The national high school sports rules organization published an op-ed yesterday arguing participation in school sports is the antidote for the rising cost of youth sports.
While the plan for reducing expenses for families to involve their kids in youth sports is laudable,– beginning in sixth grade at the middle school level – where, by the way, costs are minimal, not prohibitive; opportunities to participate are open to everyone in most sports, not just those who have the financial means to do so; and winning is kept in perspective with an education-based model.
The piece acknowledges there will be cases where very gifted youth athletes should seek higher levels of pre-college competition, but argues the vast majority of kids are served adequately by schools and experience benefits not found in club sports:
Community, school spirit
Focus on education, relationships, team unity, fun
Personal confidence, pride
More media coverage, fan interest
Free of “outside interest groups”
‘When it comes to youth ages 12-18, there is no better place to participate in sports than our nation’s schools,” the op-ed says in closing.
The piece is a little rah-rah and obviously NFHS is talking its book, but that does not mean it is wrong.
Middle and high school sports are not going to fix everything, but they can fix a lot of things. They are education-based, they are not year-round, they provide immense benefits and they level the playing field in myriad ways.
If your kid is good enough to play in high school, they are going to play regardless of what they do outside their school program. And if they are good enough to play in college, they are going to be ID’d “just playing” for the school team.
But here’s what NFHS did not say: Middle and high school sports need capital, too — and their capital comes from federal and state governments.
As I wrote when the Let Kids Play Act was introduced — if politicians like Rep. Pat Ryan (D-NY) want to argue youth sports are a national security matter, why isn’t Congress setting aside a portion of the Defense Appropriations Act? Or addressing situations like the one in New Jersey, where thousands of Sen. Cory Booker’s constituents are dealing with cuts to middle and high school sports because of the state budget?
There are other considerations, but funding and investment is the big one. And if politicians want to create real change, they need to use the power of the purse.
I agree with everything James said here, and will call special attention to the line about the benefits of school sports.
We talked numerous times on the podcast about how the idealized version of youth sports - multi-sport programming, a balance between rec and competitive, with educational tie-ins - begins to sound a lot like… school.
Schools are, of course, academically-led with sports (and other extracurriculars) as a byproduct. But in a world where AI compresses learning - either through direct teaching or learning plans custom-tailored to each student - what we’re seeing more of is athletic-led academies with academics. Examples include not only IMG Academy, but also The Bennett School and what Sandy Ogg talks about with Curve Sports.
Regardless how you feel about this shift, it is beginning to happen and it’s worth keeping an eye on— “school sports” to “sports school.”
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