in a more direct fashion. The other way of thinking is it will raise revenues and catapult youth sports into the 21st century, financially-speaking.
But with the costs of youth sports rising out of control because high competition demands the evolution of travel teams. The greatest cost might not be monetary but be the incredible time demands being thrust upon the American family divided.
Something organizations do have control over is the professionalization of youth sports. A new elite focus has happened. With it comes the slippery slope of a highly lucrative revenue model. It shifts focus away from youth development and instead onto high competition.
With high competition comes increased costs. Just how expensive? Atlantic journalist, Derek Thompson's article American Meritocracy is Killing Youth Sports digs into just how expensive youth sports' travel leagues are. He further provides perspective of how youth sports organizations are siphoning off talented youth athletes from well-off families--and leaving everyone else behind.
The thinking is more games will teach kids sports success in a more direct fashion. The other way of thinking is it will raise revenues and catapult youth sports into the 21st century, financially-speaking.
But with the costs of youth sports rising out of control because high competition demands the evolution of travel teams. The greatest cost might not be monetary but be the incredible time demands being thrust upon the American family divided.
A Recipe for Disaster
And it is at this point where youth sports organizations have failed to take responsibility. Instead of educating sports parents on the natural order of sports, they are instead playing off parents unyielding desire to focus on their children earning a scholarship or professional contract. To better understand the likelihood of your child earning a full-ride college scholarship consider reading Brad Wolverton's article "the myth of the sports scholarship." from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
It is, in the end a recipe for disaster. With the outcomes never matching the sacrifice families make, high competition and the need to win forces children to dropout or for parents to pull children from participating. Youth sports participation declines, organizations fail to adjust and everybody loses. It is only a matter of time before youth sports implodes.
Today, even some of America's most popular sports have been given the unsavory reputation as elitist or "country club"sports because of their time demands and high costs.
Far from being alone in this subjective opinion, there is scientific evidence backing these claims. It has for a long time given suggestions to avert such an implosion and regulate the pulse of youth sports. Unfortunately, the drive financially is driven by parents delusions of sports success.
And it is at this point where youth sports organizations have failed to take responsibility. Instead of educating sports parents on the natural order of sports, they are instead playing off parents unyielding desire to focus on their children earning a scholarship or professional contract. To better understand the likelihood of your child earning a full-ride college scholarship consider reading Brad Wolverton's article "the myth of the sports scholarship." from the Chronicle of Higher Education.
It is, in the end a recipe for disaster. With the outcomes never matching the sacrifice families make, high competition and the need to win forces children to dropout or for parents to pull children from participating. Youth sports participation declines, organizations fail to adjust and everybody loses. It is only a matter of time before youth sports implodes.
Today, even some of America's most popular sports have been given the unsavory reputation as elitist or "country club"sports because of their time demands and high costs.
It is, in the end a recipe for disaster. With the outcomes never matching the sacrifice families make, high competition and the need to win forces children to dropout or for parents to pull children from participating. Youth sports participation declines, organizations fail to adjust and everybody loses. It is only a matter of time before youth sports implodes.
Today, even some of America's most popular sports have been given the unsavory reputation as elitist or "country club"sports because of their time demands and high costs.
Far from being alone in this subjective opinion, there is scientific evidence backing these claims. It has for a long time given suggestions to avert such an implosion and regulate the pulse of youth sports. Unfortunately, the drive financially is driven by parents delusions of sports success.
No Pulse
Parents today enter youth sports no differently than previous generations of sports parents. We know from own youth sports experiences the generally positive, developmentally-oriented, civilizing, and refining effects youth sports can have on youth. Many enter with the right intentions but are quickly seduced by ulterior motives. It is easy to see youth sports today are better organized, but what is not always easy to see is how in many regards they are less humane.
Today's youth sports are being run more like big businesses. When I say bigger, it is bigger than the most prized professional sports organization in America, the NFL. The big business of youth sports is highly systematical. Sports organizations funnel children through the athletic talent development process treating them like pawns on a chess board. Expendable.
Instead of development, many are simply weeding out talent to get their hands on the best. It is a pooling of highly talented players much like the professionalized ways of the NFL only the pool of participants to choose from is exponentially larger.
The growth of the business of youth sports and the decline of their developmental-end has, in many ways, made taking the "pulse" of youth sports almost irrelevant. Because it doesn't exist.
