Why Youth Sports Matter

There are statistics out there that 70% of kids quit playing sports by the age of 13. This is the age they need sports the most. There are so many benefits of youth sports, but we never really talk about why youth sports matter. Yes, we know the benefits of physical activity, being on a team, and how they give a kid a purpose.

What we do not talk about is how youth sports shape our future, our careers, and our adult relationships. We forget to think about the long-term investment in sports and why playing sports matters.

We are going to dive into a few reasons that we believe youth sports matter.

Learn to fail forward

When we play sports, we are going to fail, we are going to lose, we are going to stumble. We also know that once our athletic career is over, we are going to struggle and fail just like we did when playing sports.

When I first started my marketing agency, I went to multiple networking events, made hundreds of phone calls, and worked endless nights on that first sale. 6-months later, I found my first client. There were times when I wanted to quit, stop, and give up.

But here is the reality: when we fall seven times, we get up eight. When we fail, we fail forward. When we get discouraged, we keep working.

Kids learn this resilience and grit by playing the games they love. They learn these skills before it matters in life. They learn these skills in a safe environment. So if you are a parent or coach, please remember that they are learning something bigger than sports. They are learning to fail-forward and keep working.

So next time your kid strikes out to end the game, remember they are learning. Be encouraging and positive because they will figure it out. Maybe not next time or the time after, but they will figure it out.

Effort becomes habit

The world we live in has changed. More and more, the world is looking for instant gratification. We are looking for the fix right here, right now. We do not want to put in the effort needed to succeed.

My high school head coach told me that my next level in baseball started at 300 swings per day. As a youngster, I took this literally. I wanted to play college baseball because I took 300 swings per day. The truth was that it was the effort of taking 300 swings per day.

But here is the reality: we should not be looking at the world in the way most act and think. We know that copying the behaviors of others is not always right. We know that our efforts will be rewarded at the right time, when we are ready for the situation.

Youth sports matter because playing sports teaches us that the scoreboard today is not the final scoreboard. It teaches us that the work that we put in on Monday and Tuesday will show up in our game on Thursday. The habits we build over years of playing sports will show up in the jobs we take later in life.

Sports build community

Here is something that most people do not know about me. I am an introvert. Yes, I talk to everyone, I speak in front of thousands of people, I enter networking events knowing nobody. Every time, my heart starts to race. This all changes when I have my team and family with me. The people I trust, the people I work for, the people I will go to battle with.

Here is the reality: We are not going to build great things alone. You can only build great things as a team, and we see this in sports. As a business owner, I encourage others to meet and do good work whenever they are able. We go far together, not alone.

We learn community while playing youth sports. We lean on our teammates because we know they understand the pressure. We sweat together, we fail together, we win together.

Youth sports matter because we learn the importance of our community and teammates. We go fast alone, we go far together.

Mentors pour into players

I am a father of 4. I coach teams. I teach kids. I train adults. However, my kids listen to their coaches; this is one of the reasons you should not coach your kids after 12 years old.

I still remember my high school coaches. I still remember the lessons I learned from them. Remember the 300 swings per day, yeah, this type of stuff. When a player is in the right environment, they will learn so much more than just how to swing a bat, score a goal, or shoot a basketball. They will have a mentor for life.

Here is the reality: if you walk with the wise, you will become wise, but if you surround yourself with fools, you will suffer. I believe you are the sum of the 5 people you surround yourself with. Your coaches and mentors matter.

The person that pours into your student-athlete is worth more than any trophy. The adult that genuinely cares about helping your child succeed is worth every penny.

Movement is a lifestyle

As life goes on, it becomes harder and harder to stay active, stay fit, and stay healthy. With kids, work, and everyday struggles, it becomes harder and harder to stay active. Trust me, I know: once you do not have to stay in shape, it becomes easier and easier to skip the gym and eat an extra ice cream.

As I now head into my 40s, I know I need to continue to work on my physical fitness. As I get older, it will be more and more important to continue this daily habit, even if it is easier to skip a day.

Here is the reality: Your body is a temple, and it needs to be taken care of with exercise and nutrition to function. As you continue to go further in sports, the more you learn about how your body works and how to keep it healthy.

Youth sports create a baseline and teach kids to enjoy the movement. As we know, this habit is easier to learn and maintain early versus starting in your 40s.

