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Since 2008, there has been an 8 percent decline in youth participation in sports for children ages 6 to 12. Similarly, participation in high school sports hit a major decline after the pandemic. It has been reported that less than one-third of children ages 6 to 17, whose families were reported below the poverty level, participated in sports, while 70 percent of children whose families were above the poverty line were engaged in sports.
These numbers are jarring because we know now how athletics can be instrumental in helping young people develop into successful and well-adjusted adults. According to a 2019 Swedish study, sports encourage young people to develop personally and psychosocially, delay the age when alcohol is first consumed, and encourage a better relationship with activity and nutrition later in life.
Therefore, it’s critical that access to these benefits should be…
