Income Equality and Youth Sports

I found this article interesting. Basic premise: Well off kids move to travel teams and those left behind stop playing. Has greater meaning.

Income Inequality Explains the Decline of Youth Sports - The Atlantic

 

Absolutely it does. It is an unsavory element. I'll probably spend $2,000 or $3,000 this year alone on soccer travel with my son as he's trying to play at the college level. It's fine because I'm fortunate to afford it and, on these trips, we see the country and do more than just soccer but, damn, it leaves people with less disposable income unable to "get a look".

 

I went through it with my boys and it was sad seeing the school yard across the street from us empty (I would have died to have that across the street as a kid) knowing that instead of pickup baseball/football/basketball, kids were instead off at their weekly pitching/hitting/hoops/QB lesson (yeah it was a thing even for 10 yr olds) or on some fancy travel team with sweet unis going to Vegas/LA/etc.

 

One ray of hope at the end

Look at U.S. youth ice hockey, where participation has grown to an all-time record, according to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Among several possible factors—the NHL expanded recently into southern and western states, and the youth hockey organization banned body checking among players under 12— USA Hockey also recently eliminated national championships at the peewee (under-12) level to discourage parents from building super teams. “We felt it would be hypocritical for our sports to offer up an event that encourages people in the field to start to put together super teams at an early age,” said Ken Martel, the technical director of development at USA Hockey. At first, mothers and fathers complained, but “once it was eliminated, just crickets. People like it.”

 

A report about the role of wealth in high school teams' success:

Special report: Uneven Playing Fields

 

High school sports (other than football) bear some of the responsibility here. Coaches there already have their teams pretty much picked by the time the freshmen arrive. They already know who's going to play.

 

Welcome to the USA, same as it ever was.

 

AAA hockey in the Toronto area, especially in the minor midget age group (15 year olds looking to get drafted into the Ontario Hockey League or aiming for D-1 scholarships) is insanely expensive, can run into the tens of thousands of dollars at the end of it. There are some very strong teams and some that get clobbered every night that don't seem to exist for any other reason than for parents to brag that their son plays AAA minor midget in the Greater Toronto Hockey League, which has produced guys like Stamkos, Tavares, Marner, McDavid, Subban and loads of others.

My brother @Fly has seen this up close and personal for years.

 

It's all walks of life. Former colleague of mine has a granddaughter breaking into the country music business. Doing quite well, from all indications. Sang the national anthem at a recent NASCAR Xfinity race. But . . . father is a doctor who has spent tens of thousands of dollars to help this young woman focus on her career. Would an equally talented person coming from no means have anywhere as good a chance at success?

 

I have a friend whose daughters (14 and 11) are high level soccer players in NJ. Both play for nationally ranked club teams but their dad thinks that likely aren’t going to top out at more than low level D-1.

He figures that they spend about $15k per year on the girls. It’s simply insane. I can’t see how a family without resources can keep up.

 

Maybe, maybe not. You can get discovered on YouTube these days. You can get discovered a lot of places. And art is art...eye of the beholder thing.

Sports is bound to analytics and biases in ways that are unproductive at the youth stage.