Work ethic and discipline are mandatory

Over the years, I have built multiple brands for clients; however, my team helped create the brand I am most proud of. Eventually we built it and sold the company to a very large company in the K12 industry, not because of the product but because of the brand we built. We will call it Cartewheel (IYKYK). Here is the thing: this took time. This took discipline. This took hard work.

We were successful because our team understood that sticking to our plan, being disciplined in the plan, and working every day as hard as we could is what caused the success. It was not something that we wanted to quick-sell; it was building something that helped kids and that we could be proud of.

Here is the reality: the work ethic and discipline learned in youth sports translate to life after their athletic career is over. We also know that it is becoming easier and easier to outwork others because work ethic and discipline are slowly becoming a thing of the past. I have seen the documentary Wall-E (just kidding, I know it is not a true story). These skills are important in life.

The kid that learns to show up early, do extra reps on their own, and finish each sprint without cheating (we know who you are) does not leave that mentality on the field. It follows them into the classroom, the boardroom, the operating room, or their own classroom.

Confidence is earned

Over the years, I have spoken in front of thousands of people. To this day, I still get nervous when I need to speak about our mission, the Academy, or leadership. But I know that I can do it; I know that people actually want to listen to me. I am still amazed by this, by the way.

I was once getting ready to speak in front of 10,000 sales and marketing reps. Some were my teammates, most were not. I remember getting up on stage after the keynote, just crushing it. It was my turn. I walked out on stage, saw the light, saw the people, and froze. I forgot my opener.

I took a deep breath, forgot my lines, and told myself, “You have been here before. All these people want to hear your story.”26 minutes later, I walked off the stage, wiped my bald head, and headed to see my team.

Here is the reality: We were born without fear, and fear is learned. We know that we can’t talk a kid into believing in themselves, but we can prepare them for the situations that will build the confidence they need because they can do it.

Youth sports teach us these lessons about confidence because we have been up to bat and crushed a double in the last inning. We have sat at the free throw line and made 2 free throws to give the team the lead; we have sat in the box and saved a PK to give the team a win (true story). Sports build confidence because it was earned, not given.

Teaches coachability

When I took my first VP-level job, I addressed my team. I told them, “Not one of us is as smart as all of us.”

Being coachable is vital to an individual’s success. This coaching can come from a coach, mentor, friend, parent, or even a good book. What we can’t do is not listen and pretend that we know everything, because we do not.

If you are 13-15, this is for you. Listen before you speak. Listening is the start of a conversation, not the end. I know at the age of 13, you have it all figured out, especially if you are a boy. You do not; you can always get better and improve your skills.

Here is the reality: The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. We all need advice; we can always learn from others, and we can always continue to improve. When we think we know it all, we are not ready to grow.

As we find good coaches, they teach us about more than just the game; they teach us about life. We can only advance if we are ready and willing to learn and take advice. Sports are the first place that we fail and listen to another person to get better and improve. This becomes so valuable as we get older.

Build grit

Bottom of the last inning. Tie game, two minutes left. Those moments reveal something to a child about their own character that no classroom or conversation ever will — and once they’ve seen it, they carry it.

I do not share this story often, but it is important. When I was in my early 30s, I was laid off twice in the same year. I had a little girl who needed diapers, food, and all the things she deserved. It was hard. It was really, really hard. There were days when I did not know what to do, where our next meal would come from, or how we were going to pay the mortgage. There were days when I thought I was not enough.

But I kept pushing.

This year helped me build the skills I needed to take my career to the next level. This is when I said enough is enough, launched my marketing agency, and learned the skills needed to become the best marketing professional I could be.

Eventually, I landed my dream job and increased revenue from $2.8M to nearly $18M in under 2 years. It is also what has given me the confidence and skills to establish Academy 48 and all the big things we are going to accomplish.

This hard time and this struggle were real.

Here is the reality: you will have hard times in life. These hard times will test and produce perseverance. These hard times will help build your character, and your character will produce hope.

I hope that nobody goes through hard times, but hard times will find you. Youth sports are where you learn to have grit, learn to work through these hard times, and eventually work yourself out of them. Being in the last inning with a tie game will teach you more about yourself than any classroom.

Lessons that last Beyond The Game – Why Youth Sports Matter

Youth sport matters because no one plays forever. Father Time is batting 1.000 on athletes. We do not know when our time is going to come to an end. It could be in high school, it could be in college, it could be after a Hall of Fame Career.

Playing sports teaches us the lessons that last beyond the game; they last forever. Sports teach us the habits to do the hard things, chase our dreams, work through hard times, and the value of showing up.

This is why youth sports matter.