The rising cost of participating in organized youth sports has put these activities out of reach for many families, providing opportunities for children and teens to improve physical health and develop social-emotional skills. , important opportunities for building relationships are substantially blocked.
That’s where public schools come into play. Public schools can play an important role in making access to organized sports more equitable, according to the 2023 Status Report from the Aspen Institute, a think tank.
John Solomon, editorial director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, said the increasing privatization of youth sports means that families have to pay participation fees, uniforms, equipment, travel and other costs to play. He said it would not be possible.
“I think more and more people are realizing that we need to provide sports opportunities within the school setting, because that’s where most kids are,” he said, adding that for many students, “school is where most kids are.” This will be my only chance to play organized sports. “These are kids who can’t take them to practice or games because they don’t have money or their parents work multiple jobs.”
Lack of opportunities to play sports at an early age can put children at a disadvantage when it comes to earning a spot on a high school sports team.
Participation in sports is much lower for children from low-income households than for children from high-income households. The report found that a quarter of children from families earning less than $25,000 participate in regular sports, compared to 39% of children from families earning more than $100,000.
While sports participation rates for 6- to 12-year-olds in low-income households have increased over the past four years, participation rates for 13- to 17-year-olds in that income bracket continue to decline, dropping to 38% in 2012. It has been declining since. In 2022, it will increase to 27%.
Solomon said school and district leaders often believe that elementary and middle school students, in particular, are not interested in school-sponsored organized sports because they have so many opportunities to play through local leagues and organizations. It is said that there are many.
However, experts say this belief may lead to fewer opportunities for many children to play sports.
As a result, some school districts are starting to invest in athletic programs in elementary and middle schools. For example, in Fairfax County, Virginia, public schools, the district invested $600,000 to establish track and field and cross country teams at the middle school. Michelle Reed, the district’s superintendent, told The Washington Post that the goal of the investment is to improve mental health as much as physical health.. Approximately 2,000 students participated in the district’s first cross country meet this fall.
The Baltimore City School District also launched several sports programs in middle schools this year, including flag football, basketball, volleyball, cross country, track and field, and indoor and outdoor bocce. WYPR reports that the district, which launched through a partnership with Baltimore-based sports apparel brand Under Armor, wants to make sports more accessible to girls and students with disabilities.a public radio station in Baltimore.
And Oakland, California Public Schools plans to expand its elementary and middle school sports programs in the coming years through major investments. Because I eat it. learn. play. Foundation.
“More and more schools and leaders are recognizing that this is important,” Solomon said. “There are capacity challenges right now, and that can be a huge problem in some districts. But as kids face a mental health crisis, there is a lot of pressure on the value of physical activity. Awareness is growing.”
Solomon said the biggest challenges schools face when starting their own athletic programs are facilities such as gymnasiums and fields, as well as the desire to coach teams, schedule games and procure uniforms and equipment. They say there is a shortage of educators and other adults. But schools can do a lot with a little creativity, he said. (The Aspen Institute created the Sports Equity Toolkit Help students advocate for sports programs. )
Approaches to address these challenges include using cafeterias as gyms, partnering with community organizations to provide coaches and other volunteers, and limiting sports seasons to six to eight weeks. .
“You could also do an after-school program to teach or expose kids to sports. The best way to do that is to bring in partners from the community,” Solomon said. “This is a great opportunity for community programs as well. Take youth soccer as an example. Youth soccer associations who want to grow this sport, why would they go into schools and subsidize this? Why not try to find a way?”