ESPN wants kids to enjoy playing sports again and in investing $5 million to push effort

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• Youth sports participation has declined, prompting ESPN’s $5 million “Take Back Sports” initiative.
• The initiative aims to make sports more accessible, enjoyable, and rewarding for kids, focusing on community leagues, coach training, and multi-sport play.
• The goal is to increase youth sports participation to 63% by 2030.

Over the past decade — and especially since the COVID-19 pandemic — participation in organized youth sports has been steadily declining. 

Experts cite numerous reasons for this trend — the most prevalent being things like lack of access to facilities or programs, onerous costs, time constraints and the pressure to win and/or excel, among others. 

The outlet that bills itself as the network that serves sports fans “Anytime. Anywhere,” ESPN, is determined to do something about this unfortunate trend.

Last month, the media giant announced that, in collaboration with NBA superstar Steph Curry and wife Ayesha Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation, it was spending $5 million on a year-long initiative called “Take Back Sports” — with the stated goal of getting more kids to play sports and, even more importantly, have fun while doing so. 

The announcement was made at the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit — where ESPN serves on the “63X30” committee. The committee’s goal is to have 63% of kids playing sports by 2030 — a rather ambitious goal based on recent statistics.

Targeting areas of need in youth sports

According to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association and the Aspen Institute’s “State of Play 2024” report, only 38% of kids ages 6-12 played sports on a regular basis in 2023. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that, in 2022, only 33% of children living in poverty participated in youth sports. And the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the percentage of high school youth playing on at least one sports team dropped from 57% in 2019 to a 21st-century low of 49% in 2021. 

“It’s time to take back youth sports from a system that has prioritized profit over well-being,” said Kevin Martinez, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at ESPN. “Travel leagues have overtaken recreational leagues, specialization has replaced multisport play, and winning has come at the expense of fun. We need to shift the focus back to what matters — making sports accessible, enjoyable and rewarding for all kids. With ESPN’s deep sports expertise and unwavering commitment to community impact, we are uniquely positioned to help drive this change to elevate the conversation, invest in meaningful solutions and unite stakeholders to reimagine youth sports for the next generation.” 

Martinez explained that the $5 million investment ESPN is making will target the following areas: 

1. Community recreational leagues, where kids of all skill levels and backgrounds will have a place to play. 

2. Quality training for coaches so they can develop the skills critical for helping make sports enjoyable for kids. To this end, ESPN is teaming up with Positive Coaching Alliance and the National Recreation and Park Association as part of the “Million Coaches Challenge” to provide training to coaches throughout the country. 

3. Encouragement of multisport play in an effort to prevent injuries and burnout. By playing multiple sports, kids will develop more rounded skills and become better all-around athletes. develop into stronger athletes. Among the multisport programs that ESPN is investing in are the Boys & Girls Clubs of America ALL STARS program, as well as 2-4-1 Sports. 

4. Promoting fun in sports, which is the most critical component for getting kids to participate in sports and stay with them. According to a study by the National Institute of Health, children cite “fun” as the primary reason for participation in organized sports — and that its absence is the No. 1 reason while they’ll stop participating in a sport. 

Creating a positive environment 

Megan Buning, a teaching specialist at Florida State University in the Interdisciplinary Center for Athletic Coaching and a former All-American softball pitcher at the University of South Carolina, specializes in the crossover of sports and classroom concepts, and strategies to improve coaching and teaching practices.

She’s also a wife, mother and youth sports coach. 

While she believes strongly in the overall benefits of youth sports, she’s also seen firsthand what happens when they go awry. 

“Unfortunately, I see young athletes burning out because they feel pressure to constantly train or play,” said Buning. “Sometimes this pressure is self-created, and other times the pressure is created by parents and/or coaches. If our youth are not allowed to rest, take a break from the sport, or to explore other activities, then they are more likely to quit the sport.” 

When young athletes — no matter their ability level — quit playing sports, Buning believes they lose out on an array of valuable life lessons. 

“Athletes learn from a young age how to work toward a common goal and work through failure,” she explained. “Athletes usually fail more often than they succeed in sports, and each time they fail and try again, they strengthen their ability to be resilient. Another benefit to youth sports participation is athletes learn discipline and develop a work ethic. Any amount of practice requires time management, practicing when you don’t feel like it and doing the same things repeatedly. All of this teaches a work ethic and discipline that will benefit them later in life.” 

Buning lauds ESPN’s commitment to helping increase youth sports participation and stressed that, beyond the corporation’s efforts, parents play a critical role in ensuring that their kids’ experiences are ones they’ll remember fondly. 

“For parents, one of the best ways to support their young athletes is to work on productive pre- and post-game discussions,” she noted. “Parents can completely change how youth athletes respond and handle emotions with how they speak and respond to performances. Supportive, positive and encouraging conversations can be a huge factor in making sure they continue participating in youth sports.”