Wall Street Is Paywalling Your Kids' Sports(www.levernews.com)
13 pointsby ripe3 hours ago4 comments
  • nradov2 hours ago
    Beyond this specific issue with ice hockey, participation in youth sports in general has become an escalating financial arms race affordable only to more affluent families. Any parent who wants their child to develop sufficient mastery to maybe have a shot at a college athletic scholarship — or the remote chance of a career as an Olympic or professional athlete — is pretty much forced to pay for travel club teams plus extra private coaching. Sometimes low-income families can get reduced fees but still it's tough to make the logistics work.
    • estearum2 hours ago
      … why would college athletic scholarship or Olympic/pro athlete be a reasonable bar or something anyone would care about?

      Sports should be accessible to kids of all income levels for the sake of playing sports while they’re kids.

      • nradov6 minutes ago
        I didn't state that it was reasonable but a lot of parents do care. Something on the order of 2% of entering US college freshmen receive at least a partial athletic scholarship at NCAA D1/D2 schools. This can be a major cost savings, plus it allows them to bypass the normal application process.

        I agree that sports should be accessible to kids of all income levels. And that's true to an extent for certain sports. But the cheaper options of playing on public school or community center teams will only take you so far. The better coaches and higher levels of competition necessary to develop real mastery are often only available in expensive private clubs and academies.

    • IChooseY0u2 hours ago
      Like how much does this actually cost a year?
    • alphawhiskyan hour ago
      Seems like redirecting the incentive of athletic scholarships to merit or needs based academic scholarships would solve the problem.
  • jerlam2 hours ago
    Similar previous discussion:

    Private Equity's New Venture: Youth Sports (80 comments)

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46006183

  • s09dfhks3 hours ago
    Ironic that the article is paywalled
    • euroderf3 hours ago
      Utterly superficial analogy, eh wot.