The True Cost Of Youth Sports

The world of sports has absolutely exploded.

Rarely does attending a summer camp and playing on the street with friends equal making the team anymore. For some, yes, but the competition and “what everyone else is doing” is hard to keep up with.

Dan and I were watching a few documentaries on Cooperstown, New York, a baseball Mecca for young players. It showcases 22 fields with lodging, restaurants, pools, skill competitions, and welcomes 10-13 year-olds who dream of living out their baseball dreams. It looked like the Disney World of baseball. But the cost? After digging a little deeper, it costs between $1,800-$2,200 per player to participate in ONE tournament. That doesn’t include getting there or the equipment to play.

Remember the days of the Sandlot? Neighborhood boys coming together to play the game they love, whenever they waned to. Yes, it was a movie for us all to love, but it was also a depiction of what sports used to be like in America.

Now 70% of kids quit organized sports by age 13, according to USA Today and the American Academy of Pediatrics because of injury, burnout, losing interest, pressure from parents, and the pressure to perform.

No longer are kids just going out and playing a sport – it is all about performance. I know many are thinking, isn’t that the goal? Well, maybe it is one of the goals, but what is the END goal? What I mean by that is when it’s ALL said and done, what do you want your kids to walk away with? To only win? To be the best? To surpass all of their peers? To spend their childhood in a gym? Or on a field? To be touted as the up and coming star in the sport? To get a full-ride to college? To eventually play pro? Again…

WHAT IS THE END GOAL?

Every decision we make is either leading us towards Christ or away from Him. Ephesians 4:22-24 says, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

I am not against sports. I am not against playing sports. If you know me, I LOVE sports! I coach basketball. Our daughter is playing indoor soccer this winter and is LOVING it. No practices, just games. They get annihilated most games, but they don’t care because in the end, they are having fun. And at the end of the day, she still has time to play outside, find worms in the driveway, and simply be a kid.

Some kids will make it to the big stage in their sport! And some do a FANTASTIC job of proclaiming Christ in their journeys! To showcase CHRIST, and not themselves. To make HIS name known, not themselves. And that is the same lesson we are teaching Mazy too.

God created us to enjoy life and give Him glory while doing it. To put on our new selves, that are being renewed in Him, and not try to live up to a status that we can’t even live up to. What are we willing to sacrifice to get there? God hasn’t called us to “pick Jesus back up again” after the season is done. He isn’t one we are to “put to the side” because we are too busy. We aren’t to neglect Him, while we try to gain ourselves. No, we’ve been created to be LIKE GOD in true righteousness and holiness.

Do our decisions reflect that?

At Cooperstown, it costs between $5,000 – $10,000 for a family to come and watch their child play baseball. Again, I like to compare it to the Disney World of sports. And yet over 60% of families feel the financial strain of sports. At what cost are we willing to help our child be the “best”? What even is “best” anymore? Unfortunately, places like these aren’t about necessarily the sport, but about paying for an experience. It’s becoming less about sports and more about business, the more research you do, which I find to be very fascinating. So what gives?

I want to hear your thoughts! Does your child play competitive sports? At what level do you feel is enough? Is there a line to be drawn? What is the end goal? What are your thoughts about places like Cooperstown? What are your thoughts about the growing impact of sports on our youth?

Please comment below!