To reach the federal government’s goal of 63% of children participating in organized sports by 2030, it’s critical to both recruit and retain youth athletes. That requires understanding different perspectives from current, former and never players. What characteristics of sports and broader systemic issues influence their experiences and decisions to play or not play? Here are 15 key findings from our exclusive survey.
Project Play survey: Youth with disabilities need sports more but play less
Among children who play sports, those with disabilities annually participate almost one month less in practices or competitions than their peers without disabilities. The lack of play can be impactful – parents of children with disabilities are more likely to believe their child’s health worsened when not regularly playing sports.
Project Play survey: Parents spend 3+ hours every day on child’s sports
If you’re the parent of a child in sports, chances are your life gets extremely hectic. It’s not just the extra costs with sports, although a 46% increase on family spending since 2019 that surpassed U.S. inflation leaves parents frustrated. It’s also their time commitment.
Project Play survey: Youth lose one week of sports a year due to climate extremes
Youth sports parents nationally estimated their children lost about a week of sports practices or competitions in 2024 due to very hot temperatures, wildfires or wildfire smoke, flooding or changing winters. The new research by the Aspen Institute, Utah State University and Louisiana Tech is a rare estimate of how frequently our changing climate impacts sports activities for children in the U.S. – and a likely precursor of future challenges to safely play sports.
Project Play survey: 11% of sports parents believe their child can go pro
Project Play survey: Parents justify sport specialization so their child can play in high school
Project Play survey: Family spending on youth sports rises 46% over five years
Participation in youth sports is getting more expensive – and there seems no end in sight.
The average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase since 2019, according to the Aspen Institute’s latest parent survey in partnership with Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University. The rising commercialization of youth sports impacts who can access quality sports opportunities or whether some children play at all.