A majority of parents worry that they will not be able to financially support their children’s sports in 2026 according to a survey by Sports Destinations Management. Sports expenses have continued to rise in recent years and are affecting both parents and young athletes.
The average American sports family spent $1,016 on their child’s primary sport in 2025, a 46% increase since 2019 according to Project Play. After COVID, children in homes making more than $100,000 a year reported the highest sports participation at 14.8 hours a week, as opposed to children in homes making under $50,000 per year at 11.5 hours. In 2022, 33% of parents also believed that a cause for rising youth sports cost was inflation.
(Saaya Patel)
Senior Claire Youk is a dancer at Encore Performers as well as part of their performing arts company. She says her parents spend lots of money per year to keep her enrolled.
“The tuition of my dance school alone is around or even more than $8,000 for a full year,” Youk said. “You also have to pay for shoes, which can cost around $600 per year and costumes, which are $80 each and you get around six or seven per year. Tights, leotards, leggings and workout tops for practices also have high prices. If you want to do extra training programs over the summer, those will also be thousands to dollars.”
Sophomore Jaimie Butterfield pays $7,000 just to travel for soccer. This covers the cost of any flights needed for away tournaments and the price of hotel rooms. She believes this high cost can put young athletes at disadvantages.
“Its cost is definitely an obstacle,” Butterfield said. “Traveling can help you be seen by colleges and give you more opportunities, but if you’re not able to it can hurt the amount of chances you can get to play at the more advanced level.”
Equipment can also be costly and contribute to the price of participating in sports. Junior Benjamin Do, who plays tennis on the CHS varsity team, believes that the upfront cost of tennis equipment can be expensive even if the training costs are not. According to Tennis Prime, the cost for ages 11-18 at the competitive level is around $5,000-$15,000 for coaching and $1,000-$2,500 for equipment.
“Just the racket itself can cost up to around $400, especially if you get a nice one,” Do said. “I train a lot with my dad and that lowers the cost.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, not being able to have access to athletic training or equipment can be hard for children. Youk believes this is unfair for kids who want to be athletes and are unable to address the financial constraints of playing sports.
“It puts you at a disadvantage if you really want to pursue a sport but don’t have the means to do so,” Youk said.
