The landscape of youth sports has changed dramatically over the last three to four decades. Youth sports once revolved around neighborhood teams, school programs, and local leagues. Today, it is a $40 billion industry. And it’s rapid growth is attracting increasing attention from private equity.
A growing scholarship and elite-development mindset has helped fuel travel teams, sport specialization, and private coaching at younger ages and with greater intensity. No sport seems immune. And for better or worse, the big business of youth sports is changing our society and appears here to stay.
So how should a Christian respond? What should we be aware of as our world changes in this area?
See your community (Matthew 22:39)
Sports were once a great vehicle for creating connections within your local neighborhood. Practices and games were a chance to build shared history with families whose lives you already had some overlap with. For the believer, it gave us opportunities to see how other families were doing and what their needs were. It also gave us natural opportunities to model our faith and serve as salt and light among people already woven into our lives.
If you do choose more competitive or travel-based teams, remember these families on the team are not simply part of your child’s athletic journey; they are people God has given you an opportunity to know, love, and serve.
Though you may be more scattered geographically, the opportunity for creating connections and neighboring well is fundamentally the same. It just might take a little more creativity and intentionality. Learn the parents’ names. Ask about life beyond the field. Look for small ways to serve when a family is hurting or stretched thin.
Shepherd the space (Matthew 5:13-16)
I hope you don’t hear panic in this article. I hope you sense opportunity.
Youth sports don’t need fewer Christians because they’ve become commercialized. It needs more Christians who understand the opportunity they’ve been given to influence the culture around them. As a recent PBS NewsHour report highlighted, the need for more shepherding in youth sports is significant. To me, that sounds like an opportunity for believers to step up.
We know sports can help kids stay active, learn perseverance, build camaraderie, and develop skills that serve them for life. As the competitiveness of youth sports grows, we need more coaches and leaders who deeply love Jesus and recognize the discipleship opportunities sports provide, too.
And as parents, we should look for ways to build into or serve teams that want to honor Christ beyond simply offering a pregame prayer.
Shepherding is a good description of the Christian calling. If even a nonreligious PBS report sees the need for more shepherds in youth sports, perhaps we should see the opportunity, too.
See overlooked kids (Philippians 2:4)
As the cost to compete grows, some kids are inevitably falling through the cracks. This idea grabbed hold of our nation earlier this year as we lamented the United States’ lack of success at the World Cup. Interestingly, many noted the problem may not be that youth sports have become too competitive, but that they’ve ironically become anti-competitive, in the sense that many kids have been priced out of competing at deeper levels. As a result, late bloomers or athletes from tighter-budget homes are getting overlooked and pushed aside at earlier and earlier ages.
So be alert. Maybe your calling is to support or participate in more affordable local sports organizations. Maybe your calling is to help fund a scholarship for a gifted athlete who might otherwise miss out on opportunities to develop their skills.
The kingdom of God trains us to notice the people that a system overlooks. The landscape of youth sports gives us another opportunity to do exactly that.
See your own kid (1 Samuel 16:7)
As parents, we have to keep asking whether the sport is still serving our child or whether our child has begun serving the sport. The personal growth of our kids (their faith, character, and overall well-being) must take precedence over their athletic development.
That means checking in often and developing the discernment to recognize when their interest is waning, when pressure is mounting, or when the sport itself is becoming an idol. Asking questions is a vital aspect of shepherding your own kid well:
- What’s your favorite part of playing right now?
- What’s the hardest part?
- If you could change one thing about the season, what would it be?
You know your kid well. Pay attention to what the Spirit may be showing you as you watch each season unfold.
One last thought here, too. You may know your kid well, but do you know yourself well, too? Are you able to separate your ambitions for your kids from their own desires and interests? Checking in on our own hearts is just as important as checking in on theirs. Both are needed each and every season.
Set family boundaries (Ecclesiastes 4:6)
Like anything else, families need to step back and consider what is forming and driving them. In this case, are sports simply one good part of our family life, or has it become the organizing principle around which everything else must bend?
Our worth, our future, and our children’s futures do not depend upon maximizing every opportunity. So sometimes faithfulness will mean letting a tournament, team, showcase, or even a season pass us by.
Family meals matter. Church community matters. Rest matters. Time with siblings matters. Serving others matters. A healthy family needs rhythms that remind everyone that life is bigger than the next game.
The world of youth sports will always offer one more opportunity. Families need the wisdom, and often the courage, to say “That’s enough for us.”
For better or worse, the landscape of youth sports has clearly changed. It can be easy to panic or romanticize previous eras. But I think we also have some unique opportunities ahead of us. So in classic coach speak: Let’s go, Church!
