Overview
High-quality, developmentally appropriate youth sports programs provide substantial physical, social, and mental health benefits. When delivered effectively, sport can foster resilience, promote belonging, and build life skills.
However, the current U.S. youth sports system produces inconsistent experiences due to fragmentation, lack of regulation, inequitable access, and uneven coaching quality.
Approximately 6 million individuals serve as youth sport coaches nationwide, yet fewer than one-third receive formal training in youth development and few states set policy standards for the skills and knowledge coaches should have when working with young people. This gap contributes to environments that may unintentionally increase risk for injury, burnout, exclusion, or negative developmental outcomes.
A three-part webinar series explored how policy can help address these challenges:
- Webinar 1 diagnosed the current system, including its fragmentation, inequities, and lack of oversight.
- Webinar 2 examined how other sectors have improved quality and accountability through standards, incentives, coalition-building, and sustained investment.
- Webinar 3 applied those lessons to emerging youth sports policy efforts at the federal, state, and local levels.
Together, these discussions highlight both the urgency of reform and the opportunity to build a more equitable, coordinated youth sport system in the United States.
Webinar 1: Understanding the Youth Sports System
Featured Speakers
- Dionne Koller, Director, Center for Sport and the Law, University of Baltimore
- Renata Simril, President and CEO, LA84 Foundation
- Cam Kiosoglous, Associate Professor, Drexel University, and President, U.S. Center for Coaching Excellence
- Kevin Connors, Managing Director, Susan Crown Exchange (moderator)
The first webinar established the central challenge: the United States does not have a unified youth sports system.
Dionne Koller described a landscape characterized by decentralization and limited regulation. Unlike countries where sports are treated as a public good and incorporated into national policy frameworks, the U.S. system operates largely through private organizations, market forces, schools, national governing bodies, nonprofits, and local governance structures.
These organizations frequently operate independently, resulting in:
- Inconsistent standards for safety, coaching, and program quality
- Limited coordination and accountability
- Significant variation in resources and access
- No central body responsible for overseeing the youth sports system as a whole
Renata Simril explained how this structure contributes to deep disparities in access. Participation is often determined by family income, geography, transportation, and the availability of local programs. As costs continue to rise, youth sports increasingly function as a marketplace rather than a broadly accessible developmental opportunity.
Coaches as a Critical Leverage Point
Coaches shape whether young people feel safe, supported, included, and motivated to continue participating. Yet systems for recruiting, training, developing, and retaining coaches remain inconsistent.
Many coaches are volunteers who face barriers such as:
- Training costs
- Time constraints
- Administrative burdens
- Repetitive or overlapping requirements
- Limited access to continuing education
Cam Kiosoglous provided international comparisons showing that other countries take a more coordinated approach. Governments may establish national standards, prioritize equitable access, and integrate sports into broader youth development and public health strategies.
These models demonstrate that stronger public leadership is possible—and that coaching can be treated as a workforce requiring clear expectations, support, and ongoing development.
Moving Beyond Fear of Regulation
Efforts to create standards often encounter resistance from those who worry that regulation will disrupt or diminish youth sports. Koller described this concern as fear of a potential “sportsopocalypse,” or the demise of youth sports.
But, as she emphasized, it is not sports that need protection—it is young people.
Maintaining the status quo means accepting existing inequities, safety concerns, overuse injuries, burnout, exclusion, and dropout. Meaningful reform will therefore require systemic change, not only isolated programs or incremental fixes.
The first webinar made clear that before policymakers can improve youth sports, they must recognize that its challenges are not simply the result of individual programs or coaches. They are rooted in the structure of the system itself.
Webinar 2: Lessons Learned from Regulating Other Youth-Serving Sectors
Featured Speakers
- Susan Jagers, Executive Director, Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, and former Co-Chair, Smoke Free Ohio Campaign
- César De La Vega, Managing Director, ChangeLab Solutions
- Jessy Newman, Principal Researcher, American Institutes for Research
- Joel Ryan, Executive Director, Washington State Association of Head Start and ECEAP
- Julie McCleery, Co-Director, University of Washington Center for Leadership in Athletics (moderator)
Once the first webinar established the weaknesses of the current system, the second asked a practical question: How have other fragmented sectors successfully improved quality, access, and accountability?
