Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids’ Sports—And Why It Matters

Flanagan, a journalist and former high school cross-country coach, debuts with an alarming take on the state of kids’ sports in America. In the 2010s, as her four children began to participate in sports, Flanagan noticed the activities had taken “a turn” from when she was a kid. In the 1970s, she writes, kids’ athletics became a multibillion-dollar industry and private clubs hit the scene: “Public investment in community sports dwindled, and private companies filled the gap.” Around this time, too, membership in private teams came with a hefty price tag, and star youth athletes became a “reflection of good parenting.” Flanagan takes a sharp look at how parents’ overinvestment in their children’s sports programs often leads to grueling schedules and injuries, and offers up some suggestions for “taking back the game.” Coaches should prioritize showing “strength and warmth,” local governments ought to allocate public funds to rec facilities to make sports accessible, and a federal Ministry of Sport could “set standards, register teams, [and] offer best practices.” A packed bench of experts weigh in throughout—a former NBA player recalls a time when “adults were in the background,” while a sports psychologist posits that “the competitive frenzy... can move a parent away from the child’s best interest.” Coaches and parents on the sidelines, take note. (Aug.)