Aspen Institute Sports & Society

No matter what region, county or city The Aspen Institute's Project Play community team works in, we hear a similar question from parents: how do I find the right sports provider for my family and child? The U.S. youth sports system is programs rich and systems poor, often leaving connections up to word of mouth or random advertisements. So many quality youth sports providers operate in silos, often through no fault of their own. They want better connections to families to deliver sports experience that best fit a child. Project Play views the creation of local online youth sports directory as a valuable goal for many communities to build depending on resources and needs. A great example is the City of Boston, which launched the Boston Youth Sports Directory and Boston Sports Facilities Map in 2024 to help families locate nearby facilities and organizations. Learn how Boston is doing it.

At one of our focus groups with children for the State of Play Kansas City report, we posed a question about what adults should know about children’s experiences with sports and physical activity that might help more kids move their bodies. A teenage boy flipped the question around in his answer. “I feel like it’s more powerful if other kids tell kids how it helps with your mental health,” the boy said. “That will motivate a kid more than if it’s coming from an adult. How is being on your phone and playing video games going to help you in 20 years compared to going outside, playing more and being more productive? How is it going to help you feel OK now?” Do we meed schools and sports providers more intentionally having children talk about how playing sports makes them feel? When we ask young people why they play, they often talk about mental health benefits, such as joy, distractions from problems at home and school, and a sense of freedom. Imagine if more young people heard thia from their peers. In our Kansaa City youth survey, highly active children were two times less likely to report feeling depressed than inactive youth. Children who received at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily also expressed less anxiety, worry and nervousness and more happiness and motivation nearly every day than their peers who reported no physical activity over the course of a week.

Between 20-to-28% of 6-to-17-year-olds receive 60 minutes of daily physical activity. “This is a systemic problem,” says Pam Watts, CAE, president of the Physical Activity Alliance. “This isn't just a funding problem or a programming problem or a localized problem. This is a pervasive, systemic problem.”

The Aspen Institute's Sports & Society program, in partnership with Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University, have developed a survey to assess the important roles parents play on children’s developmental outcomes in sport. The study is utilizing a national sample of youth sport parents and will ask them to answer specific questions about their children’s sport participation, the ways they are involved in that participation, and aspects of sport, school, and community settings that shape their children’s involvement experiences. The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete. The Aspen Institute will publish results in 2025 and explore the findings at the Project Play Summit in March where leaders will consider solutions to gaps and challenges identified through this research. Please take the survey here and share with others: https://lnkd.in/e5Dq2KVM

Thanks Elizabeth DiLullo Brown, Patrick Wilson and the Little League International team for the invitation to participate and share our upcoming priorities in the push for #63X30.

Climate change is affecting the safety of young people in sports. In addition to restricting outdoor sports during the hottest hours, some climate experts and medical officials stress that moving traditional sports seasons to cooler months will have to eventually happen. “I’m a big believer that in 20 years, high school football will be a spring sport and not a fall sport,” Korey Stringer Institute CEO Douglas Casa told USA Today. 10 youth sports trends to watch from our State of Play 2024 report: https://lnkd.in/dzngSpvU

Some good news: Far more coaches say they have been trained at least one time in their life in the key competencies tracked annually by SFIA - Sports & Fitness Industry Association – CPR/basic first aid, concussion management, general safety and injury prevention, physical conditioning, sports skills and tactics, and effective motivational techniques. Between 83% and 90% of coaches surveyed in 2023 indicated being trained at least once in their life. In 2018, between 51% and 66% of coaches said yes to this question. At the same time, fewer current coaches in 2023 reported having received training in the last 12 months compared to a one-year period in 2019. For instance, 29% of coaches in 2023 reported recent training in injury prevention, down from 34% in 2019. It’s important to note that coach training rates don’t account for the quality of the instruction and whether it makes a difference. Behavior change comes from a feedback loop and the coaching field generally lacks accountability and people consistently coaching the coaches. Read more coaching trends from State of Play 2024: https://lnkd.in/deA-cyHY

🎉 We’re delighted to share that we’ve joined forces with the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, UNICEF USA, the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the National League of Cities to launch the Child Rights and Sports Alliance (CRSA). This collaboration aims to elevate youth voices, enhance child safeguarding, and drive community impact in preparation for the FIFA World Cup 2026™. By uniting our strengths, we aim to ensure that this historic tournament leaves a meaningful legacy for youth and we’re thrilled to lend our 30+ year expertise to helping cities advance opportunities for children to have access to soccer as a vehicle for positive youth development. #ProjectPlay is working to educate host cities and committees on the Children's Bill of Rights in Sports and supporting their efforts to promote children's rights in sports throughout their cities. Today, Boston mayor Michelle Wu signed the Bill of Rights on behalf of the city's Let's Play Boston initiative, joining the mayors of Houston and Kansas City in endorsing the framework. Learn more about the Alliance: https://lnkd.in/e5SSbXSi Learn more about Boston's new commitment: http://boston.gov/sports

The Aspen Institute's Sports & Society program, in partnership with Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University, have developed a survey to assess the important roles parents play on children’s developmental outcomes in sport. The study is utilizing a national sample of youth sport parents and will ask them to answer specific questions about their children’s sport participation, the ways they are involved in that participation, and aspects of sport, school, and community settings that shape their children’s involvement experiences.   “This is a great forum for parents to share their perspectives on youth sports today and to further shape the way school and community stakeholders design and deliver youth sport in the future,” said study leader, Dr. Travis Dorsch, who serves as the founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University. The survey takes 15-20 minutes to complete. The Aspen Institute will publish results in 2025 and explore the findings at the Project Play Summit in March where leaders will consider solutions to gaps and challenges identified through this research.   Please take the survey here and share with others: https://lnkd.in/e5Dq2KVM

Tom Farrey takes measure of the state of play — and looks into the crystal ball — with Andrew Petcash on Profluence+ Community podcast.