I was speaking with a few of my colleagues here at FAST Performance, and we were discussing the biggest problems in our respective industries. A variety of answers came out of the discussion, but the primary issue was the monetization of youth sports. When I played as a youth athlete, most, if not all, of my games were sponsored by the Castle Rock Recreation Center. We were meant to have fun, and get a snack after the game because that is what youth sports are all about. In today’s youth sports atmosphere, too much stock is taken into traveling the country to places to play in tournaments and winning championships. Many have taken advantage of the idea that kids and families will create memories that will last a lifetime. I, for one, do not have memories of winning a baseball championship when I was nine years old, and nor should I because more significant memories were on the horizon. Plus, if we anticipate a 10u state championship to be the pinnacle of the kid’s life, then we are doing them a great disservice.

The conversation made me recall this email that I found on the “Baseball Life in Colorado” group on Facebook. Note that this is a real email that a parent sent to our Governor:

Mr Governor, 

My name is (excluded) I run a 10u comp baseball team. Throughout this whole covid-19 we have been waiting and followed all guidelines you’ve laid out with hopes of a new start date. There has been very little to no word from state officials when this may happen. Our parents have $2,000 out of pocket to play on this team. We are reaching the points of looking at out of state tourneys so we can get our season in. This Memorial weekend alone 13 Colorado teams went to Oklahoma to play. My question to you is do you have a start date? Or will we need to travel to other states to play. 

All politics and opinions of Covid-19 pandemic aside, why in the world are we spending TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS on 10-year-olds to play baseball. The youth baseball system is broken. While I do not have kids at the time of this writing, I would never in a million years spend an arm and a leg to get my kid to play a game. What are the stakes of these tournaments? Is there a cash prize for the winners? No, these kids are playing for plastic trophies that I could buy at Target for $10 a pop.

So why are we spending so much money on kids? I wish someone would tell me in a way that makes sense.

The Price of This Monetization

One of the most significant side effects of this new trend is not only out of pocket cost just to play the sport, but the increased potential for injury in kids. I know the growing number of sports-related injuries amongst youth athletes is not a new subject, but it is one worth continually repeating. Parents put too much stock into frequently playing meaningless games. Too many kids around the nation are playing a single sport year-round with the idea that more games and repetitions will makes them a better player. Do not get me wrong, I want all kids to improve continually, but it is my opinion, as well as the vast majority of people in the baseball world that playing the game too much can be detrimental to the athlete. The constant dedication to one sport at such a young age is harmful to the athlete not only physically but mentally. I knew many great baseball players growing up that quit before high school because they grew to hate the game playing it so much. Darren Fenster wrote a great article on USA Baseball’s blog about taking an athlete away from the game during specific points of the year to grow their love of the sport (link at the bottom). I know it sounds counterintuitive, but it is right. The HBO show Real Sports with Bryant Gumble had an excellent piece about the rise of youth sports injuries that I highly recommend all parents of athletes watch, it is eye-opening (link at the bottom).

I will conclude the article by stating that “We need to stop overvaluing competitive baseball for adolescent children.” When I ask most kids what their top 5 baseball movies are, The Sandlot is always included. Why? It is because The Sandlot is about kids playing the game they love and having fun with their friends. I guarantee not one of those kids spent more than a penny to play the game.

How Baseball at the Youth Level should be played

Links:

Love the Game More…By Playing it Less

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel | Sidelined: Youth Sports Injuries (Full Segment) | HBO