Why aren’t more kids playing sports? ESPN devotes $5M to get them back

Why aren't more kids playing sports? ESPN devotes $5M to obtain them back.

Key points

• Recent data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association has discovered that only 38% of 6- to 12-year-olds are playing sports on a regular basis.
• Before she traveled the country after Alabama, Ohio State and Texas, Heather Dinich was nestled in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
• "Project Play" has set the goal engaging 63% youth sports participation by 2030.
• As well Little League Baseball and Softball, "Take Back Sports, " led by ESPN and Disney, includes professional sports leagues and sports brands.
• Families spend, on average, $1, 016 per year on their child's primary sport, according to the most recent Aspen Institute parent survey.

Why aren't more kids playing sports? ESPN devotes $5M to obtain them back. Stephen Borelli USA TODAY. Coach Steve's new book guides parents through youth sports.

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"I'm from Pottsville, " she notes, "home of Yuengling (beer), and that's all." But there were youth sports, like there are just concerning anywhere.

I think back to my time playing softball from fifth through eighth grade, which is why I love the Pittsburgh Pirates, Dinich, now an ESPN college football writer, notes. And that contributed to my overall love of sports, and ultimately, why I'm a sports reporter.

"I wanted to be Andy Van Slake in center field. I wore his number. I wanted to dive head first like Pete Rose. And I'm so jealous of the young girls who obtain to play flag football as I can only imagine how much more I would have known as a high school girl regarding football than I did growing up without it."

It's a model her employer has thought regarding a lot: Kids who play sports become sports fans. It applied to be an straightforward formula when Dinich was growing up in the 1980s, but today, it's a competitive market for kids' attention.

Families spend, on average, $1, 016 per year on their child's primary sport, according to the most recent Aspen Institute parent survey. Plenty of pay a lot more than that. There is a relentless race, even at young ages, for slots on travel and select teams. Kids feel pressure, or just plain inadequate, and they quit.

ESPN has honed in on this age group, investing $5 million in philanthropy and marketing and focused on four pillars it hopes will support remove barriers to entry with what it calls "Take Back Sports."

It is grounded in the idea that solid community sports from a young age keeps kids playing and gives them a puncher's chance of becoming sports fans for life.

Dinich, along with a collection of athlete ambassadors, are at the forefront of what ESPN calls its movement to empower parents, coaches and kids.

"We're not sending them out there to get a scholarship, " notes Dinich, who has three sons (16, 14, 12) and experience with the high school and club levels of sports. "We're sending them out there to grow as individuals, to have fun, to be good teammates and to be well-rounded kids. And to be healthy."

What is 'Take Back Sports, ' and why did ESPN start it?

ESPN has aligned it's "platforms, partnerships and purpose" to create playing sports feasible for kids throughout the USA. The network is a member of the Aspen Institute's "Project Play, " which seeks to build healthy communities through sports.

"Project Play" has set the goal engaging 63% youth sports participation by 2030. We are around 55%, according to the latest numbers.

Our focus is on parents, teachers, coaches, and caring adults, notes Kevin Martinez, vice president of ESPN Corporate Citizenship. We're trying to demonstrate and show, and base in fact, the amplitude of when you participate in sports, you will develop foundational skills that will carry through your entire life, including leadership, resilience, teamwork, and mental wellness.

"Kids are really struggling. It is the most unhappy generation ever measured. How do we become part of the solution to create them happy? We think sports is part of that answer. How do you not burn them out? How do you create sure that there's access to sports, and how do you produce sure that there's mentors that are involved? And so we came up with four strategies."

For context, the four pillars "Take Back Sports" has targeted, where ESPN feels it can have the largest impact.

Community recreational leagues: where seeds are planted for a fervent interest in sports.

Quality coaching: which can create or break a child's experience with sports.

Multisport play: which can reduce burnout and support kids stay in sports longer.

Having fun: which sounds so simple, but, according to "Project Play" research, is a primary reason (along with playing alongside friends) why kids play sports in the first place.

As well Little League Baseball and Softball, "Take Back Sports, " led by ESPN and Disney, includes professional sports leagues and sports brands. It focuses on creating more affordable programs that offer every kid a chance to play, develop and thrive.

In practice, the initiative, according to ESPN, has impacted more than 1 million kids and 67, 000 coaches through backing of organizations like the Positive Coaching Alliance, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Special Olympics and the Women's Sports Foundation.

It focuses on creating more affordable programs that offer every kid a chance to play, develop and thrive. Youth Sports Survival Guide: Order Coach Steve's new book. Why community sports are so significant.

In practice, the overall goal of "Take Back Sports" is to support more kids experience the benefits of sports participation early in life. The initiative collaborates with Disney Jr. And "Every Kid Sports" to expand access to youth sports for preschoolers (ages 3-7) via grants to support income-restricted families.

The whole push to get it back to the community level is so important, Dinich notes. That's where we met so plenty of families. Some of our best friends right now. This person we go on ski trips with and go on vacation with, are families that we met at youth soccer. Those community teams are critical to friendships and families and that whole aspect of having fun.

"I believe wholeheartedly we need to obtain back to that as the other thing that we're seeing in club sports is kids' own little transfer portal. 'Oh, I'm not getting playing time. I'm hopping to this one.' And you know what all they really want to do? They want to play with the kids from school. And some of them haven't had the same teammates for four years since they're team-hopping. And so that goes back to the essence of the team, the importance of coaches." Why don't some kids play sports? Maybe you should ask them.

We have a responsibility as parents in enhancing the youth sports experience.

Martinez notes a kid's first experience with sports is usually with his or her parents, a connection, he states, that "becomes part of the social construct of the family identity."

In other words, you're a Yankees or a Celtics fan since your dad is or your mom is. Nevertheless, the sport the parents played can additionally become part of that construct. It can be a dicey proposition.

"The chances are very small that they get a scholarship, that they become professional, ultimately influence financially the rest of their life, " Martinez notes. "And so, it's incumbent upon us to also say, wait a minute, sports should first and foremost be about having fun and something that the child wants for their own development."

Dreams are formed in youth sports, but so is happiness. A prominent "Take Back Sports" ambassador is Stephen Curry, whose Eat. Learn. Play Foundation in Oakland, California, supports local kids with meals, reading resources and opportunities to play sports.

Martinez points out that Curry played football as kid. It drew him into sports and ultimately supported him to become a more well-rounded basketball player.

Our job as sports parents when our kids are young is to engage them in activities they love. Specialization – and travel sports, for that matter – can come afterwards.

That's what ESPN is trying to push back at, Dinich notes. And it's an significant pushback. Just since you invest literally thousands of dollars in this club sport doesn't guarantee that your kid's going to secure a college scholarship, let alone a spot in the high school roster. We've been particularly candid with our middle son: 'Hey, do the best you can with trying out for the soccer team. You might not create it, and that's OK. And if you don't, then we'll figure it out.'

"What are you there for to commence with? It goes back to having fun, being healthy, and you can obtain that at the community level. And quite honestly, I don't understand how this model of youth sports is sustainable for parents."

ESPN additionally sees an opportunity for coaches to be more intentional. According to "Project Play, " more than 85% of youth athletes say their coach's role is to develop their life skills. Just half agreed that their coach's role is to win.

Youth coaches are often volunteer parents or family members who haven't received a lot of training. ESPN has teamed with the Positive Coaching Alliance and the National Recreation and Park Association as part of the "Million Coaches Challenge" (MCC) to provide training and spur positive youth development.

In short, why aren't more kids playing sports? ESPN devotes $5M to get them is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.