From casual recreation leagues to pricey private coaching, youth sports play a big part in growing up. They provide the structure and community kids need growing up, and can help build confidence and problem solving skills.
But how much is too much time, risk of injury and investment? Have we crossed a line trying to get young athletes across the finish line?
KCBS All News Radio explored the risks and rewards of youth sports with its special "The State of Play" town hall on Thursday. Moderated by KCBS anchor Stan Bunger, the panel featured experts who delved into the good, the bad and the ugly of youth sports.
One of the biggest problems with youth sports today is that they've become "an industry" instead of being an outlet where kids can learn the fundamentals of life, how to win and lose and treat your teammates, said Joe Shashky, 95.7 The Game sports talk radio host.
"There's become an entry point financially that's almost impossible for someone that's a single family with multiple children in the house, trying to afford all these things simultaneously... it's almost a logistics nightmare for a parent," said Shashky.
On top of that, pay-to-play models have severely limited access to recreational activities for lower income families, according to Khali Blackman-Newton, director of community engagement at Positive Coaching Alliance.
"The youth sport industry is a $19.2 billion industry nationwide, so that really serves to widen the gap," she said. "The access isn't there. The money portion of it just widens the gap between students who can pay to play and those who do not have that opportunity."
For those who can afford to play, many have dreams of turning pro or at the very least making it through college on their athletic ability. But those opportunities are few and far between, and many families don't realize it until after they've paid thousands of dollars.
"These clubs, these travel teams aren't telling you 'Well, pay us $15,000 but you maybe might get $11,000 [in scholarships] at the end of it.' They aren't saying that," said Dr. Nirav Pandya, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. "And then if you actually look at where scholarships are actually going, they're going to a majority of people who are upper-middle class, because they can afford to pay $15,000 a year for travel ball. So, the people who need the scholarships the most don't have access to it because youth sports is so expensive."
Pandya thinks the entire mindset around youth sports needs an adjustment.
"[Parents and coaches] should reemphasize to [athletes] what sports should be about. The end game is not the scholarship," he said. "And a lot of the times, the kids get it. It's the parents who don't get it."
The desire to push athletes as far as they can go has led more young kids to "specialization" -- participating in and training for a single sport year-round. But putting so much pressure on children to be successful is really changing the landscape of sports from a fun pastime to serious business.
"There's no question that at some point, they're going to lose the joy especially if they have to specialize to get to the next level. They're burnt out by the time they're 17 or even 14," said Jeremy Penaflor, director of recreational sports in club athletics at Saint Mary's College.
Specialization has also led to more instances of injuries. The danger has become so widespread that by the time some children are teenagers, they're forced to "retire" from sports because their bodies just can't handle it, according Pandya.
"We started seeing kids who are younger and younger -- you're seeing 8, 9, 10, 11-year-olds who are tearing their ACL -- having these injuries that you'd only see in adults 20 years ago," he said. "They're getting injured and they're retiring at age 14, 15."
"Their bodies are breaking down. Part of the specialization is they're doing same thing again and again at a younger and younger age, and our bodies aren't designed for that," Pandya continued. "You're supposed to go from season to season... but now there's just one season and that's where you're seeing these big, adult-type injuries in kids."
As for how youth sports can get "back on track," it really all starts with the parents and an attitude adjustment, said Blackman-Newton.
"Having some sort of self-awareness, being able to ask yourself 'Does my kid really want this or have I been pushing this on them,' just having that self-awareness," she said.
Parents should also do their homework before signing their kids up for a sport, no matter how much they think they might already know, Penaflor added.
"If parents did a little bit of research before they just send their kid into whatever the sport is for this pipe dream of a scholarship... they'd be able to prepare themselves for what they're getting into and then prepare their kid for what they're in store for," he said.