Children all around the country grow up playing youth sports and dream of becoming professional athletes.
Achieving that requires a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication from an athlete, but that alone is no longer enough due to the financial demands that come along with playing youth sports. The rising cost of youth sports has limited many families from providing this opportunity for their children.
“Growing up, club sports were never an option for me,” said Maxwell Slusser-Banh, a coach for Triumph Volleyball Academy (TVA) in Madera. “My family was never poor by any means, but we couldn’t justify spending $3,000 on a club team.”
Youth sports have exploded into a multi-billion-dollar industry, reaching over $40 billion in annual spending in 2024. The average family spent around $1,500 per child, according to a 2025 report from the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, putting it in the same conversation as professional leagues like the NFL, NBA and MLB.
The report also found that children coming from high-income households participate in youth sports at nearly twice the rate of those coming from low-income families.
While recreational leagues do exist at a fraction of the cost, if a player wants to elevate their game to the next level, competitive leagues often follow a pay-to-play system that depends more on finances and less on talent.
“Clubs and tournaments are really the way to elevate your game because you’re playing at such a high level and you have some of the best coaches in the country,” Slusser-Banh said.
Slusser-Banh, a Fresno native, is aware that the Central Valley is a predominantly working-class community and knows firsthand the struggle of wanting to play at the next level, but not being able to because of finances.
Now coaching at TVA, Slusser-Banh likes the club’s leniency on pricing and their goal of wanting players to receive exposure and develop.
Fifteen-year-old Hector Chacon, who has played under Slusser-Banh for four years, recognizes the benefits that come along with playing on a club team.
“Club volleyball was the best course of action for me to develop as a teammate and at my position,” Chacon said.
However, he has also personally experienced the financial struggles firsthand while playing on other teams.
“It’s a sad, almost embarrassing feeling to be held back by something as simple as expenses,” Chacon said.
These expenses go far beyond registration fees. Many teams require families to cover equipment, uniforms, travel and any other expenses that go along with being a player for the team.
Stephanie Estrada, Chacon’s mother, recalls how much dedication it takes from both the parent and athlete to participate in youth sports at this level.
“Costs, such as tournament travel, hotels, gas, food, uniforms and equipment, add up quickly and require careful budgeting,” Estrada said. “Our household has made sacrifices, such as cutting back spending, limiting vacations and carefully budgeting month-to-month expenses to ensure our child can continue participating in volleyball.”
It no longer comes down to how talented a player may be, but instead comes down to how much money a family is willing to sacrifice.
“Families choose local teams not because of skill level, but because of price, even though it limits opportunities for athletes who are capable of competing at a higher level,” Estrada said.
Luckily, cities like Fresno are starting to take notice of the growing issue and are proposing solutions to better help families and their athletes.
On Jan. 25, Mayor Jerry Dyer, alongside Councilmember Tyler Maxwell, announced the launch of the Youth Scholarship Program. The City of Fresno set aside $50,000 from Measure P funding to create the program that benefits any youth under 17.
“We recognize there is still a significant gap in resources for youth ages 12 to 17, a critical window in a young person’s life,” Maxwell said. “We believe every child, regardless of age, income or zip code, deserves the opportunity to stay active, engaged and on a path toward success.”
While grants like the Youth Scholarship Program and cost-effective clubs like TVA still exist, it doesn’t completely solve the pay-to-play system that youth sports has adapted. But it does help acquire more players that otherwise wouldn’t be able to play.
“If the cost was lowered, we would have much more athletic talent and diversity within our teams,” Chacon said. “Our community would become much stronger and united.”
Lowering the cost of play not only means less financial burden for families but also, for players like Chacon and many others like him, a fair shot at their dreams.
