In a report from the Aspen Institute that was released as part of their Project Play research, some very disturbing numbers where shared about the declining percentage of students who play sports. I’m not talking about high school students; I’m talking about those in elementary schools! Here is a statistic to give you a picture of what I am referring to. According to the Aspen Institute, the average child in our country spends less than three years playing a sport, and quitting by age 11, because it just is not fun anymore.
This study has sent a major warning shot across the bow of sports organizations from youth to professional. Professional sports leagues have responded quickly with a marketing campaign put together encourage kids to stick with playing sports. They have called it #DONTRETIREKID. Kind of interesting when you think about it as retirement is generally associated in sports when an athlete can no longer compete. We have seen some athletes agonize over that decision, and for others, they really do not have a choice because they have exhausted their opportunities to play a game they love because they do not have the skills to move to the next level. Now, many 11-year olds are making that decision! In 2018, only 38% of children from the age 6 to 12 played team sports on a regular basis. That is down from 45% ten years earlier.
Another reason cited by the study that kids are quitting at a young age is because of the economics. While parents report that the primary thing they are looking for with youth sports is that their kids have fun, it can cost a lot for their child to play. To that end, many parents pay upwards of a few thousand dollars each season for their child to play. Hockey has the highest average price tag at $2583.00 per year, with track and field having the lowest average at $191.00 annually. The average cost across the board for all youth sports participation in the country was $698.00 a year. But, keep in mind that these are averages. Even the least expensive sports saw some parents spending in excess of $9000.00 per year per child, taking into consideration private coaching, travel, uniforms, and other costs.
It goes without saying that because of the cost, kids are left out. Even nominal fees to participate can be an obstacle for some low-income families, and certainly, in some areas public and non-profit organizations do not provide the same opportunities as in the past because of cutbacks that have been made over the years. Another phenomenon is that for those families that can afford it, their kids play on travel or “select” teams, depleting numbers for local leagues and lowering the level of competition,. Whereas for previous generations sports were a way for kids living in poverty to “get out,” without opportunity that is not as readily available. Leagues sponsored by Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA, and city recreational departments are the ones most likely to be free or at a low cost for kids, but in many areas of the country, it has become increasingly difficult for these programs to find funding.
While a majority of parents state that their primary hope for their child that participates in sports is to have fun, many of them are also looking for extrinsic rewards for their kids as well. Many parents rank admission advantages to college, athletic scholarships, and professional sports opportunities very high as to why they want their kids to play sports. For many of these kids, the level of stress becomes very high, and “burnout” is something that is often the result. In addition, many families are under the impression that if their child is going to get a scholarship, they need to focus on one sport, which obviously results in a decline in overall participation. An increasing problem with sport specialization, according to medical professionals, is overuse injuries. Dr. James Andrews, the foremost orthopedic surgeon in the country working with professional and college athletes, reports an alarming increase in the number of young, pre-teen athletes coming to him to repair injuries. This is quite scary when you think that an athletic career could be finished before a child starts high school due to injuries!
According to the Aspen Institute study, kids are cycling out of sports relatively quick. On average, kids quit playing a sport after 2.86 years. At first look, this is not a good sign, especially if the kids move to the couch or end up spending their time on something other than sports. If they are in fact leaving, then there truly is a problem and people need to figure out why. It is critically important for their long-term health that children do remain active and get the recommended level of one-hour of physical activity a day. It does not have to be in organized sports, but it needs to take place somewhere!
Referenced earlier is the growing issue at a young age of kids specializing in one sport. According to the report, 45% of children play only one sport. The multi-sport athlete — the life blood of small high school athletic programs — is declining. We see it at NFVHS as fewer students are participating in three or four sports. In some cases, students play a sport at the high school and then move on to a club program, opting not to play another sport with a school team. Specialization is also something that college level coaches caution against. Many of them have been very outspoken in their desire to recruit multi-sport athletes. Coach Kirk Ferentz at Iowa has a number of offensive linemen that were outstanding wrestlers in high school. Coach John Cook at Nebraska loves to recruit volleyball players that have competed in other sports as well.
There is certainly a bias here from the perspective of a high school activity director wanting to see a high level of participation playing at a competitive level. It is concerning that fewer young kids are playing sports, and more so, they are quitting at a young age before they get to high school. Yes, there is an obsession in this country with sports, and certainly some people taken them a lot more serious than they should. However, they can have very positive benefits for young people that participate, and they are something a community places an emphasis on. Let’s take some time and figure out how to give more access to kids and create an environment where they want to continue playing as long as they can.
