What happens when youth sports are no longer accessible? Do we finally learn a lesson? Do we finally find a solution that works? Do we finally put people over profit?

Over the past year, the landscape of youth sports has continued to shift. We have seen an evolution from club sports to sports academies. This is very similar to the shift from rec to travel we have seen over the past 10 years.

The question is: is this shift because we really care about students’ well-being, or because our clubs are looking for new ways to increase revenue?

Here are 2 issues I see.

1. Private equity continues to be injected into youth sports. I am not sure this is a good thing. Yes, facilities will be amazing. Fields will be groomed, turfed, and in pristine condition. Uniforms will be pro equivalent if not better. But we have to ask, is this what youth sports should be about?
2. True player development will only take place at academies. With a $25K annual price tag, there won’t be room for the average student-athlete to succeed. Top coaches and trainers will be pulled in by the academies. Will player development be for the top 1%?

My main concern is that nearly every player in these sports academies will not be ready when they hang up their cleats. They will be pushed and not receive the true education they need when they hang up the cleats. The D1-or-bust mentality is not what sports should be about.

What’s the Alternative to Private Equity?

I am not going to sit here and tell you that all private equity is bad. Many firms want what is best for the end user, at least I hope. But not all private equity firms care about the end user either.

Before we really get into it. I saw private equity turn an amazing, profitable product into a disaster that hurt the end user, making it harder to feed kids who needed help. We can save that story for another day.

By no means am I a private equity expert, but I have been part of the industry, have been involved in a private equity sale, and have an MBA. Here are the issues I see with private equity in youth sports.

1. Private equity requires a return. A return on investment means an increase in prices or a decrease in operations. Private equity is not going to invest millions of dollars without a return on investment. This will drive up prices, which may be why they are looking to build academies.
2. Private equity does not mean a better product. Here is my experience: Private equity does not mean they have the experience to run the business they invested in. This means that many of the decisions they make do not make sense because they do not know how it will hurt the end user.

Is there an alternative?

Again, I do not know the answer because private equity is here to stay. There is money to be made in a growing industry. I also know it is hard to compete against the infusion of capital that private equity brings, pushing out good products or services.

However, I believe that the right approach is through the community (non-profits) and partnerships to fix the youth sports issue. For example, I believe Dick’s is doing this right. Yes, they might have done some things to GameChanger, but the partnership with youth sports increases their revenue by being seen as a trusted partner.

When Did Player Development Take a Backseat?

When the whole travel/club thing started, we thought we would get better player development. For the most part, I think we are still getting better players because of club sports, but this could also be because they are playing more.

What I do know is that the next evolution we are seeing won’t be available to everyone. It will keep player development out of reach for those who can’t afford it.

1. $25k per year is not achievable. There was once a time when youth sports were affordable for all. Now we have clubs charging thousands of dollars to play, already stretching the budgets of so many families. The evolution to sports academies is not achievable for 98% of the population. We don’t need more separation; we need more unity in youth sports.
2. Academies will get the better coaches. These academies will have full-time trainers, coaches, nutritionists, and so on. So, just like rec teams, your club/travel teams are going to get the volunteers or parent coaches. Nothing against mom/dad, but this was the reason we moved away from rec leagues, right?

Player development needs to be front and center. Sports are too important for young athletes. From exercise to life lessons taught by the game, youth sports are more important than ever in the world we live in. We can’t allow player development to take a backseat.

Sports Are For Everyone

If we are not careful, youth sports will be accessible only to those who can afford them. We already know the sacrifices parents make for their kids, but this next evolution could keep more kids out of the game than ever before.

We continue to talk about how important sports are for kids. There are studies done every year about the benefits. We talk about how they are needed to keep kids out of trouble. We talk about how sports help kids find purpose. But, we are on the edge of losing youth sports. We are on the edge of losing something so pure, something our youth need.

So, how do we continue to keep kids in the game?