Speakers examined policy change in public health, childcare, education, school wellness, and out-of-school-time programming. Several common lessons emerged.
Evidence Can Create Urgency
Across these sectors, policy change often followed clear evidence of harm or inequity.
Susan Jagers described how smoke-free policies gained momentum after public health research definitively demonstrated the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke. Similarly, childcare reforms were shaped by research on brain development and the importance of early learning environments.
Youth sports concussion laws followed a comparable pattern, emerging in response to evidence of harm and data showing the prevalence of injuries.
These examples suggest that youth sports reform will require strong research and data—not only to identify problems, but also to build public understanding and political will.
Local and National Action Must Reinforce Each Other
Successful policy movements also relied on early local experimentation, coalition-based advocacy, sustained funding, and partnerships between local and national actors.
César De La Vega described what happened after Congress passed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which established new baseline requirements for local school wellness policies. Federal policy created a foundation, but state and community-based partners were essential to building the infrastructure, knowledge-sharing systems, and local capacity needed for implementation.
The lesson for youth sports is that national or state standards alone will not be enough. Effective reform will also require trusted local partners that can translate policy into practice.
Standards Can Strengthen Existing Good Practice
Policy tools used in out-of-school-time programs, childcare, and school wellness have included:
- Quality standards
- Regulatory frameworks
- Funding incentives
- Accountability systems
- Workforce training and professional development
Jessy Newman noted that the out-of-school-time sector initially experienced pushback to standards and accountability systems. Over time, however, practitioners came to see that the standards movement was not necessarily about imposing an entirely new way of working. It was also about naming the strong practices already taking place and encouraging programs to be more intentional and consistent.
This framing may be particularly useful in youth sports, where concerns about regulation are common. Standards can help identify and spread effective practices rather than simply adding new requirements.
Incentives Can Support Adoption
Other sectors have often used incentives in addition to mandates, linking funding eligibility or other resources to adherence to quality standards.
This approach can create accountability while also helping organizations cover the costs of implementation. For youth sports, public agencies and funders could similarly use grants, contracts, or other funding mechanisms to encourage participation in shared quality systems.
Quality Improvement Must Be Continuous
Out-of-school-time and childcare systems have also emphasized continuous quality improvement rather than one-time compliance. Joel Ryan described how the childcare sector developed program quality standards alongside:
- Increased workforce training
- Ongoing support and technical assistance
- Evaluation
- Continuous professional development
This is especially important because expanding access without addressing program quality can lead to mixed outcomes. Youth sports policy should therefore support coaches and organizations over time, rather than treating a single training or certification as sufficient.
Messaging Should Focus on Protecting Young People
Messaging played a critical role across these policy movements. Successful campaigns often reframed debates around protecting people—particularly children—rather than regulating systems or industries.
For youth sports, this means focusing less on whether organizations are being asked to follow new rules and more on whether young people are receiving safe, inclusive, and developmentally appropriate experiences.
Together, the examples from other sectors demonstrate that large, fragmented systems can be better aligned through coordinated policy, shared standards, incentives, coalition-building, and sustained workforce investment.
They also provide a bridge to the third webinar: how these lessons are beginning to shape actual youth sports policy.
Webinar 3: Turning Lessons into Youth Sports Policy
Featured Speakers
- Ben Schornack, Executive Director, Laureus Sport for Good USA
- Dawn Anderson-Butcher, Professor and Co-Executive Director, LiFEsports Initiative at The Ohio State University
- Jack Crowe, Founder and Chairman, CoachSafely Foundation
- Vince Minjares, Program Manager, Aspen Institute Project Play (moderator)
The third webinar highlighted recent policy work at federal, state, and local levels, as well as overviewed strategic approaches to advancing youth sports reform.
Federal Policy Can Address System-Wide Challenges
At the federal level, proposed legislation such as the Let Kids Play Act seeks to address rising costs by targeting predatory business practices and increasing oversight of private equity involvement in youth sports.
