Basketball remains the sport with by far the most youth (ages 6-12) participation, although its numbers have been essentially flat the last few years.
(https://ecp.yusercontent.com/mail?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.emailimagecdnuyi.com%2Fhmax9y7gt3%2Fen_us%2Fimages%2F65520d3c6ab9f-1699876156.4372.jpg&t=1699884457&ymreqid=3c8d0d78-3338-e941-1cfd-b0021401c500&sig=RwFoHF32ueK2MkA4tmo_gg--~D)
Biggest growth sports from 2019-22: Tennis 51%, golf 33% (perhaps meaningfully, tennis and golf numbers were provided by sport-specific associations, whereas all others came from Sports & Fitness Industry Association).
Biggest decliners 2019-22: swimming -27%, lacrosse -26%, wrestling -23%, cheerleading -23%, baseball -20%.
Basketball, which had 3.97 million participants in 2022, was down 0.4%. Baseball, second with 3.28M, was down 20%. Soccer, with 2.27M, was up 4%.
I quit coaching youth baseball, participation drops off 20%. Coincidence?
Golf is a hobby, not a sport.
Let's do this.
Hmmmmm, did anything happen in, say, 2020, that might have led to the...
Cancelation of team sports seasons?
Increased golf rounds played?
Increased screen time among children?
Hmmmm.....
Oops, I forgot. We're doomed.
Yes, of course COVID played a major role. Here's what Yahoo Sports wrote to accompany that report:
The pandemic brought youth sports in America to an abrupt halt. Years later, most team sports are still struggling to regain their footing.
‌State of play: Soccer is the only team sport that saw a significant participation increase from 2019 to 2022, according to Aspen Institute's annual State of Play report, published this morning.
By the numbers: Soccer participation among American youth ages 6-12 was up 4% in 2022 compared to 2019. The only other team sport that saw an uptick was flag football (+0.3%).
All the others saw participation declines, with swimming (-26.9%), lacrosse (-26.2%), baseball (-20.1%), ice hockey (-17.5%) and tackle football (-13.2%) among the steepest.
Basketball, which had the most participants ages 6-12 of any sport (3.9 million in 2022), saw participation rates stay relatively flat.
Individual sports on the rise: Tennis (+51.2%) and golf (+32.6%) saw substantial spikes in participation. Both sports experienced COVID booms and appear to have sustained some of that momentum.
More findings:
Girls up, boys down: Boys (40%) still regularly played sports at a higher rate than girls (35%) in 2022, but they're trending in opposite directions.
Top states: Massachusetts and Minnesota reached the federal government's goal of 63% sports participation in both 2020 and 2021. North Dakota, Vermont, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and New Hampshire came close.
Knee injuries on the rise: In high school sports, ACL tears increased 12% between 2007-08 and 2021-22. Girls soccer had the highest rates, followed by tackle football, girls basketball and girls lacrosse.
Quote from: tower912 on November 13, 2023, 08:25:22 AM
I quit coaching youth baseball, participation drops off 20%. Coincidence?
The hot moms must have been disappointed.
Brilliant.
One of the biggest drops looks to be in meet sports (golf notwithstanding). I think both kids and parents just don't have the appetite for 5 hour competitions where each kid partcipates for 180 seconds.
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Quote from: Coleman on November 13, 2023, 09:21:25 AM
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Bowling or golf.
Unless they're like 6'4" or taller and athletic. Then volleyball.
Quote from: wadesworld on November 13, 2023, 09:23:37 AM
Bowling or golf.
Unless they're like 6'4" or taller and athletic. Then volleyball.
Actually, I would do cross country with rowing as a back-up plan. Bowling isn't a bad choice because participation is low, but there aren't a lot of scholarships.
Quote from: The Sultan of Semantics on November 13, 2023, 09:27:19 AM
Actually, I would do cross country with rowing as a back-up plan. Bowling isn't a bad choice because participation is low, but there aren't a lot of scholarships.
Yeah wasn't sure about the scholarship situation for bowling. I guess because I absolutely despise both distance running and rowing I'd never want to torture my child with those things.
Quote from: Coleman on November 13, 2023, 09:21:25 AM
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Esports duh
Wow lacrosse really took a hit. Wasn't that "the" growth sport for a long time?
Quote from: Coleman on November 13, 2023, 09:21:25 AM
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Hopefully they get their athletic and academic talent from their mother j/k.
Quote from: wadesworld on November 13, 2023, 09:57:40 AM
Yeah wasn't sure about the scholarship situation for bowling. I guess because I absolutely despise both distance running and rowing I'd never want to torture my child with those things.
Everything requires sacrifice.
Wtf is Pickleball??
Quote from: Coleman on November 13, 2023, 09:21:25 AM
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Marching Band
Quote from: Sir Lawrence on November 13, 2023, 12:15:00 PM
Marching Band
Bragging on my daughter. She is a Freshman in the Band(Color Guard). She just won the National Championship this past weekend. No scholarship letters yet.
