There are two statistics about youth sports that remind me why I write about them:

• 97% of kids are not going to play collegiate sports*

• 70% of kids quit youth sports before they get to high school**

The number of blog topics those two facts can generate is endless. But today, I am wondering if kids who quit sports before they get to high school had the opportunity to really understand the meaning of teamwork? More specifically, did they learn the importance of accepting their role? That they add value when contributing as a team member? These important lessons of sport are invaluable in the work world.

Playing on a team in high school influenced the type of employee I am, how I interact with my work team, and the way I lead a group.

Every role is important

Being on a team can help kids understand that everyone on the court or field (and in the workplace) has a role. We all have different skills and knowledge that contribute to our team’s purpose. And our teams are more likely to succeed when our talents complement our teammates. When I hired people for a team, I took the abilities and interests of current members into account and tried to hire someone with skills we lacked to expand the capabilities of our team.

Team members need to be ready to learn new skills

In the workplace, we are (ideally) given opportunities to learn and to move into other positions. We can develop excellence in our workplace skills or learn new ones that take us in a totally different direction. We might contribute in many ways over the course of a career. For people who have played sports through high school, this should be a familiar idea. A player’s skills can improve greatly from the age of 14 to 18 and their role on the team may evolve. Or they may discover that they are better suited for one sport than another.

Team members need to be ready to take on new roles

I played point guard as a freshman and sophomore but for my varsity years, I was moved to the other guard position. Our coach recognized someone else was better suited for the point guard role, and I was better suited to play on the wing. Good coaches—in sport and at work—understand what team members have to offer. They put people in positions where they can do well so that the team can do well. 

Team members need to communicate and collaborate

I’ve worked in both public service and private business. Every organization and every team I’ve worked on had a different style and expectations about how employees interact with each other and with leadership. I was able to adapt to each and see the strengths and weaknesses of how each operated. Kids can learn how to adapt to new situations when they play different sports for different coaches with different teammates.  

So, I do wonder what kids are not learning about teamwork and collaborating when they quit team sports before high school. I’m not a child psychologist or a teacher, but I don’t think I would have gained the same benefits if I’d played basketball from ages 10-14 instead of 14-18.

In middle school, I was trying to figure out where I belonged, not how I could be part of something bigger than myself.

How do we keep kids in the game?

Kids lose interest or get tired of sports for many reasons. I’ve written before about kids dropping out of sports and specifically about girls dropping out of basketball.

It’s important that kids have opportunities to play. But it’s more important that those opportunities are positive experiences if we want kids to gain some of the most important benefits of sports.

To keep more kids playing, parents and coaches need to keep sports fun and ease up on the quantity of games and pressure to play.

Thankfully, there are organizations working to reinvent youth sports. Organizations that provide resources for parents and coaches of young kids. Check out the Aspen Institute­–Project Play, the Positive Coaching Alliance, and others on my resources page.

Change starts with parents of young kids. It can start with you.

*NCAA Estimated probability of playing collegiate athletics

** Aspen Institute Project Play Survey: Kids Quit Most Sports by Age 11, August 1, 2019

National Council of Youth Sports website: Kids are Dropping Out of Youth Sports

Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash