Study: Organized youth sports are increasingly for the privileged

[Muda69]

https://news.osu.edu/organized-youth-sports-are-increasingly-for-the-privileged/

Quote

A sweeping study of U.S. youth sports participation over the past 60 years found that there has been a significant increase over time in kids playing organized sports – but particularly among more privileged, educated families.

A national survey found that about 70% of Americans born in the ’90s and reaching age 18 by 2015-16 said they took part in organized sports through recreational, school, or club teams. This finding showed a rather steady increase in organized sports participation across generations. Slightly more than half of those born in the ’50s reported participating in organized youth sports.

But there were also significant generational variations in who took part in organized sports, the study found.

For kids born in the ’50s, there were essentially no class differences in who played organized sports. But for kids born in the ’90s, the share of those who played organized sports grew to be 24 percentage points higher when they had a college-educated parent when compared to not having had a college-educated parent.

“Childhood social class matters when it comes to whether you have the opportunity to participate in organized sports, something which is a relatively recent development,” said Chris Knoester, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University.

 

“We found that privileged families seem to be leveraging their advantages to strategically and intentionally invest in organized sports participation. That can give their children big benefits.”

Knoester conducted the study with Chris Bjork, professor of education at Vassar. Their results were published recently in the journal Leisure/Loisir.

A major contribution of the study is providing an in-depth review of how patterns of youth sports participation have changed over the past 60 years, something that hasn’t been done before, Knoester said.

The study used data from the National Sports and Society Survey, conducted in 2018 and 2019 by Ohio State. It included a sample of 3,935 adults from across the country who answered questions about their sports participation as children.

The finding that youth from privileged families are increasingly dominating organized sports speaks to the increased privatization of the youth sports industry, enhanced reliance on parents’ involvement, and huge growth of club sports, according to the researchers.

“There has been a dramatic decrease in public support for extracurricular activities in schools that started in the ’80s, including sports,” Bjork said.

“One result has been the growth of club sports, which can be very expensive, and not all parents are in the position to afford that for their kids.”

The average family paid $883 annually for one child’s primary sport in 2022, according to Project Play by the Aspen Institute.

For many privileged parents, organized and especially private club sports are seen as a way to help their kids excel in a sport, potentially setting them up for college scholarships and a springboard to success in life, Knoester said.

The fact that fewer families have access to this because of the expense is concerning, he said.

One positive trend the study documented was the growth of girls participating in youth sports, Knoester said.

Among kids born in the 50’s and growing up throughout the ’60s, only about 45% of girls took part in organized sports, way behind boys. But by the ’90s, about 70% of girls were out on the fields and courts, right on par with boys.

 

A lot of that had to do with Title IX, a federal law passed in 1972 that prohibited schools from sex-based discrimination, including in sports.

“It resulted in a dramatic increase in the number of girls taking part in sports,” Knoester said.

And Americans saw one outcome of that in the recent Olympic games in Paris.

The U.S. won 126 medals, the most of any country – and women won 67 of them, Knoester noted. In fact, if the U.S. women were their own nation, they would have placed third in the overall medal count, behind only the U.S. and China.

“Title IX and the increase in girls playing sports really set the stage for what we saw in Paris this summer, with the domination of U.S. women,” Knoester said.

Another key finding of the study was that, while sports participation has increased over the generations, there has also been a concerning rise in the proportion of kids who start playing, but then drop out.

For those born in the ’50s, just over 50% of those who started playing organized sports as children dropped out before they turned 18. But for those born in the ’90s, over 70% of those who started playing organized sports dropped out before they reached adulthood. It is now much more common for children to play sports and drop out than to play continually or to never play while growing up.

A previous study by Knoester and colleagues showed that many kids who drop out do it because they were not having fun, or felt they were not a good enough player. This study suggests that the problem has been getting worse for recent generations of kids, Knoester said.

The issue of more youth dropping out of sports may be connected to the growth of club sports and the pressures kids feel to excel, the researchers said.

“Underlying all of this is the dramatic shift from sports being seen as a way to have fun and make friends and learn life lessons to sports being a way to get ahead in life,” Bjork said.

There’s a need to return to the promise of youth sports as a positive and inclusive force in society, and a way to help all kids meet health goals, make friends and learn how to work together, Knoester said.

“We need to find ways to keep kids involved and positive on the fields and courts, without the hyper-competitive, high-pressure, expensive culture that seems to predominate today,” he said.

It's just a game.  Played by children.  Why do adults have to ruin it?

 

[temptation]

Checkmate.

[gonzoron]

57 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://news.osu.edu/organized-youth-sports-are-increasingly-for-the-privileged/

It's just a game.  Played by children.  Why do adults have to ruin it?

 

Shouldn't private donors be funding organized sports? My kids can play on my own land, why can't all kids play sports where they can find a spot?

[BTF]

1 hour ago, temptation said:

Checkmate.

Saw that coming.

[BTF]

Let's take the word "privilege" out of our vocabulary and replace it with "hard work." Every parent has the opportunity to do what's best for their kids regardless of income. Where there's a will, there's a way. 

[temptation]

24 minutes ago, BTF said:

Let's take the word "privilege" out of our vocabulary and replace it with "hard work." Every parent has the opportunity to do what's best for their kids regardless of income. Where there's a will, there's a way. 

Yeah, “privileged” (politics ruined the term for me) is a bit much but money matters no matter how much folks on here want to deny it and mock me.

Edited August 20, 2024 by temptation

[BTF]

1 hour ago, temptation said:

Yeah, “privileged” (politics ruined the term for me) is a bit much but money matters no matter how much folks on here want to deny it and mock me.

I think anyone who mocked you lacks common sense. Socioeconomic factors are significant, as Muda's article suggests. Debates are pretty simple when you know your right. 

[IndianaWrestlingGuy1]

6 hours ago, Muda69 said:

https://news.osu.edu/organized-youth-sports-are-increasingly-for-the-privileged/

It's just a game.  Played by children.  Why do adults have to ruin it?

 

Is Muda shedding his "all public schools are inferior" scorn? Is Muda alluding that the woke BS of "organized youth sports being a privilege" is un-American? Man, even a Frankfort socialist is turning the corner. Maybe Kamala is in trouble. It's doubtful with the emotional stooges out there with the nonsense above as the battle cry, but this post is a nice development. Welcome to capitalism, Muda. Maybe the American dream is alive albeit on life support. Hegemony was always a pipe dream. 

[Muda69]

14 hours ago, gonzoron said:

Shouldn't private donors be funding organized sports? 

Yes, or at least private sports organizations.  

 

[Muda69]

9 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

Is Muda shedding his "all public schools are inferior" scorn?

No. Just that it is the adults that tend to overemphasize, mutate, and twist games played by children into some hyper-competitive, "my child needs that athletic scholarship!!!!!!",  make-or-break, every-game-is-high-stakes,  mess.

9 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

 Is Muda alluding that the woke BS of "organized youth sports being a privilege" is un-American? 

No, I never alluded to that.  Only posting the results from the study.

9 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

Man, even a Frankfort socialist is turning the corner. 

Please point to the posts where I have espoused socialism as a needed and viable political/economic theory for the United States of America.

9 hours ago, IndianaWrestlingGuy1 said:

Welcome to capitalism, Muda. 

No need to welcome me, I've been a supporter of capitalism my entire adult life.

[BTF]

17 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

games played by children

Just a reminder, many of these "children" are 18 year adults. 

The meaning of CHILD is a young person especially between infancy and puberty. 

High schoolers don't qualify.

Edited August 21, 2024 by BTF

[btownqbcoach1]

This is why football is so important. 

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, BTF said:

Just a reminder, many of these "children" are 18 year adults. 

The meaning of CHILD is a young person especially between infancy and puberty. 

High schoolers don't qualify.

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=child

Quote

 A person who has not attained maturity or the age of legal majority.

Many are children, not adults.  

If you want to get worked up about the number of 18 year olds playing Indiana High School football from August-November, knock yourself out.  They are still in high school, however.

Also: https://www.healthline.com/health/do-guys-keep-growing-until-age-25

Quote

ResearchTrusted Source has found that the brain doesn’t fully develop until the age of 25 and men usually achieve peak muscle mass somewhere between the age of 20 and 30.

Still children.

 

Edited August 21, 2024 by Muda69

[temptation]

2 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=child

Many are children, not adults.  

If you want to get worked up about the number of 18 year olds playing Indiana High School football from August-November, knock yourself out.  They are still in high school, however.

Also: https://www.healthline.com/health/do-guys-keep-growing-until-age-25

Still children.

 

You’re on this board daily from sun up to sun down yet want to mock folks for taking “a sport played by children too seriously”, lol.