Quote from: Jay Bee on November 13, 2023, 11:58:21 AM
Wtf is Pickleball??
Neither youth nor sport
(https://images2.imgbox.com/f9/eb/prdb7acf_o.png) (https://imgbox.com/prdb7acf)
Quote from: wadesworld on November 13, 2023, 09:23:37 AM
Bowling or golf.
Unless they're like 6'4" or taller and athletic. Then volleyball.
Someone can correct me, but for a good decade in the 2010s, they were having trouble filling womens golf scholarships.
Anecdotally, YMMV, but I played regularly with a girl I grew up. She was a solid player, played 1 or 2 on our HS golf team, which was decent. We'd be pretty even, slight edge to her, when we played reds vs whites. If we both played whites, I'd usually give her a couple of strokes a side. I was a pretty good in HS, but hadn't hit a growth spurt and didn't have much distance, which was a main reason I didn't make a varsity team which spit out a D1 player every couple of years (not all that common for Wisconsin). But she got a scholarship and played B10 golf for Penn State. Its not a drag on her at all and it was awesome for her but the other girls I knew in HS that played major conference were heads and shoulders above their peers.
Another friend of mine (her older brother was a stud golfer who played at Marquette) was a pretty good golfer, didn't play HS golf until her junior year and then was never better than 4th position on the team, turned down 2 offers cause she wanted to go to Marquette Nursing.
Unrelated, if your daughter is a bowler, steer her away from Stephen F Austin :o
I'm guessing they're all holding out for better contracts.
Quote from: TSmith34, Inc. on November 13, 2023, 12:24:40 PM
Neither youth nor sport
(https://images2.imgbox.com/f9/eb/prdb7acf_o.png) (https://imgbox.com/prdb7acf)
I just tore my meniscus playing pickleball. Given that didn't happen playing Hurling, Boxing, soccer, lacrosse, running, or volleyball then I'm reasonably going to assume that means pickleballs more high impact!
Quote from: Galway Eagle on November 13, 2023, 01:29:29 PM
I just tore my meniscus playing pickleball. Given that didn't happen playing Hurling, Boxing, soccer, lacrosse, running, or volleyball then I'm reasonably going to assume that means pickleballs more high impact!
No, it means YOU OLD!
Quote from: Coleman on November 13, 2023, 09:21:25 AM
Ok, so which sports do I push my girls into for their best chance at a college scholarship?
Just tell them to study hard and get an academic scholarship.
Way easier to get, and not a massive time/effort suck once you arrive on campus.
If we're being serious rather than hilarious, I'd tell them to choose a sport they enjoy and are willing to work hard at so they can improve significantly as they grow and gain experience. Doing what they consider fun and are willing to put in the effort at will bring them a lot of joy and satisfaction. And if they happen to be good enough at whatever they choose, the bonus is that maybe they'll get at least partial scholarships.
I've seen too many parents try to push their kids toward a particular sport, and it often ends poorly. No scholarship AND a resentful kid.
If we're not being serious ... push them to work at Arby's.
Quote from: Galway Eagle on November 13, 2023, 01:29:29 PM
I just tore my meniscus playing pickleball. Given that didn't happen playing Hurling, Boxing, soccer, lacrosse, running, or volleyball then I'm reasonably going to assume that means pickleballs more high impact!
That sucks. Lotsa Pickleball injuries. I'm in the market for Pickleball shoes at this point.
Probably a lot of kids with bone spurs nowadays. Sad!
Quote from: Jay Bee on November 13, 2023, 02:58:46 PM
That sucks. Lotsa Pickleball injuries. I'm in the market for Pickleball shoes at this point.
(https://images2.imgbox.com/c3/ea/nrWmG2Zn_o.jpg) (https://imgbox.com/nrWmG2Zn)
I thought pickleball was played in flip-flops.
I see people all the time playing pickle or paddle in running shoes and I absolutely cringe. Get some good court shoes. Low top basketball shoes work too.
Quote from: The Lens on November 13, 2023, 04:16:46 PM
I see people all the time playing pickle or paddle in running shoes and I absolutely cringe. Get some good court shoes. Low top basketball shoes work too.
Nonsense. Here is a spirited game of Pickelball from my extended family in NJ with a variety of acceptable shoes
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7379/27729598721_44b00473c4_o.jpg)
Nice no-look shot by the lady in the green pickleball uniform!!
Charlie Berens plays in crocs.
Quote from: The Lens on November 13, 2023, 04:16:46 PM
I see people all the time playing pickle or paddle in running shoes and I absolutely cringe. Get some good court shoes. Low top basketball shoes work too.
That's me. Have been playing in running shoes. Thought about trying bball shoes (highs) but maybe I will give my Jordan lows a shot. Really just need to cop a pair of pickle shoes.
#Dinkmaster