Whenever we invest time and energy into something, it is responsible to think about the outcomes that will likely occur from our efforts. This approach to life is a good one to use when it comes to youth sports today, as the investments can be quite heavy, and the results very mixed. By investments, I am referring to the time, money, travel, and overall energy devoted to your child’s youth sport experience. And when I say results, I am using a wide net that includes not only on-field successes, but also costs in terms of physical injuries, mental sport burnout, and missed opportunities because of a hyper-intense sport schedule. Candidly, not every family has an optimal experience in youth sports, and after working in the field of sport psychology for nearly 35 years, I have learned that the unexpected costs can be quite damaging.
Examining the return on investment in youth sports
While not every youth sport parent hopes to one day see their child receive a college athletic scholarship, many do hope such an opportunity will be experienced. Unfortunately, with only about 5% of all high school student athletes advancing to college sports, most families — regardless of how much they invest — will not experience a sport scholarship as part of their return on investment. When parents witness their child’s sport career end without a college opportunity, many look back and wonder if it was their best decision to go all-in on youth sports?
But what about parents who never cared about college sports, and simply wanted to create opportunities for their kid to play sports? Even in these situations an analysis should occur where the time, money, and energy investment should be matched against the more realistic outcomes that will likely occur. Without a college sport opportunity, families must decide if all the travel, missed opportunities, and increased risks for injury and potential mental health issues (i.e. sport burnout) are worth going all-in? When kids play year-round (or close to it), they almost certainly will experience sport injuries, with many being very serious in nature (i.e. concussions, torn ACL). Additional mental health concerns include depression, anxiety, body image concerns, and eating disorders. As your child plays more throughout the year and at higher levels, the risks for all of these things occurring increases.
The good news is many of the negative outcomes that occur in youth sports can be avoided! First, understanding the realities about playing in college (foreign to many sport parents) can really help guide families with respect to time and money investments in youth sports. When you know the facts, it helps with responsible decision-making and prioritization. Parents can also help kids by varying routines, limiting sport seasons (with breaks!), and by broadening life experiences so that your kid is not limited in the identity of solely “athlete.” Parents can also help kids by talking openly about the life skills learned in sports that can be applied outside of sports, thereby identifying a value to sport participation that goes far beyond the playing field. Of course, there is no guaranteed way to avoid on-field injuries, but you can definitely minimize many of the predictable pitfalls by being an active sport parent.
Final thoughts
What starts out for many families as simply a youth extra-curricular experience, youth sports can quickly morph into a hyper-intense, year-round commitment. Kids as young as elementary school aged now regularly compete in elite youth sport leagues, and many experience the same mental and physical tolls as high school and college athletes. Going “all-in” is a big risk, and even bigger if you only consider youth sports a success if your child eventually receives a college athletic scholarship.
drstankovich.com
