Let’s Use This Crisis to Reboot Youth Sports For Good

by Renata Simril and Adam Fraser

We have faith that we will pull through this global pandemic together and the distance that the COVID-19 restrictions have created will eventually ease. That faith is matched by our eagerness for the return of sport being played safely. However, we are in no rush to return to the old normal of the youth sport ecosystem.

For millions of young people across this country, youth sports were challenged by many harsh truths about equity and creating access for all children, particularly in communities of color. Our hope is the suffering that this health crisis and the ensuing economic recession it created nationwide provokes a reboot for youth sports in America.

Through our involvement in diverse communities and working closely with the issues that impact youth sports, we recognized the growing gap between children who can freely participate in sports programs and those who cannot is a social justice issue. History reminds us that the play equity gap — the dramatic distance between families who can afford the pay-to-play model and the multitudes who cannot — will widen unless we seize this moment to re-imagine the youth sports model.

Decades of research show sports participation is closely associated with a range of positive social, educational, and health outcomes for young people. Kids who play sports have higher GPAs, stay in school and graduate. Sport, structured play and movement can also help reduce stress and improve mental health.

Yet 80 percent of youth don’t meet federal guidelines for daily activity. Kids in poor communities have an obesity rate that is two times that of affluent communities; 42% of students in the LAUSD are obese or overweight, and black and Latinx student have the highest rates of stress, anxiety and depression. These medical issues also cost billions annually in direct medical costs and lost productivity.

Like youth sports, the pandemic hasn’t been experienced equally in America. Its impact could depend on what side of town you live on. The coronavirus has hit disproportionately harder in poorer, minority communities. Individuals with preexisting medical conditions like obesity and diabetes have also contracted the virus at an alarming rate.

We know that sports cannot solve all of society’s problems, but it is an essential tool to building healthy kids and healthy communities. However, during the last economic downturn, youth sports participation dropped from 45 to 38 percent between 2008–2018 for kids between ages 6-12, according to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.

During this time, the pay-to-play youth sports model grew into a $19 billion industry, according to Wintergreen Research estimates. When we emerge from the pandemic, we can expect public education, as well as local recreation and parks departments, to struggle with budget deficits resulting in the elimination of enrichment programs, including sports and after-school structured play programs.

Recently, more than 3,600 youth sports organizations signed a letter asking Congress to create a COVID-19 recovery fund for youth sports providers and the families they serve. This National Coalition also includes sport-based youth development organizations who use the sport experience to contribute to positive youth development in poor, minority communities. While support for youth sports across the board is important, it’s more crucial to prioritize funding into communities that need it most so that all kids can play. History shows that the play equity gap will only grow for kids of all races and backgrounds unless we think and act differently.

With the will to act and resourcefulness of working together, our country can develop thriving community sports and play programs that help forge stronger, healthier, and more resilient neighborhoods. Communities that perhaps could better weather a future health crisis. To that end, we offer these suggestions:

• Whether it’s the proposed $8.5 billion for youth sports — or other federal funding directed to our nation’s recovery — there must be a priority for school-based and community-based sports and play programs as critical contact points in the youth sports ecosystem.
• We need a major rethinking and action in which education administrators and policymakers come to understand that sports and physical activity are essential to whole child development, and that supporting them politically and financially in schools represents a sound investment in our young people and to the economic prosperity of our country.
• Those of us in youth sports must show leadership by discussing and weighing options, selecting the best policies, and acting on them to shape a better sports and exercise future.

As Nelson Mandela memorably said, “Sport has the power to change the world.” But change will not come if we wait for some other person or we wait for some other time. Now is our time for the youth sports community to come together to re-imagine a better youth sport ecosystem — one that connects education, sports and play as an integrated approach and supports all kids’ ability to experience the transformational power of sport as a path to lifelong well-being.

As organizations that play a role in a global movement, alongside our national and local work, we see many examples of young people facing this lack of access around the world. America — which prides itself on topping Olympic medal tables and is home to many of the world’s most lucrative professional sports leagues, as well as college and high school sports programs — has no excuse to be amongst them.

There can be a rebirth where sports are a playing field all children can enter and benefit from — if we work together. We will continue to do our part, but we need everyone to join in and do their part as well.

Renata Simril is President & CEO of the LA84 Foundation, a legacy of the 1984 Summer Olympic Games, and President of the Play Equity Fund, organizations dedicated to supporting programs and actions to ensure all kids have equal access to sport and structured play. @RenataAngeleno

Adam Fraser is Chief Executive of Laureus Sport for Good, a global organization that celebrates sporting excellence and uses the power of sport to transform the lives of children and young people. @AFraser