The Rise of Private Club and Travel Teams in the U.S.: Generational Changes in Youth Sports Participation and Associations with Socioeconomic Statuses and Family and Community Sport Cultures

Abstract

Using descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses of data from the National Sports and Society Survey (N = 3,993), this study assessed trends in private club and travel sports participation over the past 60 years, according to U.S. adults’ retrospective reports of their experiences while growing up. Results indicated an increase, across generations, of ever having participated in private club or travel sports, a preteen competitive league like travel/club, and a competitive league like travel/club for elite teen athletes. Family socioeconomic statuses and family and community sport cultures consistently predicted the likelihood that adults reported ever having participated in these types of sports offerings. Family socioeconomic statuses become more meaningful in distinguishing participation rates among the youngest generations. These findings offer valuable new evidence of the rise and extent of private club and travel sports participation over recent decades and highlight how generational contexts, family socioeconomic statuses, and family and community sport cultures have shaped children's youth sports experiences, especially as they relate to private club and travel sports, over the years.