But just because youth sports has lost its way, doesn't mean parents have. Inaction or failure to participate is one approach that forces organizations to begin thinking with families in mind again.
Our reasons to believe in sports as an outlet and developmental opportunity for our children is not flawed, the system is flawed. The problem occurs when we keep them in developmentally unfavorable systems too long. We, as parents, lose when we fail to recognize early-on we have options. Failure to pivot when faced with challenge or inappropriate behaviors by organizations is our problem. We shouldn't become jaded on youth sports as a result. The jaded effect in general, is something not good for anyone us or our children. The parents that do leave youth sports with their children because of challenge or inappropriate behavior possess power. They have been in the minority but that is changing.
In many ways parents exit from youth sports is symbolic of stopping any pulse contemporary youth sports has. The model for youth sports we ideally have in our head can continue to have a strong pulse. Change unfortunately happens gradually and with collective thinking aligned with the ideal and not a false or delusional expectations. Effects of parents inaction are already being felt.
Today's youth sports are being run more like big businesses. When I say bigger, it is bigger than the most prized professional sports organization in America, the NFL. The big business of youth sports is highly systematical. Sports organizations funnel children through the athletic talent development process treating them like pawns on a chess board. Expendable.
Instead of development, many are simply weeding out talent to get their hands on the best. It is a pooling of highly talented players much like the professionalized ways of the NFL only the pool of participants to choose from is exponentially larger.
The growth of the business of youth sports and the decline of their developmental-end has, in many ways, made taking the "pulse" of youth sports almost irrelevant. Because it doesn't exist.
But just because youth sports has lost its way, doesn't mean parents have. Inaction or failure to participate is one approach that forces organizations to begin thinking with families in mind again.
Our reasons to believe in sports as an outlet and developmental opportunity for our children is not flawed, the system is flawed. The problem occurs when we keep them in developmentally unfavorable systems too long. We, as parents, lose when we fail to recognize early-on we have options. Failure to pivot when faced with challenge or inappropriate behaviors by organizations is our problem. We shouldn't become jaded on youth sports as a result. The jaded effect in general, is something not good for anyone us or our children. The parents that do leave youth sports with their children because of challenge or inappropriate behavior possess power. They have been in the minority but that is changing.
In many ways parents exit from youth sports is symbolic of stopping any pulse contemporary youth sports has. The model for youth sports we ideally have in our head can continue to have a strong pulse. Change unfortunately happens gradually and with collective thinking aligned with the ideal and not a false or delusional expectations. Effects of parents inaction are already being felt.
What Is the Remedy?
When you think of the youth sports in terms of a business, your mind, at some point, will go to leadership. Who is the leadership in youth sports? What are they doing about this dilemma?
The National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport look after the varying aspects of their individual sports. The following are NGBs recognized by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
- USA Archery
- USA Badminton
- USA Biathlon
- US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
- USA Kayak and Conoe
- US Curling Association
- USA Cycling
- USA Diving
- US Equestrian Federation
- US Fencing Association
- USA Field Hockey
- US Figure Skating
- USA Gymnastics
- USA Hockey
- USA Judo
- USA Luge
- USA Pentathlon
- USA Roller Sports
- US Rowing
- USA Rugby
- US Sailing
- USA Shooting
- US Skiing and Snowboard Association
- US Soccer Federation
- USA Softball
- US Speedskating
- USA Swimming
- USA Synchronized Swimming
- USA Speed Skating
- USA Table Tennis
- USA Taekwondo
- USA Team Handball
- US Tennis Association
- USA Track and Field
- USA Triathlon
- USA Water Polo
- USA Volleyball
- USA Weightlifting
- USA Wrestling
- USA Baseball
- USA Basketball
- USA Football
At their meeting in Detroit at the Association of Chief Executives for Sport in June of 2015, these national governing bodies collectively came to a hard conclusion. They all are facing the same problem. Participation among children ages 6-17 years in some sports have sharply declined since 2009.
NGB leaders have self-admittedly said to Sport Business Journal that they were wrong. Their policies on sport for children’s development have not amounted to being good for youth. They have had a "clogging" effect in youth sports. Many have felt it, equally as many have complained but the governing bodies, themselves, denied a problem existed.
