Cover image for The most expensive game in town : the rising cost of youth sports and the toll on today's families / Mark Hyman.
Title:
The most expensive game in town : the rising cost of youth sports and the toll on today's families / Mark Hyman.
ISBN:
9780807001363
Personal Author:
Publication Information:
Boston, Mass. : Beacon Press, [2012]

©2012
Physical Description:
xv, 160 pages ; 23 cm
Contents:
The parent trap -- Baby goes pro -- Youth sports, USA -- The sponsorship game -- Exposed and overexposed -- Selling hope -- Making progress, and maybe a fortune -- Beyond commercialization.
Summary:
Building on the eye-opening investigation into the damaging effects of the ultra-competitive culture of youth sports in the author's previous book Until It Hurts, the author's new book takes a look at the business of youth sports, how it has changed, and how it is affecting young Americans. Examining the youth sports economy from many sides, the major corporations, small entrepreneurs, coaches, parents and, of course, kids, he probes the reasons for rapid changes in what gets bought and sold in this lucrative marketplace. Just participating in youth sports can be expensive. Among the costs are league fees, equipment, and perhaps private lessons with a professional coach. He introduces us to videos purporting to teach six-month-old babies to kick a ball, to professional athletes who will "coach" an eight year old for a hefty fee, to a town which has literally staked its future on preteen sports. This book explains the causes and effects of the commercialization of youth sports, changes the author argues are distorting and diminishing family life. He closes with strong examples of individuals and communities bucking this destructive trend.
OCLC Number:
ocn738340069
Availability:
Eagan - Wescott~1
Holds: