The Club Sports Industrial Complex
How to navigate a system built to keep you busy, worried, and spending.
Preface: I think most understand the common complaints about the privatization of youth/high school sports (expensive, busy schedules, etc). I feel your pain. And, I think there’s been plenty written about this. Since I’m convinced there’s nothing I can do about it, I hope this helps you better navigate it.
Downloadable club team decision worksheet > bottom of article ↓
Club sports can be a valuable tool. It can also be an expensive mistake.
I’m first going to describe what is going on, then jump into some ways to navigate it.
IT’S A BUSINESS
Club sports exist because there’s demand.
Think of a club as a living organism. Its primary objective is survival. Everything else flows from that.
The incentives lead to keeping families engaged (like social media).
More teams →
More showcases →
More travel →
More revenue →
Repeat.
I don’t believe that this was the intention of the “founding fathers” of club sports - it’s somewhat emergent. Still, it’s important to recognize that their incentives won’t always align with yours.
Marketing tends to outperform your instincts: Effective messaging influences all of us. Don’t pretend it doesn’t influence you.
Everything from highlight reels to college commitments, to savvy messaging promising a brighter future, has the potential to hijack anyone’s brain.
Antidote: recognize that you can be influenced, and learn some of the tricks of their trade. Once seen, you can’t unsee it.
Price tells you something, but it doesn’t tell you everything: More tournaments, more travel, and more showcases certainly means more money. But it’s usually inversely correlated with more/better development.
Clubs started out as a side gig for most coaches. Things have changed. Now, there are more full time coaches than ever before.
Businesses like growth.
FRAMEWORK
Club programs exist to serve you and your kid. FOMO is their greatest tool against that. Don’t let them infect you with it.
Most families think they’re buying both development and exposure. Very few clubs are exceptional at both.
If your objective is development, you’re looking for coaching, not constant competition.
Research participants: Ask to speak with a few families whose athletes are somewhere in the middle of the roster. Star players often have a different experience than everyone else.
Even better, ask to speak with athletes who used to be in the program and are now playing in college or elsewhere. They’ll usually be more candid.
Research: Coaches who genuinely love training often share. A lot. Youtube channels, blogs, etc. They can’t help themselves.
Events: “When you travel to tournaments, is the objective to win, or does everyone get roughly the same playing time?”
There’s no right answer. You just need to know what you’re buying.
Actions speak louder than words.
If they’re traveling every week, odds are they care more about their programs image than your kids development.
Beware: more recognition > more demand > expansion > more people to please > more money > repeat.
This is the risk with most development programs. Once recognized as good, it’s difficult for the club owner to resist the monetary temptations of growth.
Exposure is about being seen by the right people. If a club attends the right events but your kid never gets meaningful playing time, mission-fail.
If the program attends events in which the scouts are from programs outside of your kids league (too high, or even too low of a level), mission-fail again.
Some clubs are exceptional at creating recruiting opportunities.
They’re well connected.
They understand the event circuit.
They know where to be, and when to be there.
College coaches listen when they pitch.
Again, talk:
To middle-of-the-roster families.
To former players.
Research the program’s track record.
If a coach ever says they can get your kid recruited… Correct them. “You mean you can put them in a better position to be recruited.”
They should be able to prove it. Especially with the mid-tier players.
Pay attention to the events they attend. Not every showcase carries the same value.
Learn which events college coaches actually prioritize before writing a check.
You want both. Most families do.
That’s the challenge.
It’s possible, but rare.
Fortunately, club programs are more flexible than most realize.
If your kid is talented, exposure-focused clubs will often let them join for selected events without committing to the entire season - and at a discount.
Likewise, development-focused programs often allow athletes to train without participating in every tournament - again, at a discount.
Ask.
Programs negotiate more than people think.
The club landscape is highly competitive, and families have more leverage than they often realize.
NOTE: just because a exposure-based program has a stable of elite players in no way means they developed them. It often means their thoroughbreds jumped ship from another program.
Programs whose main objective is to get their kids recruited often advertise for development - beware.
Money changes your options. It doesn’t eliminate them.
The best solution to a tight budget is for your kid to be damn good at their sport. And the best athletes I’ve been around tended to develop in solitude - free of charge.
Scholarships, discounts, and financial aid are more common than realized—especially at programs built around winning and exposure.
Competitive clubs want competitive athletes.
THE YEAR-ROUND MYTH
Year-round participation is becoming more common. Hate it all you want, but the market isn’t just allowing it, it’s asking for it.
Many development programs and exposure-based programs participate year-round. Often, they expect you to commit for the year.
For some it’s great. For others it’s a scheduling nightmare. But the idea that you have to, or need to do it is 100% BS.
Remember what these programs need: talent and numbers.
Again, being really good gives you leverage. But, if a program is struggling with numbers, it’s another position to negotiate from.
If your kid is good and is a multi-sport athlete and a program is telling you full, year-round commitment is the only option, push back.
There are options. Join a training first program. And, if you believe it’s time to get exposure you can always attend a specific college’s camp. It doesn’t need to have “showcase” in the title for your child to showcase their skills.
Coaches most certainly recruit from non-recruiting-specific events.
Nothing tickles me more than when a kid comes out of nowhere to be one of the top recruits in the country in their sport. No club program, just a camp here or there, and bang. The family saved money, time, and their sanity. It’s more common than people think.
IT’S A TOOL, NOT A GOAL
Club sports are a tool. They’re not the goal.
The families who navigate club sports best understand the incentives of the system, understand their kid, and make decisions accordingly.
They don’t outsource those decisions.
They own them.
For parents
For athlete
INNO ATHLETE
Helping athletes think clearly about performance, strategy, and business.
Connect: Website | Tiktok | Instagram | Facebook | X | LinkedIn | YouTube