Federal action can help address market forces that cross state lines and bring greater national attention to youth sports as a public policy issue.
States Offer Multiple Entry Points for Reform
State-level initiatives demonstrate that there is no single pathway to systemic change.
Ben Schornack described how Illinois established a Youth Sports Commission to study and advance policy related to access, equity, and program quality. He also emphasized the central role coalitions can play by bringing together stakeholders across sectors to advocate for funding, policy change, and stronger system alignment.
Dawn Anderson-Butcher shared a different example from Ohio, where a statewide coalition helped establish training requirements for school-based coaches. Those requirements emphasized mental health and positive youth development, expanding the focus beyond basic health and safety compliance.
These examples show how states can use commissions, coalitions, and training requirements as different entry points into broader reform.
Policy Must Work for Volunteer Coaches
The examples discussed also suggest that policy development will be incremental, iterative, and shaped by local context. Approaches will need to be adapted across communities, states, and regions, with opportunities for continuous learning.
Reducing barriers for volunteer coaches has emerged as a particularly important strategy. Policies should consider:
- The cost of required training
- Redundant requirements across organizations
- Administrative complexity
- Ease of access
- The need for ongoing learning and support
Combining health and safety requirements with positive youth development training can also produce stronger and more comprehensive outcomes.
Accountability Turns Policy into Practice
Accountability mechanisms—including tracking systems and oversight structures—are essential to ensuring that policies lead to actual changes in practice.
Jack Crowe, Founder and Chairman of CoachSafely Foundation, described how states, like Alabama, use a software platform to track coach compliance with the Coach Safely Act, a comprehensive state law requiring all volunteer or unpaid youth coaches of athletes age 14 and under to complete annual safety training covering concussions, emergency planning, heat illness, cardiac issues, physical conditioning, and equipment use.
Momentum is building across government actors, but sustained coordination and shared learning across states are needed to scale impact.
Cross-Cutting Challenges
Several persistent challenges appeared across all three webinars:
- The absence of national coordination and shared standards
- Limited and inconsistent coach training
- Inequitable access driven by cost and geography
- Fragmentation across systems, sports sectors, and stakeholders
- Weak accountability and enforcement mechanisms
- Limited data for monitoring participation, access, quality, and outcomes
- Policies that focus narrowly on safety compliance without addressing broader developmental quality
At the same time, the series identified several reasons for optimism.
More states—and the federal government—are beginning to consider a stronger policy role in youth sports. Coalitions are forming around issues such as coach training, access, and data-driven storytelling. Funders are also increasingly recognizing youth sports as an important investment in youth health, development, and well-being.
Comprehensive Recommendations
The webinar series points to several priorities for policymakers, funders, advocates, and youth sports leaders:
- Establish coordinated state-level oversight structures to align fragmented systems and guide policy implementation.
- Center policies on the needs and well-being of young people, rather than the preservation of existing systems or institutions.
- Define minimum standards for coaching, safety, and program quality while allowing flexibility for local implementation and innovation.
- Expand and standardize coach training with a focus on positive youth development, mental health, safety, and supportive sports experiences.
- Reduce barriers for coaches by addressing cost, redundancy, time demands, and administrative complexity.
- Build accountability systems that track training, certification, compliance, and program quality across settings.
- Use funding incentives and grant requirements to encourage organizations to adopt standards and participate in continuous quality improvement.
- Invest in data infrastructure to monitor access, equity, participation, quality, and outcomes.
- Frame youth sports as a public health and youth development priority, recognizing that success in sports extends beyond competition and performance.
- Address financial barriers and business practices that increase costs and limit participation.
- Build cross-sector coalitions that can sustain reform efforts and align stakeholders around a shared vision.
- Integrate youth development principles throughout sports programming, ensuring that experiences prioritize safety, belonging, well-being, and growth.
Conclusion
The U.S. youth sports system is at a pivotal moment. While deeply fragmented, it also presents significant opportunities for transformation.
By leveraging lessons from other sectors, strengthening policy infrastructure, and prioritizing youth development, stakeholders can create a more equitable, coordinated, and impactful system that benefits all young people. We hope this three-part webinar series guides further critical thinking and action.