At a glance:
Summer is upon us, and that usually means kids playing outside or participating in summer sports leagues like softball or soccer.
But the costs of youth sports are increasingly out of reach for many families. According to one study, the costs are rising faster than inflation.
Sticker shock
Millions of young fans across the country are watching the FIFA World Cup and major league baseball this summer. Some hope they, too, will play in front of millions someday.
But that dream is out of reach for a lot of those kids. Not because of a lack of talent, but because of costs.
“Uniforms and fees are $600 — between $500-$600 at the beginning,” said Tom Bùi, a coach at City Heights Soccer League.
The breakdown
A recent study by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play shows that family spending on youth sports has increased by 46% since 2019, making them out of reach for many low-income families.
In addition to the uniform costs, there are travel costs for away games, Bùi said. “You're looking between $1,500 to $2,000 per player,” he said.
That’s just for a club team. For competitive leagues, those costs jump astronomically. Bùi said they could be "in the thousands, the tens of thousands.”
That creates a barrier of entry for low-income families.
A 2021 survey by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association shows that in families earning $25,000 or less a year, only 24% of kids ages 6 to 12 participate in organized sports, compared to 40% in families earning $100,000 or more.
That’s why Bùi waives the fees for his club team, allowing the kids to participate completely free of charge. He says he's able to do this because of sponsorships and volunteer coaches.
“If any kids ... come out and wanted to play, we'll find (funding for) it, we train them,” he said. “We'll teach them.”
Barriers to entry
The high costs of team sports are why Hilda Oltean founded the nonprofit San Marcos Basketball in 2020. It’s a club team where children can participate for free or a small fee.
“I grew up in a free program that has helped me, and sports was part of who I am today,” Oltean said.
While some of the costs could be offset by playing on school teams, she said that’s not enough if kids want to move on to the next level — be it varsity, collegiate sports or professional leagues.
“You need to play three to four hours a day,” Oltean said. “Your sport, whether it is basketball or baseball or any other sport, you need to play at that level in order to be competitive.”
“When I was a child, sports was considered as a necessity, and now it's considered as a luxury.”— A.J. Narasimhan, parent
Christian Littlejohn-Chin was a product of the program. After graduating from San Marcos High School, he played Division II basketball at California State University, San Marcos.
Littlejohn-Chin now plays semi-professionally for the San Diego Suns and also coaches for the program. He said playing in club teams got him to where he is now.
“Club sports, to me, was bigger than high school or school basketball was, because it gives you a sense of freedom that you don't get in those more structured games,” Littlejohn-Chin said. “And that's where you really become yourself, because basketball is a confidence sport, so you're only as good as confident as you are.”
What's next?
For some parents, like A.J. Narasimhan, club sports are a way to help their children be more active. But costs can sometimes get in the way.
“When I was a child, sports was considered as a necessity, and now it's considered as a luxury,” Narasimhan said.
Even participating on club teams at local recreation centers, where costs are lower, is still expensive, he said.
“We also have to pay for the association fees,” Narasimhan said. “So there's a lot of other costs that go into it that kind of make it a little bit cost-prohibitive for folks to sign their kids up for sports.”
According to a study by the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, getting kids involved in sports early helps with motor skills, social development and lifelong healthy habits. The same study also shows that income is the biggest driver for early participation, limiting opportunities for lower-income children to participate in sports.
For now, programs like Bùi’s and Altean's are giving low-income kids a “kick up” in the sports world.
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