How Kids’ Sports Became a $15 Billion Industry

Time Magazine posted a great article on growth of youth sports in the U.S. and the accompanying exploding costs. The article is a year old, but remains equally relevant today.  The article further discusses the presumption that youth sports private clubs…

and trainers will pick up the slack. The data shows this to be true only for high-income families.

An extremely important point highlighted in the article is how travel teams and private skills coaches are driving up the costs for traditional recreational leagues. All these teams are constantly battling for limited places to practice and play, particularly in urban areas (e.g., gymnasiums, batting cages, well-lit fields, etc.). The better resourced private clubs often outbid recreational leagues for use of the best equipped, most convenient locations.

Read the article here.
http://time.com/4913687/how-kids-sports-became-15-billion-industry/