Settling the Score in Youth Sports

Jul 10, 2026

FOUL ON THE PLAY

As soccer/fútbol fans around the world cheer on their World Cup teams, young American soccer players dream of their shot at being on the pitch. Unlike aspiring athletes from other countries, players in America can’t make it to the global arena unless they – literally – paid their dues when they were younger.

Youth sports is a $40 billion industry and it’s a money-maker for private equity firms. For-profit companies now control youth sports leagues, teams, venues, scheduling, software, uniforms, streaming services, hotels, and even merchandising sales at events. Parents are paying nearly double the costs in the last five years – and it’s taking many kids out of the game.

Soccer is a prime example of how low-wealth kids can’t make it to the upper echelons. Families pay hundreds of dollars for their six-year-old to play recreational soccer and thousands of dollars for their 12-year-old to play competitive “travel soccer.”

But it’s not just limited to soccer. In PA, Black Bear Sports Group owns 11 ice rinks, plus leagues and clubs. Their lesson prices at acquired rinks have jumped from $55 to $200.

In youth baseball, Perfect Game is dominating the field, now operating in 41 states including PA. Their revenue is up more than 400% since 2018 and will top $100 million this year.

“The parents were so stretched. It was so difficult. Which means that there will be players and children out there that we just lost to the system, they never even had an opportunity to play at that level,” observed Matt Crocker, the former U.S. Soccer Sporting Director.

And it’s not just about the denied opportunity for low-wealth kids to make it to the pros. Sports builds character and teamwork, develops healthy bodies and minds at a critical developmental age, and offers a place of belonging at an time when too many kids are feeling disconnected.

Sadly, the same kids who can’t afford to play in the expensive teams are the same kids who live in neighborhoods that don’t have quality athletic fields or many community-based teams. For every good program like Kensington Soccer Club or the Kingsessing Recreation Center, there are dozens of Philadelphia fields and courts that are in decay.

There are also just not enough after school and summer activities to keep kids engaged. According to a soon-to-be-released report by Research for Action, there are 189,125 Philadelphia children in K-8 but only 76,041 after school program seats, and even fewer summertime slots (63,424).

The concept of rich investors making money off of young athletes’ dreams seems so fundamentally un-American that even Congress is getting involved. “Some operators have used strategies that prioritize revenue over participation. Families report higher fees, mandatory add-on costs, stay-to-play requirements…” said Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA) at last month’s hearing on Private Equity’s Role in the Commercialization of American Youth Sports.

The bipartisan committee concluded that “youth sports should be about helping kids grow and giving every child a chance to play – not finding new ways to charge parents more money.” That conclusion is a gooooal! for kids for sure.

Excessive cellphone use is linked to anxiety, sleep disruption, and social pressure in teens. A cellphone ban policy would help students stay focused on learning. Click here to tell your state senator to protect kids’ learning by restricting cellphone use in schools.

The Economist magazine is claiming that there’s no child care crisis because child care costs have gone down around the world over the past 10 years. What they don’t highlight is that child care costs in the United States have GONE UP while it’s other countries that have used public funds to invest in child care that have seen lower costs.

Early evidence shows that adequacy dollars – like $123.3 million in new funds going directly to boost academic performance – are strengthening classrooms across PA.

A report by PA Schools Work shows the real benefit of increased dollars to schools that have been underfunded for decades. PA lawmakers are poised to pass a state budget this weekend that likely will include another bump in adequacy funding.

Read the report to see why this is so important!

“This is something that I believe is certainly overdue, and it is something that we know we, as a nation, are behind on when it comes to the rest of the industrialized world. When we talk about commitment to family and a commitment to what real family values are, I think it’s pretty clear that this is a measure that really emphasizes that we care about those first months of a family.”

– Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie on the adoption of eight weeks of parental paid leave for county employees.

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