Seriously, What Has Happened to Kids Sports Since We Were Young??

A Real-Life Account Of Children's Sports Then and Now

Back in the day, I would have been a soccer mom. That’s what we used to call the moms in minivans. They would tote their kids and the neighbor’s kids to and from soccer games. Maybe I was a naive kid back then, but it didn’t seem that bad. The soccer moms always looked stress-free and happy to me.

What a difference a few decades make. The role of the soccer mom has changed quite a bit. We now drive SUVs instead of minivans and we put a lot more miles on our vehicles. The biggest difference is that we are a lot more stressed and a lot less happy these days.

Is it me or have kids' sports drastically changed since we were kids?

Then

I grew up in the late 80s-early 90s and I can’t help but think that things were a lot simpler then. No cell phones. The Internet was just becoming a thing. I can still hear the AOL dial-up sound as I waited patiently for it to connect. No social media. We would play outside all day until the street lights turned on signaling it was time to go home.

Sports back then were altogether different. They weren’t competitive like they are now. They were a bunch of neighborhood kids getting together to have some fun.

Our parents didn’t have to drive us to practice because the fields were within walking distance. We would stop by our friend’s house to get them on the way to practice.

Sign-ups consisted of our mom bringing us to the first practice with a couple of bucks for the uniform.

For tee ball, we got a one-size-fits-all shirt that was usually way too big with the local pizza shop’s name on the back. We brought our older siblings wore baseball mitts and we were set.

Bats, balls, and helmets were all provided. They were probably the same ones our parents used 20 years ago but they still worked. The batting helmets were always too big and wobbled on our heads as we ran the bases.

We practiced once a week if we were lucky but it didn’t matter.

Nobody was any good and nobody cared if we won or lost. I usually did cartwheels in the outfield but had a blast regardless.

Then once the game was over, we got a free piece of Nardone’s pizza and a Coke whether we won or lost. We just wanted to have fun with our friends. It wasn’t stressful for the parents or the kids. It was good old-fashioned FUN.

I’m not sure what happened between then and now but somewhere along the way, things really changed for the worse.

Now

I’m a parent of 3 kids now and what should be a stress-free, fun sports season has turned into a nightmare. It’s hard to even know where to begin.

Okay, I’ll begin with my older two kids.

It all started with emails from preschool asking me if I was signing them up for Soccer Shots. They were only 2 years old at the time. Soccer Shots is a school program that teaches kids the fundamentals of soccer. I signed them up thinking that was harmless but then it snowballed from there.

Other parents began asking why I wasn’t signing my kids up for soccer and basketball leagues at 4 years old. They would say, “Everyone else is playing, you don’t want them to be behind, do you?” The peer pressure between parents is real.

Then fall soccer or winter basketball isn’t enough. You need to play year-round so your kids keep up with the other kids.

Next comes travel leagues. If you want your kids to improve, they need to play against more fierce competitors.

The average cost of a travel league is about $1500+ per season. They also need sports bags with their travel logos specially embroidered on them. You also can’t forget the practice uniforms, regular uniforms, warm-up jackets, sweats, matching shoes, and balls.

If you happen to have girls, you need matching hair bows of course!

We didn’t even get into the insanity of driving 100s of miles for 3-day tournaments for kids who are not even 10 years old. Plus being that far from home, you need to stay in hotels.

I should also include that this is not for the faint of heart because competition is FIERCE!!

These kids are playing like college kids when they are like 8 years old. I honestly forget they are kids sometimes until they need the ref to tie their shoelaces.

Why do they need to be this competitive at such a young age???

Plus the parents are crazy!!!

Moms yelling for their kids to take out another kid. Parents regularly scream at the refs. When we were young, we knew what the ref says goes and that’s it whether he’s right or wrong. Now, parents get into fistfights with each other and refs over not calling a foul.

It’s intense and Insane!

Now on to my 5 yr old daughter. She begged and pleaded to be a cheerleader so I signed her up this summer. I thought I was a seasoned sports mom and nothing could shock me but wow was I in for a surprise.

I should have known at sign-ups that this would be a disaster.

First I got a stack of papers to fill out that was about an inch thick. The top few sheets were your standard name, address, blah blah blah.

Then the attendance contract caught my attention. If your child misses 6 practices, they will be reported to the cheer board and eliminated from the team.

Seriously? Did I mention that these girls are 5 years old?

Next was the schedule. Practice is three days a week from 6pm-8pm with a game every Sunday. This does not include the cheer competitions that are sprinkled throughout.

Again, did I mention these kids are 5 years old?? Doesn’t that seem a bit intense and late for their age?

After a few deep breaths, I continue through the pile. The next sheet is the No Bullying Contract.

WTF??? 5 years old???

Apparently after issues with body shaming, they had to include a contract this year.

Now onto the cost. $200 plus the cost of uniforms, socks, shoes, bows, game-day shirts, long-sleeved mid-drifts, matching undershorts, and jackets.

Oh, but you can do the fundraiser to negate the cost of everything. To me, selling $400+ in Krispy Cream Donuts sounds too stressful so I’ll just write the check.

The most stressful part isn’t even paying for everything. The nail-biting stress comes with trying to schedule it all into our already busy lives.

Having 3 very active kids is an understatement. When they say it takes a village, they aren’t kidding. I have my village consisting of family, friends, and neighbors, and I couldn’t survive without them.

Honestly, I wouldn’t do it if my kids didn’t love it. They do love playing sports. They thrive on being competitive whereas my generation didn’t seem to care.

These are the times that we live in. Even though it’s way more intense than the sports I grew up with, these are the times my kids will look back on with fond memories.

I don’t know when or why things got so hectic and so competitive.

We may not have been as good athletes, but we were happy. There was less stress to be the best.

We spent less time in the car, more time playing with our friends, and more time with our families. I guess I’m showing my age when I say this but the good old days were better.

I miss those times.

Does anyone else see a drastic contrast between the sports you played as a child compared to now? Please comment. I would love to hear your opinion ❤