When the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) released its most recent U.S. Trends in Team Sports Report, people put down their Starbucks and paid attention. After all, this was the first view of post-pandemic sports participation. Was it up? Down? Running in place?

All of the above. While the results do not show a complete return to pre-COVID participation numbers, there were some gains, and an overall positive trend in participation. The number of participants in team sports grew over the course of 2021 to 68.3 million, up from the 2020 statistic of 67 million.

There’s still ground to be regained – since the high-water mark in 2019 was 70.8 million – but if growth continues there could be a complete return. It wouldn’t surprise Tom Cove, SFIA’s President and CEO.

“Something we have seen writ large, is that the sports experience is a fundamental part of our national culture, family cadence, and individual passion. That is the thing that reassures me – we still have that positive attraction, and it translates into participation.”

The report turned up some interesting individual insights, but as Cove explains, when taken together, they paint a rich picture of the dynamic of sports in this country. Check out these insights, along with specific actions that you can take in your community

Good News: More Kids are Playing

The number of team sports participants in the 6- to 12-year-old category grew from 17 million to 17.6 million, marking the largest year-over-year increase in five years. But, says Cove, “The challenge is keeping them engaged.”

Playmaker Action: 

Bad News: Teen Participation is Flat

Teens seemed to have reevaluated their sports commitments during the pandemic and many did not return. This correlates with research by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which reported their first participation decline in years

Playmaker Action:

According to a Fight Crime: Invest In Kids report, 2-6 p.m. are the hours in which youth are most at risk for committing juvenile crime. Studies show quality after school programs produce the best results for long-term crime prevention, increasing school attendance, improving test scores, and reducing drop-out rates. Partner with your parks department and private businesses to review your after school programs and employment opportunities for teens to prevent risky after school behavior for kids no longer engaged in sports.

Insight: Basketball is Big

The most-played sport is basketball, and Cove sees several factors at work here, the first being the flexibility of play formats. Basketball is really the only team sport that is consistently and regularly played on an informal basis, meaning you’ll see kids playing without any adults around, playing with older kids, in groups of boys and girls, playing two on two, three on three – or just shooting baskets by themselves. There is nothing odd about that, so kids aren’t self-conscious doing it.” The other element in play, he notes, is the availability of facilities and the fact that the only equipment needed is a ball. “There are free and easily accessible courts everywhere, plus people can have portable hoops on their driveway so that family members can play.”

Playmaker Action:

Consider the opportunity of sports tourism. By building amenities with 6-8 basketball courts, your community can more easily access indoor court time and can host regional or national tournaments that can produce $500,000 – $2 million in economic impact per court.