The Economics of Youth Travel Sports
Sarah Hwang, Walter Payton College Prepatory, Junior, Spring 2026
As the cost to play on a travel sports team rises, families are having to pay more than ever to keep their kids competitive. Youth sports are moving away from opportunities for athletic growth and are now becoming focused on profit over accessibility, limiting who can participate. This rising price can be attributed to many factors, and it brings up the question for many athletes and their families if the financial burden is worth the valuable playing experience. The New York Times has reported that “youth sports are a $40 billion dollar industry” (New York Times, 2025). This has attracted private equity, with investors buying leagues and complexes, and it has turned travel sports into big business. Many sports, such as basketball and volleyball, have travel teams that play the entire year. Many tournaments have college scouts who attend and recruit players. Suzanne Dietz, a parent of four children in Michigan, weighs the pros and cons of travel teams. “They can teach players discipline, resilience, and life lessons while fostering teamwork…but they can also be expensive, have demanding travel schedules, and can lead to injuries and early burnout.” The Regional Economic Studies Institute at Towson University considered pricing across the top 15 youth travel sports, and found that the average starting fee was $1,663 (Menking, 2022). This doesn’t include expenses for uniforms, equipment, tournament fees, travel, and hotels. Arthur Ciszek is the club manager for the AAC Eagles, an 85-year-old soccer club based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He states that “the biggest challenge is renting soccer fields for practice, as the indoor facilities are always in demand and available outdoor fields are limited, which means practice spots can change regularly.” Paying for these locations is his largest expense, followed by coaches’ salaries. These and other factors impact the increasing cost of teams. Youth travel sports have become less accessible for many households because of the financial barriers. While travel sports were meant to be a space for skill-building and advanced competition, they have now turned into a costly investment. This means the focus of youth travel sports is shifting away from talent and is becoming more about making money to participate in the big business of pay-to-play sports. |
Works Cited
Interviewees
Arthur Ciszek, club manager for the AAC Eagles
Suzanne Dietz, parent of children in sports
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