Rec Sports

Cost of youth sports is creating challenges for parents; how they’re adjusting

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Families across the country are feeling the financial pressure of youth sports, with some considering pulling their children from activities due to mounting expenses. Kristi Brokaw from Pontiac says her 13-year-old son Levi has played organized hockey since he was 6 or 7, and the expenses add up quickly. “It’s everything […]

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1 month ago

April 29, 2025

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SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) — Families across the country are feeling the financial pressure of youth sports, with some considering pulling their children from activities due to mounting expenses.

Kristi Brokaw from Pontiac says her 13-year-old son Levi has played organized hockey since he was 6 or 7, and the expenses add up quickly.

“It’s everything to him. He loves it. We always say he lives and breathes hockey,” Brokaw said.

Between equipment, ice fees and training opportunities, youth hockey can become a significant financial commitment for families.

“Ice fees can be, depending on your league, anywhere from $3,500 up, clinics 100 bucks a shot. If you go out of town for a weekend, that’s $1,000 easily,” Brokaw said.

Related video: Sports equipment among industries that could see rise in prices due to new tariffs

Sports equipment among industries that could see rise in prices due to new tariffs

While Brokaw remains committed to her son’s passion, the costs often lead to difficult choices.

“I’m going to do whatever I can to support his dream,” Brokaw said.

However, the financial reality means making strategic decisions about which opportunities to pursue.

“If it’s a clinic, for example, we make sure it’s something that will absolutely benefit him. And yeah, there’s things where we’re like, we can’t do that right now,” Brokaw said.

According to a survey commissioned by Good Sports, 75% of families have considered removing their child from an activity because of costs, while 56% worry they won’t be able to enroll their child in a sport this year due to financial constraints.

Jackson Gertner, a youth coach and University of Michigan student, has witnessed these challenges firsthand.

“I think especially with transportation. Where I was from, I coached a team growing up and kids wouldn’t show up to practice or show up to a game. That was always a cost people couldn’t afford,” Gertner said.

Gertner is now with the Michigan Youth Sports Initiative, a nonprofit run by University of Michigan students that aims to remove financial barriers for sports families in Washtenaw County.

Lucas Solomon, the founder of the organization, was inspired to start the initiative while learning about sports in society.

“I’m a student from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. So, I’ve always played sports my whole life and I never had the issue of understanding where the money was going because my parents were paying for it. And I think that realization made me understand that there’s kids out there who don’t have those same opportunities,” Solomon said.

The organization partners with community members and raises funds to sponsor youth teams in the area, covering equipment costs and other fees for athletes.

“I think just hearing the thank-yous and seeing the smiles or seeing the impact of the actual sport makes me know how meaningful it is,” Solomon said.

As costs continue to rise, Gertner emphasizes the importance of community support for youth athletics.

“I think it’s incredibly important and people should be out there trying to provide this for kids in the community,” Gertner said.

MYSI is also hoping to expand to other cities in the future.

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This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

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Rec Sports

Youth Coaches in All Sports Will Need Higher-Level Criminal Background Checks

A new Florida law requires coaches and their assistants in all organized sports to be more thoroughly backgrounded. (© FlaglerLive) Palm Coast government wants to align city policy with a new state law requiring more detailed criminal backgrounding of youth athletic coaches and others who supervise children in organized sports even when they do not […]

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50 minutes ago

June 11, 2025

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A new Florida law requires coaches and their assistants in all organized sports to be more thoroughly backgrounded. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast government wants to align city policy with a new state law requiring more detailed criminal backgrounding of youth athletic coaches and others who supervise children in organized sports even when they do not work for the city.

The backgrounding could result in disqualification from coaching in some cases, but council members want to more precisely define those thresholds so that, say, a drug offense from 10 years ago isn’t a life sentence away from coaching. The city attorney is cautioning council members to be consistent, whichever policy they adopt.

“It’s going to be a tightrope for sure to find that spot where we’re keeping our kids safe but also not doing a disservice to them by removing people that would be good mentors,” Council member Ty Miller said.

Last spring the legislature passed a bill requiring state and national criminal background checks–called Level 2 screenings–for youth athletic coaches and their assistants starting no later than July 2026. The requirement applies to private organizations such as little league baseball, soccer or flag football, all of which operate in Palm Coast. The governor signed the bill into law.

An important caveat to the law: “a person who has not been background screened may act as an athletic coach if he or she is under the direct supervision of an athletic coach who meets the screening requirements,” according to a legislative analysis of the bill.

Employees and volunteers working for Palm Coast already receive a Level 2 screening through the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, which also provides that $60 to $105 service to anyone else who requests it. (The fingerprinting the city was requiring of its employees and volunteers had cost $36 until recently, which the city paid.)

Typically, athletic coaches received Level 1 background checks, which don;t include national backgrounding. Vendor at city events who directly interacts with children are also required to be backgrounded. Now, all those individuals will have to have Level 2 checks. The requirement is annual. Nothing stops a local government from requiring it sooner than July 2026.

Since numerous athletic organizations operate in the city, the council had two options: to require each organization to provide an affidavit that certifies compliance with the new law, or for the city to conduct the background checks for each organizations’ coaches and assistant coaches directly. The city in the past has asked certain organizations to provide letters certifying who had been backgrounded. But the approach was informal, and must now be according to law.

National organizations have generally required screenings “due to insurance purposes,” , Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston said. “They make all volunteers, including coaches, anybody that’s going to have any direct interaction with children, go through that background process. But this previously it was like a Level 1, and now they have upped it to a Level 2.”

