A study* from TeamSnap And The Aspen Institute found a connection between youth sports and mental health. Findings include 9-in-10 parents (89 percent) cited mental health as a top reason their kids participate in youth sports, and the majority of parents (52 percent) reported that their kid’s mental and physical fitness decreased during the pandemic.

TeamSnap produced the study in collaboration with The Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program, Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University and Louisiana Tech University’s Minds in Motion Lab to explore the effects of the pandemic on kids and youth sports,

The study was designed to help shape the growing conversation about the important role sports plays in the development of kids and the wide-ranging negative impacts of the pandemic. TeamSnap’s study follows its announcement of a $1 million donation to improve access to youth sports, an influx of talent to the company, and a strategic investment by Waud Capital in the company.

Key findings include:

  • More than half of parent respondents reported that their kid’s mental health (52 percent) and physical fitness (53 percent) decreased during the pandemic, and nearly half of the parent respondents said their kid’s emotional control (48 percent) and social wellbeing (45 percent) decreased.
  • Parents said the most important outcome of playing sports is for their kids to have fun (95 percent), followed by supporting mental health (89 percent) and enhancing physical fitness (88 percent); however, parents indicated that their kid’s achieving of these goals during the pandemic was significantly lower, with about half of parents (54 percent) saying their kids did very well with having fun, and less (52 percent) who said their kids did very well with supporting mental health and enhancing physical fitness.
  • The pandemic had significant effects on the activities kids were involved in. Their time spent in organized sport, free play, at school, and with friends decreased (69 percent, 60 percent, 68 percent, and 72 percent of parents said, respectively), while kids’ screen time increased dramatically with 8-in-10 parents (82 percent) saying that their kid’s screen time increased or greatly increased during the pandemic.
  • The more distant an entity is from a family, the less satisfied parents were with their response to the pandemic. Nearly 3-in- 4 parents (74 percent) said they were satisfied with their kid’s coach’s response to the pandemic, while only 40 percent were satisfied with their state’s response, and less (33 percent) were satisfied with the response here in the U.S.

“Throughout the pandemic, the abrupt pause of youth athletics left kids without an environment to gather with their friends and teammates. Unfortunately, the isolation of this period had negative impacts on the mental health, physical fitness, and emotional wellbeing of this emerging generation of bright and talented young athletes,” said Peter Frintzilas, TeamSnap, CEO. “By exploring these impacts with the help of two universities and The Aspen Institute, we aim to gain a deeper understanding of how the lives of those in our sports communities have changed, so we can be an even more valuable resource to help parents get kids away from the screen and back out onto the field.”

“Through this study, we’ve learned so much about the impact of the pandemic on young athletes’ lives, as well as the connection between organized sports, social development and overall well-being,” said Tom Farrey, Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program executive director. “As the world gradually opens back up and youth sports come back in full-swing, we hope to provide our partners, including TeamSnap, with actionable tools to influence their users and surrounding communities to make youth athletics an arena of inclusivity and fun.”

The study, hosted and distributed by Qualtrics International, Inc. in Provo, UT, was a study designed by key stakeholders at TeamSnap, through scientific consultation with the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Program, Dr. Travis Dorsch, associate professor and founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University, and Dr. Jordan Blazo, assistant professor of kinesiology, Louisiana Tech University. This survey was conducted online by TeamSnap users within the United States and Canada from April 13 through May 3, 2021, among 2,097 parents and adults ages 18 and older.