A recent study uncovers the rising trend of private club and travel teams in youth sports over the last 60 years. The findings reveal significant disparities based on socio-economic status and the immense financial commitments required from modern families.
A new study conducted by researchers at The Ohio State University and Vassar College unveils a stark transformation in youth sports participation over the past 60 years. The study demonstrates a substantial increase in the number of children involved in private club and travel teams and elucidates pressing socio-economic divides that have emerged alongside this trend.
The research, published in the Journal of Sport and Social Issues, shows that children born in the 1990s were three times more likely to participate in private club and travel sports compared to those born in the 1950s.
The data is based on retrospective reports from 3,938 adult participants of the National Sports and Society Survey, sponsored by Ohio State’s Sports and Society Initiative.
Lead author Chris Knoester, a professor of sociology at Ohio State, highlighted the significant shift from school-based and community sports to the more costly and demanding private club sports.
“The experience of playing sports is a lot different for kids growing up today compared to those growing up in previous generations, with the shift from school-based and community-based sports to private club sports,” he said in a news release. “The result is that it is much more expensive to play youth sports today, and it requires extraordinary commitments from both kids and their parents.”
The study revealed that only about 4% of adults who were born in the 1950s played in club or travel teams, in stark contrast to 13% of those born in the 1990s. This reflects a fundamental shift in parental attitudes towards youth sports.
“For a lot of parents, there’s been a shift from sports as a way to have fun and get exercise to using sports as a way to position their kids for future success in college and beyond,” added co-author Chris Bjork, a professor of education at Vassar College.
Family background and community sports culture played a notable role in determining involvement in these elite sports teams. There was a significant correlation between parents’ socio-economic status and children’s participation in club and travel sports, with children from highly educated and affluent families being more likely to engage in such activities.
The study also sheds light on the increased financial pressures faced by modern families. Recent statistics from Project Play reveal that the average cost for a child to participate in their primary sport has surged by nearly 50% between 2019 and 2024, with a staggering annual expenditure of over $40 billion on youth sports.
“Our results reflect the fact that youth sports is a growing industry and it is continually creating more services that they are selling to parents,” Knoester said.
He also addressed the broader implications, adding, “Embracing private club and travel sports oftentimes brings overwhelming costs and a lot of stress when it comes to travel, organizational and family commitments. And there is no indication that this trend is slowing down.”
Co-author Bjork emphasized that the findings highlight the intricate web of factors that now influence a young athlete’s prospects.
“It is a more complicated picture with family income and education, family and community culture, all of this affecting the opportunities provided to young athletes, regardless of their talent,” Bjork added.
Source: The Ohio State University