Healthy + Happy #21: State of Play
Project Play recently released its annual report, State of Play 2022, analyzing national trends in youth sports from the past year. Here’s a glimpse into their findings:
1. Emerging racquet sports.
For kids ages 6-12, the top-five competitive sports were:
Basketball
Baseball
Soccer
Tennis
Football (combining tackle and flag)
The biggest surprise? Tennis, which saw a 29 percent growth in participation from 2019 to 2021 (think: friendly social distancing). Pickleball wasn’t far behind, either, growing 83 percent among 6-17 year-olds. (Curious about pickleball? We’ve got tips to help your kids get started.)
2. Assessing cost of play.
In 2022, the average family spent $883 for one child’s primary sport, down 6 percent from pre-pandemic.
One potential culprit? Inflation.
Another? Loss of interest. According to parents, 27 percent of kids lost interest in sports this year. Interestingly, the more money families had, the less likely their kids were to play sports. While the wealthiest families spent almost four-times as much on sports as low-income families — and cost remains a barrier to entry — research suggests the problem may go deeper than parents’ wallets.
3. Redefining “coach.”
With the rise of youth mental health challenges in recent years, parents now expect more from coaches — and they trust them (more than their teachers or peers) to teach their kids life skills, create safe environments and foster a sense of belonging.
The problem? Most coaches don’t feel confident or properly equipped to tackle these new challenges. And while parents praise coaches, the feeling isn’t mutual.
4. Traveling sports vs. community-based programming.
After a pandemic hiatus, travel sports are back — to the appreciation of the sports tourism industry. What would it take to keep those kids in local, community-based programs?
More playing time
More inclusivity
Lower costs
Good news: Foundations, corporations and other entities (like the federal government’s American Rescue Plan Act) are subsidizing local, low-cost forms of play — and it’s working. Participation in local, community-based sports rose significantly in 2022.
To examine these trends for yourself and better understand the challenges that still exist to getting kids moving, you can read the entire 2022 State of Play on Project Play’s website.
In the News
School food round-up.
Raise your hand for Healthy School Meals. If you want to help ensure ALL kids have access to healthy, nutritious school meals, you can contact your local officials and urge them to co-sponsor the Universal School Meals Program Act of 2021.
The FDA added sesame to its former “Big 8” list of food allergens (effective January 1, 2023).
Effects of the “Tripledemic.”
Amid the current “tripledemic” (the surge of COVID, RSV and influenza), parents are having trouble finding fever-reducing medications for their kids (think: Tylenol, Motrin, Advil).
If that’s you, the American Academy of Pediatrics has suggestions for treating fevers without medications.
Last week, the FDA authorized updated COVID-19 vaccines for kids as young as 6 months.
Events, Happenings and Opportunities
Teachers: here’s an opportunity to participate in a study about prioritizing play.
The Chef Ann Foundation’s Healthy School Food Pathway is a professional development program designed to help school foodservice professionals learn the skills they need to make more meals from scratch. If you’re interested, you can apply now for the Spring 2023 Pre-Apprenticeship Program (priority deadline: December 15; regular application deadline: February 3, 2023).
Have other national events or grant opportunities you'd like us to highlight? Let us know.