Anyone with a student who plays youth sports knows it’s not cheap … and the cost keeps going up.
The average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on one child’s primary sport in 2024—a 46% increase since 2019. The rising cost impacts who can access quality athletic opportunities and whether some students play at all.¹³
Furthermore, the gap in sports participation between the poorest and wealthiest children continues to widen, reaching 38.5 percentage points in 2024 (up from 36.7 in 2023 and 34.9 in 2016-17).¹⁴
One solution? Playing high school sports.
High school sports are a fraction of the cost of other youth sports programs.
In addition to being cost-effective, participation is manageable for most families, despite the time, transportation, scheduling, communication and support that participation often requires.
93% of parents surveyed say participation has been at least somewhat manageable this school year, and 87% say this level of participation is at least somewhat sustainable for their family.¹⁵
Protecting school-based opportunities means paying attention to whether programs exist AND whether families can realistically continue to participate, given the biggest challenges they name are time (18%), cost (17%), balance (16%) and transportation (15%). No single barrier affects most families, but together, they show where access can become difficult to sustain.
Fifty-one state high school associations exist so that opportunities for participation are available in every school, not only where a market forms.
¹³Project Play Survey: Family Spending on Youth Sports Rises 46% over Five Years
¹⁴U.S. Youth Sports Participation Increased to 58% in Pursuit of 63% by 2030
¹⁵The NFHS National Parent Benchmark Study
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THE MISSION
Helping students learn life lessons. Grow as people. Become responsible adults and productive citizens. Why do our 51 state high school associations exist?
To make sure that happens.
Run by educators, our state high school associations protect high school sports and activities by:
So our students have the opportunity to compete, to learn and to belong.
State high school associations believe in the power of high school sports and activities for every student, every school and every community. And they believe the true purpose of high school sports and activities is worth protecting and preserving for generations to come.
Join us in sharing these messages all year long on social media! Together, let’s all #ProtectThePurpose!