NGBs failure to lead has made it hard to get an accurate pulse on youth sports. The failure to effectively govern the problems and at many points deny they existed has led to children as young as 3- and 4-years old participating in interstate travel, year round play, single sport specialization and “elite” competitions. It is as absurd as it is dangerous.
The National Governing Bodies (NGBs) of sport look after the varying aspects of their individual sports. The following are NGBs recognized by the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees.
- USA Archery
- USA Badminton
- USA Biathlon
- US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation
- USA Kayak and Conoe
- US Curling Association
- USA Cycling
- USA Diving
- US Equestrian Federation
- US Fencing Association
- USA Field Hockey
- US Figure Skating
- USA Gymnastics
- USA Hockey
- USA Judo
- USA Luge
- USA Pentathlon
- USA Roller Sports
- US Rowing
- USA Rugby
- US Sailing
- USA Shooting
- US Skiing and Snowboard Association
- US Soccer Federation
- USA Softball
- US Speedskating
- USA Swimming
- USA Synchronized Swimming
- USA Speed Skating
- USA Table Tennis
- USA Taekwondo
- USA Team Handball
- US Tennis Association
- USA Track and Field
- USA Triathlon
- USA Water Polo
- USA Volleyball
- USA Weightlifting
- USA Wrestling
- USA Baseball
- USA Basketball
- USA Football
At their meeting in Detroit at the Association of Chief Executives for Sport in June of 2015, these national governing bodies collectively came to a hard conclusion. They all are facing the same problem. Participation among children ages 6-17 years in some sports have sharply declined since 2009.
NGB leaders have self-admittedly said to Sport Business Journal that they were wrong. Their policies on sport for children’s development have not amounted to being good for youth. They have had a "clogging" effect in youth sports. Many have felt it, equally as many have complained but the governing bodies, themselves, denied a problem existed.
NGBs failure to lead has made it hard to get an accurate pulse on youth sports. The failure to effectively govern the problems and at many points deny they existed has led to children as young as 3- and 4-years old participating in interstate travel, year round play, single sport specialization and “elite” competitions. It is as absurd as it is dangerous.
Losing on the world stage
Instead of worrying about the well-being and safety of youth, NGBs, absent in these ways, were moved to action instead by the confronting news that most American sports were struggling on the world stage. It could be said that this is a major metric for assessing NGBs leadership efforts. The failure to account and demand for youth development inside their policies has led to the newest generations of U.S. athletes disappointingly performing on the world’s biggest stages.
The professionalization (i.e. high competition) of youth sports has essentially failed. It is not creating better players as was hoped. But what it did do was create an open door for more developmental initiatives to resurface. NGBs, ironically, are now more intentionally wanting to shift their focus affect to the lowest levels of sport where the greatest development impact can be felt.
The professionalization (i.e. high competition) of youth sports has essentially failed. It is not creating better players as was hoped. But what it did do was create an open door for more developmental initiatives to resurface. NGBs, ironically, are now more intentionally wanting to shift their focus affect to the lowest levels of sport where the greatest development impact can be felt.
Taking the Pulse of Youth Sports Future
What is the current pulse of youth sports. On one hand, it is disturbing that things have gotten this far out of hand. However, it has led us to the correction. When middle and upper-middle class families collectively walk away in droves it is powerful. It definitely got the attention of sports national governing bodies.
Time will tell how well the correction will take. In the end, if the NGBs follows through and create new strategies to reboot the developmental side of youth sport again, you might begin to see glimmerings of youth sports of old. The civilizing and refining effect youth sports can have on our society is going to be a stretch, but with professional teams becoming more sensitive to families with young children, children with disabilities and family members with sensory disorders, there is hope. All of these things can lead to youth sports having a stronger heart and accordingly a stronger pulse, two things good for everybody.
For more on the pulse of youth sports consider a different reading "what is right about youth sports in America" by Doctor Jim Taylor.
Time will tell how well the correction will take. In the end, if the NGBs follows through and create new strategies to reboot the developmental side of youth sport again, you might begin to see glimmerings of youth sports of old. The civilizing and refining effect youth sports can have on our society is going to be a stretch, but with professional teams becoming more sensitive to families with young children, children with disabilities and family members with sensory disorders, there is hope. All of these things can lead to youth sports having a stronger heart and accordingly a stronger pulse, two things good for everybody.
For more on the pulse of youth sports consider a different reading "what is right about youth sports in America" by Doctor Jim Taylor.
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