Organized youth sports participation on the rise 

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Here’s the good news: More kids are playing organized sports, according to a new study.

But, here’s the bad news: Kids from lower-income homes being priced out.

The study, conducted by researchers The Ohio State University, used data from the National Sports and Society Survey to analyze the sports experiences of nearly 4,000 Americans from ages 6 to 18. The study, published in the journal Leisure/Loisir, also examined how various social factors influenced youth sports participation.

Children from higher-income families and those with college-educated parents were more likely to participate in organized sports. 

“Childhood social class matters when it comes to whether you have the opportunity to participate in organized sports, something which is a relatively recent development,” says Chris Knoester, lead author of the study and professor of sociology at The Ohio State University, in a media release. “We found that privileged families seem to be leveraging their advantages to strategically and intentionally invest in organized sports participation. That can give their children big benefits.”

One of the study’s key findings was that organized sports participation has increased significantly over time. However, more recent generations were also more likely to drop out of sports before reaching adulthood. The researchers found that over half of those who played organized sports quit before they turned 18.

Another key finding: Children whose parents were sports fans or athletes themselves were much more likely to participate in sports.