We’re all (well safe for a couple of folks) on here because we share a passion for the sport, right?

Weird take.

[MarshallCounty]

And?

[Muda69]

16 minutes ago, temptation said:

You’re on this board daily from sun up to sun down yet want to mock folks for taking “a sport played by children too seriously”, lol.

We’re all (well safe for a couple of folks) on here because we share a passion for the sport, right?

Weird take.

I enjoy football as a simple game. Nothing more, nothing less.   Do I have a "passion" for the sport? No, not really. 

 

[1st_and_10]

Speaking from just a youth football position... EVERYTHING has gone up.  Helmets have went up $25-$30 each in just the last 18 months, shoulder pads have gone up too.  Reconditioning the helmets you are looking at ~$70 per helmet.  T-shirts/Jerseys have gone up.  The youth organizations have to be able to cover costs of the equipment.  Not to mention officials, footballs, other equipment, etc.  It's not as cheap as it was 5 years ago to register, but that's due to the cost of literally everything going up.

[Muda69]

7 minutes ago, 1st_and_10 said:

Speaking from just a youth football position... EVERYTHING has gone up.  Helmets have went up $25-$30 each in just the last 18 months, shoulder pads have gone up too.  Reconditioning the helmets you are looking at ~$70 per helmet.  T-shirts/Jerseys have gone up.  The youth organizations have to be able to cover costs of the equipment.  Not to mention officials, footballs, other equipment, etc.  It's not as cheap as it was 5 years ago to register, but that's due to the cost of literally everything going up.

I'm curious.  What kind of insurance obligations are youth football organizations required to carry?  Or is it all on the families of the players?

 

[BTF]

35 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=child

Many are children, not adults.  

If you want to get worked up about the number of 18 year olds playing Indiana High School football from August-November, knock yourself out.  They are still in high school, however.

Also: https://www.healthline.com/health/do-guys-keep-growing-until-age-25

Still children.

 

Are you sure you don't use "children" in a condescending way? Be honest.

[Muda69]

1 minute ago, BTF said:

Are you sure you don't use "children" in a condescending way? Be honest.

No, I don't believe that I do.  There are differences between children and adults in American society, are there not?

 

[BTF]

1 minute ago, Muda69 said:

No, I don't believe that I do.  There are differences between children and adults in American society, are there not?

I absolutely do. I just have a hard time referring high school varsity players as "children." Prefer "young adults" for 18 year olds. "Teenagers" for the rest of the teenagers. "Children" 12 and under.

[temptation]

21 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

I enjoy football as a simple game. Nothing more, nothing less.   Do I have a "passion" for the sport? No, not really. 

 

Then why do you choose a high school football message board to trot out your ideology about non football related nonsense on a daily basis?

Certainly you can get your fix elsewhere, right?

What ARE you passionate about?

Edited August 21, 2024 by temptation

[1st_and_10]

6 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

I'm curious.  What kind of insurance obligations are youth football organizations required to carry?  Or is it all on the families of the players?

 

We carry a policy to cover families that do not have family/individual coverage.  There is a football policy that we purchase.  Cheerleaders are 1 cost, flag football is 1 cost, 8-10 yr olds are 1 price, and 10-12 yr olds are 1 price.  We have a 6 month policy that costs ~$2000.  

[btownqbcoach1]

4 minutes ago, temptation said:

Then why do you choose a high school football message board to trot out your ideology about non football related nonsense on a daily basis?

Certainly you can get your fix elsewhere, right?

What ARE you passionate about?

being a troll

[Muda69]

1 minute ago, temptation said:

Then why do you choose a high school football message board to trot out your ideology about non football related nonsense on a daily basis?

Certainly you can get your fix elsewhere, right?

What ARE you passionate about?

So one has to be 100% passionate about something in order to have an opinion about it? 

I frequent other message boards on other topics and hobbies that I enjoy.  Do you?

And please expound on this "ideology about non football related nonsense".  I think I do a good job of keeping no football/sport related discussion to the OOB forum. What exactly do you think my "ideology" is?

 

4 minutes ago, 1st_and_10 said:

We carry a policy to cover families that do not have family/individual coverage.  There is a football policy that we purchase.  Cheerleaders are 1 cost, flag football is 1 cost, 8-10 yr olds are 1 price, and 10-12 yr olds are 1 price.  We have a 6 month policy that costs ~$2000.  

Thank you for the info.