Pictured: A group of youth athletes on the basketball court at City of Henderson (Nevada) Parks and Recreation. Photo courtesy of City of Henderson.

NRPA is pleased to announce the Youth Sports Framework has just launched! Local park and recreation agencies reach more than 40 million youth each year, with the majority of agencies (92 percent) providing youth with opportunities to play sports. As one of the largest providers of youth sports in the nation and the leading provider of youth sports facilities, park and recreation professionals are catalysts for increasing access to youth sports in communities nationwide, offering affordable, fun, welcoming and multisport options that level the playing field and promote positive youth development.

To support both youth and park and recreation professionals in creating welcoming, fun and positive youth sports experiences, NRPA partnered with Musco Lighting to pilot and test systems-level strategies to increase access to sports. The findings from these projects, including best practices and approaches, have been incorporated into the Youth Sports Framework, outlining a pathway for other park and recreation agencies to take action.

We hope you’re ready to dive into all the great content and resources the new Youth Sports Framework contains. Here are five things you can expect to find in the framework:

1. The benefits and life-changing impacts of participation in youth sports

• When kids play sports, they grow up healthier, develop essential social and emotional skills, and are more likely to succeed in school and in their future careers.

2. Data and research on the gaps in access to youth sports

• Participation in youth sports has declined steadily since 2015, and disparities persist across different incomes, races, genders and other identities. Through the Healthy People 2030 program, the federal government set the first national target for youth sports participation: 63 percent by the year 2030. We are a long way from reaching that goal, with sports participation declining and lingering just above 50 percent. The strategies in the framework provide a pathway to increasing youth sports participation.

3. Strategies to help park and recreation professionals create welcoming and positive youth sport spaces

• The framework is derived from NRPA research, key findings from the evaluation of more than 25 NRPA-supported youth sports projects in communities, and input and guidance from park and recreation professionals and national youth sports experts. The five pathways include: Centering Equity and Inclusion, Recruiting and Training Coaches, Engaging Youth Voice, Amplifying Communications, and Building Partnerships.

4. Actionable resources for setting goals for youth sports at your agency

• Explore assessment and action planning tools to help identify specific actions your agency can take to improve access and increase participation in youth sports programs. The tools can also help you identify to improve the quality of your offerings to ensure that youth and coaches have positive youth sports experiences.

5. Case studies from your fellow colleagues and agencies who are using the strategies of the framework to make an impact

• Check out how park and recreation agencies across the country are taking action to implement the strategies in the Youth Sports Framework and the impacts they are making!

Parks and recreation is often the very first experience most young people have with organized sports. These shared experiences form strong relationships and set youth up for a lifetime of success — long after the season ends. We hope this framework will provide a solid first step and a gateway to increasing access to sports for all youth across the U.S.

Get the Youth Sports Framework

Tell us how you’ll be using the Youth Sports Framework by reaching out to NRPA’s Youth Sports Team at youthsports@nrpa.org.

Rosa Riley (she/her) is a program specialist at NRPA.