Aspen Institute publishes State of Play 2022 report

Aspen Institute’s Project Play initiative publishes an annual State of Play report that identifies the most recent youth sports trends in terms of participation, physical and mental health, coaching and participation costs.

The key findings from the 2022 report found that children’s interest in sports is inversely proportional to the wealth of their parents. 27% of youth sports parents said their child has lost interest in playing sports. Further, the average family spent $883 per year in one child’s primary sport, showing a 6% decrease from pre-pandemic costs. The expenditure on the child’s sport by the richest families was four times that of the poorest families. Inflation was cited as the most common reason for increase in sports costs.

The report also stated that the youth sports tourism industry has recovered well after the pandemic, thanks to parents who want to provide their children with regular year-round training. When it comes to helping kids build life skills, nurture a sense of belonging, create safe spaces to play, and deal with stress off the field, parents of young children showed more trust in their coaches than their teachers and peers.

Team sports participation for the younger children after the pandemic was found to be at an all-time low, though it is showing some growth progress. Soccer bounced back with a 20 % increase in 2021 for children ages 6-12, while baseball and basketball did not see any considerable increase in participation.

For youth ages 6-17, tennis and pickleball became popular sports. While tennis wrote a success story by adding 679,000 youth, pickleball participation grew by 83%. 

Only 18% of youth with disabilities participated in one hour of daily physical activity. Adapted sports, which allow modifications for the people with disability to participate, saw a huge decline (51%) in participation over three years.

The State of Play 2022 report draws on findings from many sources including:

• Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s youth sports participation data from 2021, which shows how many children participated in sport and which ones returned to sports in 2021
• A survey conducted in September and October 2022 by the Aspen Institute in partnership with Utah State University’s Families in Sports Lab, Louisiana Tech University’s Minds in Motion Laboratory and TeamSnap, the results of which highlight the condition of parents, guardians, and children
• The National Coach Survey which assesses sports coaches by the Ohio State University LiFEsports Initiative, the Aspen Institute, Susan Crown Exchange and Nike. 

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Founded in 1949, the Institute drives change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most important challenges facing the United States and the world. The Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program’s main initiative is Project Play, which develops, applies and shares knowledge that helps build healthy communities through sports. For more information, visit www.ProjectPlay.us.