The spotlight on youth sports has never been greater. There are new teams, leagues and facilities popping up every day, as well as private equity interest, investments, M&A activity and general (mostly positive) publicity. Youth sports in 2025 is both similar and very, very different than it was in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. What’s the saying: “The more things change, the more things stay the same. …”?
Aside from my day job as a partner at Prodigy Search, I am the volunteer athletic director at my local youth organization. I previously was the travel basketball director and have sat on the board. I have coached baseball, basketball and flag football for the last 10-plus years, and my two sons have been involved in youth sports since they’ve been toddlers.
My perspective is unique, if nothing else. Not better than anyone else, but at the very least somewhat informed, yet far from claiming expertise.
All of that said, what is the state of youth sports? The easy answer — not great, but also not completely broken nor beyond repair. Chris Smith’s March 2025 SBJ article, “The Youth Sports Buy-In,” will tell you as much. Fairly healthy. Fragmented, to borrow Chris’ word, but also one sector of our industry that can be reconstructed.
The positives are always going to be there. Health, wellness and exercise; discipline, perseverance, teamwork, collaboration, friendships and competition, you name it. These are the reasons that I, and I assume many of you, participated in youth sports, and why you want your children participating in youth sports. The good typically outweighs the bad.
The supercharged positives are increasing too, by the way. Potential for scholarships, invitations to camps and special training, entrances to elite high schools and colleges, and who knows, perhaps lucrative NIL deals or getting drafted in the future.
What about the negatives? Well, the negatives remain apparent and somewhat out of control.
Overcommercialization is up there for sure, but cost and lack of access goes hand-in-hand. When registration fees are several hundred dollars before purchasing expensive equipment, that is a problem. Beyond that, the behavior of parents and coaches is a major issue — how they treat their players, the officials and the volunteer administrators; how the coaches handle injuries and overtraining is high on the list, too. Many sports are now year-round, 365 days, nights, holidays and weekends, with no breaks or offseasons.
Given this platform, and hence, a soapbox to stand on, one of the least talked about challenges in youth sports is lack of volunteers, on the nonprofit side specifically. I can tell you from personal experience, it is absolutely exhausting. People work tirelessly to run these sports programs simply to be good citizens and members of the community, but are often overworked with very little new blood entering the volunteer pool, resulting from a prevailing mentality of “someone else will do it.”
How do we enhance the good and fix the bad? Let’s make it simple. It is on the adults. It is about retraining adults — not just adjusting their skills training or Xs and Os, but rather enhancing attitudes and expectations. Rewiring their brains about how to act and react on the court, field and sideline — and to raise their hand when help is needed. It is about holding adults accountable — how they should conduct themselves and what happens if they act poorly or don’t act at all. It is about having adults be OK with being “volun-told” to do things, so that there is less burnout among the most dedicated volunteers.
Youth sports, and their inherent character-building traits, are incredible. They will never be perfect, but there is great potential to improve on the current state.
Mark Gress Jr. is partner at executive recruiting firm Prodigy Search, which has completed recruitment projects for Pop Warner, Cooperstown All Star Village, Players Health, U.S. Center for SafeSport, USA Football, and a number of other youth and amateur sports-related organizations.
