Written by Have youth sports become a pay to play business model? Are resources equally available to youth of all economic backgrounds? I would argue not. many club teams have scholarship opportunities, but is that enough, when other parents are able to pay for additional specialized training, better equipment, and some times other travel teams? This in turn increases their network for when they are ready to play at the next level. Some sports are completely unknown to certain demographics because of the equipment necessary to play the game.
Are our top leagues and clubs truly filled with the best of the best talent? We often hear stories of gifted athletes coming from poor circumstances and “beating” the odds. My question is, how can we improve the system and allow for equal resources to all talented youth? If more naturally raw talented athletes had the same access to specialized trainings and better equipment as wealthier kids, what would our leagues look like?
Are we in turn teaching our youth that if you have enough money, you can get away with anything? That is honestly, probably a stretch, but what lessons come from this method? We will never live in a perfect world, life is hard, and overcoming the odds always makes for a great story and builds our character, but why can’t we strive to improve access to resources for all our youth?