How to fix youth sports to build future generations of players and fans
In the past, kids got exercise by just being kids. Now, sports are a key way for youth to stay active while building self-esteem, interpersonal skills and wellness habits. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a 63% youth sports participation goal by 2030. Youth sports are also a fundamental part of the pipeline to fandom. When Tom Farrey thinks about the future, he acknowledges there is a lot wrong with the youth sports ecosystem, but he has concrete thoughts about how to fix it.
Matt Carmichael: What are the biggest barriers you see to kids playing sports today?
Tom Farrey: The fundamental flaw in the contemporary sports ecosystem for youth is that we are sorting the weak from the strong well before they grow into their bodies, their minds and their interests. We're creating travel teams at ever-earlier ages. That pushes aside the kids who are late bloomers or late starters who may just have a disadvantageous birthdate, meaning they are 11 months younger than other 7-year-olds. Plus, travel teams cost a lot. That structurally pushes children aside.
Carmichael: How did we get here?
Farrey: Nobody drew up the system, it just sort of evolved. If you had a net promoter score at the end of the youth sport experience for sports parents, I suspect very few of them would give it a nine or a 10.
Carmichael: Can we break the cycle?
Farrey: USA Hockey has put together the American Development Model and adjusted their coach training products and their program standards and built it into their bylaws. They had a hard conversation around policy adjustments. Participation did rise, especially among girls, and the quality of the players that are coming out the back end after 10 years of this are better than they were a decade ago.
Carmichael: Who can make a difference? Is it the leagues, government policy, local park districts?
Farrey: At the bottom up, sports are delivered locally in municipally owned fields and gyms and recreational infrastructure and in schools. The public owns them and rents those spaces out to nonprofits and for-profits. Right now, they don't ask much. It’s, “Do you have insurance, and can you pay?” There's no reason a community can’t say, “We’re going to give preferred slots in the schedule to the organizations that most reflect the makeup of our community.” There’s a real conversation that could be had with mayors about what type of local sports ecosystem we want to have. And then how do we align our facility-use policies in a manner that promotes that vision. Mayors get stuff done. They just don’t always know where to start.
Carmichael: Private equity firms have been coming into the youth sports space. How will that factor in?
Farrey: Private equity could be either the best or the worst thing to happen to youth sports. It's still a largely volunteer-driven space — well-meaning people who are just winging it. Sometimes kids suffer as a consequence. So more professional management could bring more professional delivery of youth sports in this country.
Private equity could be either the best or the worst thing to happen to youth sports.”
Carmichael: And the worst thing?
Farrey: It could be the worst thing if they come in and all they try to do is pull out costs, and they don't take a longer view than they typically do for investments and ultimately monetize models that engage a broader swath of the youth population. About 54% of kids play sports. That's down from about 58% pre-pandemic. While sports are rebounding, we're trying to suck more and more money out of a smaller portion of the youth population.
Carmichael: How do we keep girls involved?
Farrey: We keep girls involved in sports by doing the same thing we want to happen with boys. But there are specific challenges that need to be addressed, too. One of those is injuries. Girls have far higher rates of ACL injuries. We need to have a conversation around early sports specialization and just what's a developmentally appropriate experience.
Carmichael: How will climate change affect youth sports?
Farrey: It's already having an impact. We released a report called “State of Play Baton Rouge,” and the main recommendations are around climate change. It’s dangerous and potentially deadly to play football in summer. Should it be shifted to more of a winter schedule? Things simply have just gotten too hot.
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