The Youth Sports Affordability Crisis

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A dark night, a quiet house, but inside, danger was lurking.

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Oh, not really.

Katie DeBenedetti (0:09)

We have Xfinity Shield, so we're not worried.

Renata Simril (0:12)

What if protecting your home and devices could be drama-free?

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Xfinity, imagine that.

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Restrictions apply, not available in all areas.

Mina Kim (0:19)

Welcome to Forum, I'm Mina Kim. The average cost of putting a child in sports has jumped by nearly 50% since 2019, with many California families paying the price, thousands of dollars for their kid to play baseball, soccer or whatever sport they're passionate about in private leagues as robust recreational opportunities dry up and private equity takes over. Are you a parent paying the high cost of youth sports or feeling priced out? How were things different when you were growing up and what did playing a sport do for you? Tell us by calling 866-733-6786 or by emailing forum at kqed.org or posting on our social channels, Discord, Blue Sky, Facebook, Instagram, at KQED Forum.

Starting us off this hour, two reporters who've looked at how the high cost of youth sports is playing out in their communities. Katie DeBenedetti is a reporter for KQED. Hi Katie. Hi.

And also Alexander Nguyen is multimedia producer at KPBS.

Alexander Nguyen (1:19)

Hey, good morning.

Mina Kim (1:20)

Well, thanks both of you for coming on. Katie, I'll start with you. You met an Oakland family trying to afford a baseball travel team. Tell us about them.

Katie DeBenedetti (1:29)

Yeah. So I met a couple families in Oakland who their kids are really into baseball. They wanted to play baseball at a higher level than just, you know, regular Little League. And they found that it was thousands of dollars to join a travel team. This would be multiple practices a week, tournaments year round.

And it's really cost prohibitive, but it's also kind of now expected if you want your kid to move up to the next level.

Mina Kim (2:01)

And why did the family ultimately, they were hesitant at first, find themselves willing to pay?

Katie DeBenedetti (2:10)

I think they really were willing to pay because it felt almost like necessary if the kid wanted to continue to improve and, you know, play in high school or even someday be, I think a lot of kids think they might or want to be pro athletes. So I think it's just kind of something that a lot of kids are sold as this dream.

Mina Kim (2:31)

Yeah. And the kid just really wanted it that much, right? They just love baseball.

Katie DeBenedetti (2:36)

Yeah. They wanted more opportunities.

Mina Kim (2:38)

Alex, did you see similar stories when you looked into soccer in the San Diego area?

Alexander Nguyen (2:43)

Yeah, that is a lot of, I mean, when Katie was mentioned, that is exactly the answers I got, is that if you want your kids to move on to the next level, these club teams, these travel teams, and these clinics are necessary. And it's not just so you can play college sports or things like that, but it's also just so you can make it to the varsity level in high school because some of those high school teams are more competitive now because of all these parents paying extra for their kids to participate in summer leagues and stuff like that. So they're even more competitive than when you and I were in high school.

Mina Kim (3:24)

Yeah. And how much does it cost to participate on a club soccer team there?

Alexander Nguyen (3:28)

It could range as much as $10,000.

Renata Simril (3:31)

For a travel team.

Alexander Nguyen (3:32)

For a travel team. Yeah. Because it's the travel plus the uniforms plus the hotel stays and stuff like that. So it adds up.

Mina Kim (3:44)

Yes. With initially like just startup cost being $1,500 to $2,000 or so. So Alex, it's really a situation where sports is becoming only accessible to people with certain incomes. Both you and Katie noted that.

Yeah.

Alexander Nguyen (3:59)

In the story that I wrote, the cost of sports has risen about almost 49 percent. So for certain people who are making below, let's say the area median income, that's out of reach for a lot of people.

Mina Kim (4:18)

Yeah. What did you find with regard to the relationship between income and people who are able to play you sports, Katie?

Katie DeBenedetti (4:25)

Yeah. I dug into this similar thing because I saw that 50 percent rise.

And one study I looked at from 2023, it found that there was a really crazy split in households with an annual income below the national poverty level, like 37 percent played organized youth sports. But in households with kind of like the top income bracket that they looked at, 73 percent of kids played. So it was really, really starkly divided on like who got to join these teams based on how much money their family made.