04/28/2026
"Parent behavior is a strong predictor of children continuing sports or dropping out. Children who stopped playing organized sports faced both higher negative pressure and significantly lower positive involvement from parents than children who currently play sports...."
The Aspen Institute partnered with Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University for a first-of-its kind national youth study to understand children’s experiences in sports. Almost 4,000 youth nationally participated in the survey, which assessed sports-related perceptions of youth who currently play organized sports, formerly played or have never played. Survey analysis and full report are in the comments section.
Some key findings:
⚽ Parent behavior is a strong predictor of children continuing sports or dropping out. Children who stopped playing organized sports faced both higher negative pressure and significantly lower positive involvement from parents than children who currently play sports. More girls quit when their parents engage in toxic sideline behaviors than boys.
🏀Basketball players report the highest negative parent behaviors. Baseball, football and basketball players report disliking their sport due to "Bad coaching" at much higher rates than soccer and tennis players.
⚾When examining why kids quit sports (former players) and what current players dislike most, coaching and confidence are massive factors. “Bad coaching” is the top complaint for current players. For former players, feeling “I’m not good enough” (29%) and “Bad coaching” (21%) were the top two least favorite things about their experience.
🏐 Only 12% of current players say earning a college scholarship or roster spot is one of their favorite things about playing sports. "Having fun" (48%) and "Playing with friends" (47%) are by far the top priorities, yet the youth sports industry frequently markets the dream of elite achievement.
🏈A staggering 52% of youth who have never played sports say the risk of injury would keep them from choosing to play, compared to 27% of former players and just 3% of current players. That gap, between what people fear from the outside and what participants actually experience, is a communications and first-contact challenge for sports programs.
🎾The average age that former players stopped participating in organized sports is about 13 years old. Boys (age 12.4) quit sports at earlier ages than girls (age 13.3). Among former players who stopped playing organized sports at the critical ages of 10-13, Black youth (60%) left at much higher rates than Latino/a (48%) and White (34%) youth.
🎮While screen time is often blamed for youth inactivity, the survey reveals that video games actually drive interest in real-world sports. This is especially true for youth who have never played organized sports; a staggering 50% of non-players who game say playing video games makes them more interested in playing sports, compared to just 10% who say it makes them less interested. But are programs meeting kids at that moment of interest, or waiting for them to find their own way into traditional sports on the fields and courts?
