Since the lockdowns of the Covid era beginning in 2020, a growing number of parents are aware of the need to encourage their kids to participate in sports—especially team sports.
The Aspen Institute has done a comprehensive study of the state of youth sports in its 2023 study, Project Play.
Many experts agree that team sports help children develop essential social skills, build self-confidence, and foster a sense of belonging. By participating in athletic activities, kids learn valuable lessons in cooperation, discipline, and perseverance that benefit them both on and off the field.
Baseball and basketball have traditionally been the most popular youth team sports in the US. Basketball has increased in popularity recently because of the greater number of girls taking up the sport.
Basketball has an advantage over baseball because public courts are often readily available and because it takes just a couple of kids to have fun shooting hoops.
Parents who have space in their yard for a court at least large enough for practicing shooting basketball can encourage both greater health/fitness and stronger relationships with friends and family.
Tom Cove, President of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association may have said it best: “None of us should misunderstand that a lot of kids play sports less because they love a sport and more because they want to be with friends. When you break up a team, a child gets into other routines and doesn’t get to be with their friends, so they figure out other ways to be with their friends besides sports.”
Basketball clearly remained the most-played sport coming out of the pandemic, with nearly 1 in 4 youth playing it at least once in 2022 (total participation). While total participation in most sports decreased or stayed flat between 2019 and 2022, basketball’s rate for ages 6-17 increased 15%. Basketball had 3.6 million more total participants than the next-closest sport (baseball) in 2022.
Cove said the lesson of basketball’s growth is very clear: free play. “We allow them to play by themselves in basketball like everyone else around the world,” he said. “There was a time in the 1950s when baseball dominated with free play. Soccer around the rest of the world is always played casually. This country has a tough time meeting that reality. If nothing else, if we could drive kids to self-form their own play and build creativity, we would increase participation.”
And basketball is not only a boy’s sport. With the popularity of WNBA stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and A’ja Wilson, girls are taking up the sport in ever greater numbers.
Parents of boys and girls alike will find a backyard basketball court a great investment in their children’s health and healthy relationships. Grand Slam Courts is here to make that goal a reality for parents in the San Antonio and Hill Country area and those in North Texas around Dallas/Fort Worth. Add striping for pickleball, and the whole family can play two sports together. Give us a call to get a quote on a customized court for your backyard. In South Texas phone 210-496-3399. Those in North Texas should use the number 214-651-4232. We look forward to building something special for your family.