The Consequences of High Costs and Expectations in Youth Sports

How are young athletes affected when their parents sink large amounts of money into youth sports and pile on expectations?

Harvey Araton was a sports columnist for The New York Times for 26 years, where he covered ten Olympics and countless NBA finals, World Series, Super Bowls and Final Fours. A sports parent, he's the author of The Goal of the Game, which was released in December. Araton warns sports parents about the pitfalls of spending too much money on youth sports--which creates pressure for sports kids. He also cautions parents to avoid heaping high expectations on sports kids, and tells stories about how he parented his own young athletes, in one case, encouraging a child to play on a select team, and in another case, discouraging it. Subscribe to and rate our Building Confidence in Young Athletes podcast on Apple Podcasts. Learn more about host Lisa Cohn at LisaECohn.com. Send podcast guest ideas to [e-mail]