There is little argument that today’s youth sport experience for kids is vastly different from the one their parents had a generation ago, but are these changes bad? Good? Irrelevant? When we look at how kids compete today compared to years past, a number of trends and findings quickly emerge — including changes around intensity, commitment, injuries, and mental health, to name a few. Kids today don’t play for fun and local pride, but instead we see increasingly more kids trying to compete at very serious elite levels, often traveling around the country and committing to their sport training year-round. As a result, many kids play their sport better than their parents did, but at what cost? Today we will examine some of the bigger shifts in youth sports and allow you to judge if things are trending favorably, or if the focus of youth sports has shifted in unhealthy ways. One of the great ironies of modern youth sports is that we’ve become remarkably better at developing athletes, yet not necessarily better at developing childhoods.
Biggest changes in youth sports
Just about everything changes over time, including youth sports. Rather than simply state that the changes are “all good,” or “all bad,” it is important to look at each change and include any nuance that might exist. For example, for one family year-round sport specialization might be healthy, while another family doing the same might witness their kid dealing with sport burnout. Below are observable youth sport changes that have occurred over the last several decades that impact most sport families today:
- Recreation leagues vs travel leagues. It used to be that local communities offered all that you needed when it came to youth sports, but these days recreation leagues are disappearing quickly while elite travel leagues continue to build more teams to meet greater interest.
- The “eyeball” test vs. sport metrics. Coaches used to watch kids perform and gauge their potential based on what they saw. Today, kids are constantly measured and evaluated for better (supposed) future predictability.
- Volunteer coaches vs. expert coaches. Youth sports used to be driven by volunteers; today, elite programs have paid coaches to coach teams.
- Focus on fun vs. focus on advancing in sports. Youth sports used to focus exclusively on fun, growth, local pride, and preparing for school sports. Today, clubs focus on talent, development, and attracting the attention of college coaches.
- Reasonable costs vs. exorbitant costs. The cost to play youth sports used to be a nominal fee, but today’s club costs can easily be in the thousands of dollars — resulting on increasingly more kids being squeezed out.
- Occasional serious injuries vs. regular serious injuries. Injuries commonly seen in youth sports in the old days included cuts, scrapes, and the occasional broken bone. Today, kids at very young ages experience serious injuries (i.e. ACL) that require surgery, with some kids retiring from sports prematurely as a result.
- One sport per season vs. sport specialization and year-round training. The three-sport letter winner used to be a common thing, where kids played a new sport each new season. Today, however, we see more kids specialize in one sport and do it year-round.
- Eagerness to play college (and stay) vs. not ready for college athletics, premature quitting. Another interesting change many people overlook are the growing number of young athletes who do make it to play college sports — then voluntarily quit. After dedicating their lives to a single sport (and playing it year-round), increasingly more young athletes make it to college sports then decide they have simply had enough and retire from sports.
- Not enough sports (excitement to play more) vs. too much sports, burnout and mother mental health issues. Kids from the past played shorter seasons, and many wanted to play more. Kids today play so much that many experience sport burnout, or other mental health issues.
- Focus on growth vs. focus on winning. Sports used to be viewed as a meaningful part of a child’s life, a place where kids could get good physical activity, meet friends, and learn important life skills. Kids today train very differently, with most competing in leagues that focus on winning over everything else.
Are the changes above good for kids, or have we created an experience that falls short of the one previously enjoyed by their parents? Some parents love the seriousness of youth sports today, while others yearn for an experience focused more on fun and growth over intensity and winning.
One of the great ironies of modern youth sports is that we’ve become remarkably better at developing athletes, yet not necessarily better at developing childhoods.
Regardless of where you stand on the ways youth sports have changed, kids are experiencing serious injuries and mental health issues as a direct result of sport intensity today. Should we just continue pushing, or would it be better to revisit current trends and work to get back to a more balanced youth sport participation model?
Final thoughts
Changes in youth sports have become quite noticeable in recent years, especially with respect to focus and intensity. Some of the changes have been positive and helpful, while other changes have turned an otherwise fun experience for kids into something very different than what they had thought. Sport participation can be an amazing developmental experience for kids, but positive outcomes only occur when we create a welcoming environment focused on fun, friendships, and life skills development, not a hyper-professional, pressurized, college preparatory experience.
drstankovich.com
