Our Annual Report on Trends in Youth Sports
disruption as the new normal: Participation grows post-pandemic but how kids play evolves
Each year, the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program analyzes the state of play for young people in the United States through the values of its signature initiative Project Play, which helps leaders build healthy communities through sports. We gather data from a range of sources, consult with experts, and highlight trends that can help paint a picture of how well children are being served by adults.
Since the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, the state of play has constantly shifted. Without real-time data on participation and other topics, it’s been a challenge to definitively say how the historic disruption might reshape the delivery of sports activities. The best participation data from the federal government has a two-year lag.
Administered through the U.S. Census Bureau, the National Survey of Children’s Health, shows that 53.8% of youth ages 6-17 played sports in 2022, the first year that could be considered “post-pandemic.” The survey asks parents if their child played on a team, or took lessons after school or on weekends, in the past year. Project Play uses that data to guide its efforts related to 63X30, a call to action to help the nation reach its public health goal of 63% by 2030. Find out your state’s youth sports participation rate by reading the Participation Trends page in this report.
Another source is a household survey commissioned by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA), which tracks participation by sport and has a one-year lag. The most recent data, from 2023, shows a 6% one-year uptick of children ages 6-17 regularly participated in a team sport, the highest rate (39.8%) since 2015.
At the same time, youth sports remain in a dynamic phase, increasingly disrupted by technology such as artificial intelligence, the professional leagues-driven growth of sports like flag football, and NCAA-driven shifts that opened the door to NIL cash and influence.
Other factors influencing sports participation that we are just starting to understand include Caitlin Clark’s inspiration to girls, investments by private equity, and the impact on the health of athletes and delivery of sports due to more extreme weather caused by climate change. Check out 10 Youth Sports Trends to Watch, a new element of this report.
Several data points emerging in 2024 present new challenges:
Fewer boys are playing sports. In 2013, half of boys ages 6-17 participated regularly in sports, according to SFIA data. Only 41% of boys did in 2023. Girls ages 6-12 (34%) and 13-17 (38%) played at higher levels in 2023 than in any recent year dating to at least 2012. Federal government data also shows a decline for boys over the past decade, although not as steep.
Black children are playing sports less than they once did, and Hispanic children are playing more. SFIA data shows that only 35% of Black youth ages 6-17 regularly participated in sports during 2023, down from 45% in 2013, when Black children played at a higher rate than White peers. White, Hispanic and Asian children played sports more frequently in 2023 than Black youth. Participation by Hispanic children increased 14% in 2023 to its highest since 2016.
Children are specializing in one sport even more after the pandemic. The average number of sports children ages 6-17 regularly played in 2023 was 1.63, down 13% since 2019, according to SFIA data. Over a decade ago, children used to average more than two sports that they played.
The findings In State of Play 2024, authored by the Aspen Institute’s Jon Solomon, are drawn from many sources, including but not limited to data from the SFIA and National Survey of Children’s Health surveys. Findings also were drawn from interviews with leaders in the youth sports sector, additional research, and media accounts.
Each page below provides a glance at different trends. We hope that you find this report useful in creating access to quality sports and play opportunities for young people.
Thank you to our partner, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS),
sponsor of the State of Play 2024 report.