The Dilemma of the Costs of Youth Sports

Recently I read an article on NJ.com entitled “This is my way out: Self-taught kicker has the most talent and the longest odds.”  The article, written by Todderick Hunt, deals with a young man from Weequahic High School, Ibraham Cisse in Newark, New Jersey and his pursuit of a college scholarship as a kicker and the long odds that he faces due to 1) being from the inner-city and 2) not having the money to attend the many specialized camps that are available to children in more affluent communities.

            In the article Mr. Hunt states that “kickers are rarely awarded scholarships and are scouted later in the recruiting calendar than other positions. Most kickers become walk-ons who earn scholarships only when they prove they can help win big games. The transfer portal now allows college teams access to experienced kickers — and that has made things even worse for the younger ones.” So being a kicker, whether it be in the inner-city or in an affluent community, the odds of being recruited early in the recruiting period is unlikely; however, Mr. Hunt goes on to state that with Cisse’s race, location and personal economics, and the odds keep getting longer. “There are not often many of the same opportunities at an urban school, while there might be more access to camps and more clinics elsewhere,” said ex-Rutgers kicker and specialist coach Lee McDonald, who launched Special Teams Solutions in 2003.

            In an earlier blog post I stated that according to Time Magazine youth sports are a $15.3 billion dollar industry and the number is predicted by many sources to increase to over $40 billion dollars by the year 2030. In a separate blog that I posted in 2022, Adam Shell writing for  the Money section of USA stated, a TD Ameritrade survey found that most American families spend the following on youth sports:

·      63% spend between $100 and $499 monthly

·      18% spend between $500 and $999 monthly

·      11% spend between $1,000 and $1,999 monthly; and

·      8% spend $2,000 per month and more 

Further, the same survey shows that families do the following to fund their children’s youth sports activities:

·      55% cut back on entertainment

·      40% take fewer vacations; and

·      23% cut back on the money that they set aside for retirement

So according to this survey, families will cut down on entertainment, vacations and funding their retirement, all important issues for families, in order to shoot for a long shot college scholarship, that may not pay the full cost of college. Mike Trombley, a former Duke University baseball player, who played professional baseball for 11 years and now runs Trombley Associates, an investment and retirement firm, states that “while we all love our children, you have to put yourself and your retirement first”.

            My question regarding the above information is where does an inner-city  family get the $100 to $2,000 per month to attend the specialized camps that more affluent families can send their children to? In a January 10, 2023, article, also written for NJ.com, Matthew Stanmyre writes of a mother in Newark spending $1,000’s of dollars that they don’t have to fund her sons youth football participation. Mr. Stanmyre states that Raynelle Dorsey, a single mother from Newark, is dedicated to making sure her teenage son, Marquet, “has every opportunity to excel in sports; however, she just never imagined it might bankrupt her and she wonders with each check, which will be the one that drains her bank account”.  Now, I am sure that some people who are reading this would argue that youth sports, much like life, could be considered “survival of the fittest” and those who can pay can play and those who cannot pay shouldn’t be able to play but my question is should it be that way? While I will agree that when my own children were younger, I would have done anything to ensure that they were afforded every opportunity that was available to them; however, I can honestly say that I would not have bankrupted myself to do so.

So, this leads me back my original question…Where do families in underprivileged communities secure the funding to ensure that their children have the same opportunities that the children in more affluent may communities have? Doing a quick goggle search I was able to find multiple organizations that provide funding for underprivileged youth to participate in youth sports. The two that I found to be the most interesting were Good Sports and All Kids Play. Both organizations are non-profits that work with underprivileged communities to support the children in those communities so they can achieve their greatest potential and increase the quality of youth sports participation by providing financial assistance to families and communities that lack the necessary resources (please note that I am not endorsing any of these organizations but rather using them as examples of what is available to communities).  Until I decided to look into the subject for this post, I had no idea that organizations like this existed which makes me wonder how many individuals know that these organizations exist? It is my humble opinion that more needs to be done to get the word out and let people know that these organizations exist, so the playing field becomes level for all who want their children to play youth sports and give their children the opportunity to participate.