Last month The Gospel Coalition published an article cautioning parents about club sports (Zylstra and Douma, 2024). If you haven't read that article (linked above), I strongly recommend it; two statements struck me, and they have been spinning around in my head ... leading to this blog.
The first was the statement that club sports is a $20 billion industry, which is more revenue than the NFL or the NBA. Club sports is clearly becoming an idol of our time ... see Christ's words in Matthew 6:21: "Where your treasure is, there will be your heart also." The second comment that was left rattling around in my brain was when the author mentioned the "theology of club sports." Theology is the "study of God," so how can we have a "theology of club sports"? However, if you believe (as I do) that God created all things and is sovereign over "every square inch" of His creation, then you can have a theology of all things.
While a lot of articles are cited in this blog, much of this comes from parenting and coaching my own children. I wouldn't call myself a "club sports parent," but a couple of my children participated in that world for a time, and my daughter went on to play college soccer.
Let me start with the positives of club sports ...
- Skill Development from Professional Coaches -- Many club coaches are full-time coaches ... that is their job, and when they are not actively coaching a team, they are learning how to coach better. Many club coaches, also, have advanced coaching certifications and trainings to provide the expert coaching needed to develop young athletes. This is different than high school or recreational coaches who most often have full-time jobs elsewhere.
- Active Community -- In our digital age, young people are more isolated and sedentary than ever. Club sports provide an active and social community. Logically, young people want to hang out with others with like interests, and it is ideal if that interest also gets them physically moving ... club sports facilitates this.
- Opportunity to Play -- Many high school students who have enjoyed playing a sport growing up attend high schools where they are not athletically skilled enough to make the team, even though they love to play the sport. Clubs provide the opportunity to continue to play that sport through high school.
The Cautions
While club sports have some benefits, the concerns far outweigh (in both quantity and intensity) the benefits. Parents ... be cautious if you step into club sports.
Check the Time
Our value system is often aligned with where we spend our time. One of the greatest concerns of club sports is the amount of time that is required. Many clubs require a year-round commitment with tournaments happening on weekends. One family in Texas stated that their baseball club had tournaments on 45 weekends a year with 167 games per year, more than a MLB regular season (Smith), and another survey showed that families spend an average of 12 hours a week on club sports (Flanagan, 2022). Due to the fact that most club athletes are under the age of 16, parents take on the same hours as the club athlete as chauffeurs.
Most clubs demand that they be the priority in a families' schedule. Families are captive to the club schedule or practicing when the court, field, or ice is available and when (and where) games are scheduled. If the club schedule conflicts with family meals, school athletics, or church activities, the club comes first.
Sadly (and sinfully), this has greatly impacted Sunday. Christians set aside one day a week (typically Sunday) for rest and worship, thus, keeping the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8). With the rise of club sports, Christian families have selected club over church. If CS Lewis was still writing the Screwtape Letters, I can imagine him dedicating a chapter on club sports. I can almost hear Screwtape instructing Wormwood to encourage Christian families to join club sports ... just to stop them from attending church. Well, it is working.
If you are a Christian, look for a club that won't penalize you for missing a soccer game because of church. There are clubs out there ... we found one. If more Christian parents held to that standard, maybe we'd have fewer club tournaments playing on Sunday.
We all have a limited amount of time each week, so be cautious about what is being sacrificed for club sports? Club sports can feel quite "urgent" but it rarely is the most "important" thing ... be careful to avoid the "tyranny of the urgent."
Take a Physical Exam
Physical health of the young athlete is another concern of club sports. Club sports leads to sport specialization (i.e. an athlete only plays 1 sport), and sport specialization leads to overuse injuries. Who do you think plays more games in a year ... a professional athlete in the best physical shape of his life, or a 13 year old boy playing club who is still physically developing? Yep, it's the 13 year old boy. In addition to the sheer number of games played; most club teams play multiple games per day. Again. elite, professional athletes don't even do that because they know it is not good for their physical health and for the added risk of injury. Multiple games a day is a staple in club sports.
According to a study in Sports Health (2013), early specialization is correlated to increased exposure, which is the most important risk factor for injury. The more an athlete trains in a specific sport, the greater risk of injury. The study concludes that specialization should be delayed until late adolescence.
The most famous overuse injury is the elbow in baseball pitching, resulting in Tommy John surgery. From 1974 (the year Tommy John had the surgery) to 2003, fewer than 10 pitchers under the age of 21 had the surgery; by 2017, over 80 of these surgeries were being performed on the same age group each year (Streeter, 2023), and in 2018, over 50% of the Tommy John surgeries were being performed on athletes between 15-19 years old. This is a frightening trend. In fact, Tommy John himself is speaking against specializing too early in baseball and in all sports (Lief, 2018).
Overuse injuries can manifest themselves in relatively minor stress fractures and in major injuries like ACL tears. When children (especially before late adolescence) specialize in one sport, they greatly increase the risk of these injuries. However, children who play multiple sports, utilize different muscle groups and thus reduce the risk of overuse injuries.
Examine the physical toll before jumping fully into club sports.
Count the Cost
Not only is club sports a $20 billion industry, parents also spend $30 billion on participation, including registration fees, equipment, and travel (2022). In a mostly unregulated industry, where revenue is directly correlated to player participation (i.e. the coach makes more if he/she has more players on the roster), the temptation exists to view every player as a commodity. Unfortunately, players (and their parents) are viewed as dollars to be chased rather than humans to be developed. Be cautious!
One of the lies being told to parents by club coaches is around college scholarships. "You need to play club sports to get a college scholarship," or more specifically, "You need to play for me (or my club team) to get a college scholarship."
There are a number of problems with this statement. First, quite simply, it is not true. There are many college athletes who did not participate in club sports and were still recruited by college coaches. Second, there is not a direct and guaranteed path from club sports to college athletic scholarships. Being a part of a club does not correlate with playing college athletics. College athletics (and the scholarships that are used as the carrot) depend on many things, including natural skill level and remaining injury free. Third, the amount that athletes receive as a scholarship (if they receive anything at all) pales in comparison to the amount spent on club sports. However, parents believe the lie with over 40% of club parents hoping for a college scholarship that would cover over half of tuition (2017). The numbers just don't add up. In fact, if parents put the money that they would spend on club sports into a savings account (even at today's low interest rates), they would have more accumulated than what they would get for a college scholarship. Actually, the ROI of time/money spent on academics and getting an academic scholarship is a much stronger correlation.
Let's look at the numbers ...
Club parents pay (depending on the sport) an average of $100 - $500 per month with 20% stating that they spend $1000/month. In addition, the average amount spent on a weekend travel tournament (gas, food, hotels) is about $900.
Annual expenses per sport ...
- Baseball -- $3700 per year
- Softball -- $3000
- Basketball -- $5000
- Soccer -- $3000
(2017)
Look at the expense of club sports and consider these facts.
- 7% of high school athletes continue to play at the college level (less than 2% play at the NCAA D-1 level) (Varsity Odds).
- Only 1.3% of high school athletes get a college scholarship for athletics (2021).
- Most athletic scholarships are around $5,000 with NAIA averaging around $7,000 (2023).
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