Kelsey Patterson left her job last year so she could stay at home with her three kids.
But living on one income has led to cuts to the family's budget, the Indianapolis woman said.
Her 7 year old and 5 year old are enrolled in a recreation league for football and cheerleading, but the $398 cost is putting a strain on the family's finances, Patterson said.
Patterson signed up for a scholarship to help pay for the costs, but was told the funds were depleted.
"We're still kind of in limbo. We're just trying to save enough to pay for it before the end of the season," she said.
Patterson is not alone. The costs associated with youth sports have increased to a point where parents are starting to question whether they can keep their kids enrolled. Costs
can be in the thousands of dollars for families, especially those with athletes in travel leagues.
Some families are getting priced out of youth sports
Youth sports is a $40 billion industry, according to the Aspen Institute.
In a new national survey by Accredited Debt Relief of more than 2,000 parents, 44% said they had previously delayed or completely skipped enrolling one of their children in sports because they can't afford the registration fees, equipment, uniforms or travel costs.
And another 43% said they worry they may be forced to make the same decision this school year.
"A lot of people are really at the breaking point when it comes to youth sports, and the stakes have gotten higher and higher," said Bobbi Rebell, a certified financial planner and chief financial education adviser at Accredited Debt Relief.
Parents are not only feeling pressure for the kids to be in youth sports from their children and the sporting community, but many parents have the false hope that sports involvement will result in a college scholarship, Rebell said.
Sometimes it does, though not always, "so some of them are making a financial calculation that if they make the financial sacrifice now, my kid will get a scholarship and the math will make sense," Rebell said.
But even scholarships may not be a long-term financial fix since they may not cover all college expenses or even what these sports have cost over the years, she said.
Sports go beyond financial costs
Participation in youth sports also is not only a financial one, but an emotional one, said Rebell, as families have to balance time away from home and family with games and practices.
Sports participation can also be a positive for youth and families, bringing them together and helping kids thrive, she said.
Making tough choices
Steve Chezik of Denver said it "broke his heart" to have to tell his 10-year-old son Cole that it cost too much money to sign up for hockey, which he estimated to cost $20,000 a year. Chezik said he and his ex-wife, who co-parent Cole with their spouses, also had to pull Cole from skiing recreationally since costs were also too high.
But Cole is still quite involved in recreational leagues for sports, including volleyball, baseball, flag football and basketball, said Chezik, who estimates those fees cost about $1,000 total. The families have also thrifted a lot of equipment for Cole to save some money, Chezik said.
Involving Cole in sports is "important for him to just be around other kids and meet other kids and just having fun and relax and burn off some energy," Chezik said.
Costs are a challenge
A study by the Aspen Institute's Project Play in 2025 said the average U.S. sports family spent $1,016 on their child's primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase since 2019.
The institute does not have updated statistics, said Jon Solomon, research director of the Aspen Institute Sports and Society Program, but high costs continue to be an issue.
"Many parents are increasingly experiencing challenges to manage youth sports costs and feeling frustrated. Youth sports continue to become highly commercialized, leaving behind too many children due to income or ability," Solomon said.
Travel to play is one of the biggest reasons for the cost increases, he said.
"We need more affordable, local and quality sports programming for children," he said. "The sad irony is most children play sports for social reasons – to have fun and be with friends. Yet too many adults focus on winning and chasing college scholarships, driving up the costs for families and pressure on children to specialize in one sport and succeed."
Additionally, sports equipment is getting more expensive.
According to the latest Circana retail sales data, junior team sports equipment sales reached $1.6 billion in the U.S. for the 12 months ending in July. That's a 3% growth in sales while unit sales declined 3%. The dollar increase was caused largely by higher average selling prices, which rose 7% during the period, Circana said.
Patterson said she'll keep her kids in their youth sports commitments this year. She volunteered to coach, and will borrow money from family if she needs to in order to pay for the season. But if it continues to be a hardship, she will consider not signing her kids up next year.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which breaks down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Some parents have had enough. They're skipping youth sports this year
