This article shares new insights on the sports experience for youth by gender, based on a national survey by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative and Utah State University’s Families in Sport Lab.

This article shares new insights on the sports experience for youth across racial subgroups, based on a national survey of sports parents by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative and Utah State University’s Families in Sport Lab. The data show sharp differences in access, and in pressures experienced by young athletes.

In this post, we break down the data by family income. Youth sports have become an estimated $17 billion industry, often leaving behind families who cannot afford to keep up with the escalating arms race. In our latest analysis of the parent survey, we explored participation rates, free play, pressure on kids, and costs to play by evaluating responses against household income.

The average child today spends less than three years playing a sport, quitting by age 11, most often because the sport just isn’t fun anymore. Their parents are under pressure, too, with some sports costing thousands of dollars a year and travel expenses taking up the largest chunk.

These are among the findings of a new national survey of parents of youth athletes conducted by the Aspen Institute with the Utah State University Families in Sports Lab. The results offer key insights on the contemporary challenges of getting and keeping kids involved in sports, the theme of a new public awareness campaign, “Don’t Retire, Kid”, that launches Aug. 4.