Which youth sport, golf or tennis, is gaining in popularity in recent years, and which is losing? You might be surprised to learn, given their overall public profiles, it is the number of youth tennis players that is up, with participation jumping 43% since 2000 , with the USTA’s innovative QuickStart and No-Cut programs credited for the increase.
For years, I have been on a mission to change the culture of youth sports: to think about sports, not just as a place to showcase the gifted and talented but as a place where all children can begin a love affair with sports and physical exercise lasting a lifetime, instead of ending, as too often is the case, in early adolescence.
To grow a sport is actually pretty simple, if you implement a five-part strategy:
- Shrink courts, fields and diamonds down to size for the youngest kids (this is something youth baseball and soccer have been doing for years, of course);
- Give younger kids age-appropriate equipment with which to play;
- Eliminate cuts at the high school level;
- Increase access by building more courts, fields and diamonds and use the “power of the permit” to give preference in using existing facilities to programs that are inclusive and child-centered; and
- Bring women and mothers out of the bleachers and from behind the counter at the concession stands and on to the coaching sidelines and into the board room.