Council member Ty Miller was looking for consistency in expectations and enforcement of the new requirement. A lot of organizations, he said, may focus on crimes against children. There could be individual coaches who may have faced criminal charges unrelated to children who the organization would not disqualify, “which is a concern of mine,” he said. “Same thing with say, drugs. You sold drugs, but you didn’t sell them to a kid, so it’s ok. It doesn’t seem right to me.”

To Miller, the city could define the threshold of disqualification for coaches and others interacting with children, even if they are not volunteering for the city, or employed by it, but running sports organizations within its borders. Violent crime and drugs should be disqualifiers in his view. “In effect, they’re acting on our behalf because of that use of the city facilities and parks,” Miller said.

He did not specify what kind of drugs or what level charges, but in a text exchange with FlaglerLive today he said he favored a common-sense approach without being too heavy-handed.

He’s not interested in adding costs to the city to pay for those screenings. But he is interested in having access to an organization’s screening records “and make sure they’re all matching up at any given time, so that we’re keeping them honest,” he said.

“I don’t want to go overboard here but I also want to make sure that we don’t have bad people under the radar either,” Miller wrote. “Vice mayor also indicated that there may be other things like animal abuse or domestic violence that may not be a felony that need to be considered as well.”

Local governments generally suspend an employee who is charged with a felony, but not a misdemeanor. First and second-offense drunk driving charges are typically a misdemeanor, as is discharging a weapon in public or battering someone, including a domestic partner. Aggravating factors convert the charges to felonies. (Child abuse or child neglect are automatic felonies, though they often get pleaded down to misdemeanors.)

“We have to keep in mind that we’re talking about coaches that are mentoring our young people,” Council member Theresa Pontieri said, with children coming from “some troubled backgrounds of their own, and sometimes it takes a mentor who’s been through that to pull the kid out of that. So I don’t want to disqualify people who have a past history of drugs, but it was 10 years ago.”

Mayor Mike Norris is worried about city overreach, what he calls “getting in the weeds when you shouldn’t be, and I don’t want the city to incur legal ramifications or something like that.” He’d support requiring affidavits from local organizations, but nothing beyond that.

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Agency seeks to connect youth with community | News, Sports, Jobs

Submitted photo(From left) Pictured are Commissioner Todd Graybill, Commissioner Alice Gray, Christian Retreat Center Director of Development and Events Wendy Kerstetter, and Commissioner Mark Partner. MIFFLINTOWN — Local youth will be working with homeowners this month on various home repair and maintenance projects, according to Wendy Kerstetter of the Christian Retreat Center. The Center, Kerstetter […]

Published

1 hour ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

MIFFLINTOWN — Local youth will be working with homeowners this month on various home repair and maintenance projects, according to Wendy Kerstetter of the Christian Retreat Center.

The Center, Kerstetter told Juniata County Commissioners Tuesday during the board’s meeting, is working to help meet the needs of the community while giving teens valuable life experience.

Kerstetter told commissioners the Center is seeking both youth and homeowners to participate in the program.

“It’s not only a way to meet practical needs, but also a chance for teens to develop a heart for service and build meaningful connections with the community,” said Kerstetter.

Located at 369 CRC Drive, East Waterford, the Christian Retreat Center is best known for its youth summer camps and year-round retreats. Kerstetters said programs have expanded and they now offer lodge accommodations, RV and tent camping with full hookups, and various recreational opportunities like fishing, hiking and canoeing.

“Most importantly, CRC is a place where relationships are built and strengthened,” said Kerstetter.

As part of the program, in June youth groups are housed and fed at the Center. They can partake in camp activities in the evenings, but during the day they are out in the community tackling various jobs.

This program is not only for the youth but helps the homeowners in the area as well, some may be physically unable to do some of the work or just cant tackle it financially.

This week they have groups working in areas of Honey Grove, Licking Creek, Thompsontown, Mifflintown and Cross Keys, she said.

Commissioners took action on the following agenda items..

Approved a three-year contract covering fiscal years 2024, 2025 and 2026 with Maximus Consulting Services, Inc. to prepare Juniata County’s annual indirect cost allocation plans. The annual preparation fee is $5,100 for a total contracted cost of $15,300. The agreement shall commence on Aug. 1, 2025 and remain in effect until July 31, 2028;

Approved tax exonerations for Monroe Township;

Approved payment of the Juniata County Hazardous Material check to S & B Automotive Detailing for $250;

Hired Nikolas Aumiller to fill the vacant caseworker position, effective June 30. Aumiller replaces Ashley Campbell, who resigned Oct. 31, 2024. Aumiller’s starting wages will be $20.18 per hour;

Hired Angelica Ybarra to fill the vacant caseworker position, effective June 30. Ybarra will be replacing Kelsey Drolsbaugh, who was promoted to caseworker supervisor on June 3. Ybarra’s starting wages will be $20.18 per hour.

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Rec Sports

VLPRA’s Youth Football, Cheerleading program registration closing soon

VALDOSTA – Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority ‘s Youth Football and Cheerleading program registration deadline nearing. Release: Time is running out to register for Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority’s Youth Football & Cheerleading program! The registration deadline is June 17th at midnight. Practices will begin in July and the season runs from August through […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

VALDOSTA – Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority ‘s Youth Football and Cheerleading program registration deadline nearing.

Release:

Time is running out to register for Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks & Recreation Authority’s Youth Football & Cheerleading program!

The registration deadline is June 17^th at midnight. Practices will begin in July and the season runs from August through October, including playoffs.

VLPRA’s school-based program includes flag football, tackle football, and cheerleading. Flag football is available for boys and girls going to kindergarten through 8^th grade. Tackle football is available for rising 2^nd through 5^th graders. Cheerleading is available for rising kindergartners through 5^th graders. Teams are separated by middle school district, so children will play ball with their friends from school and practice close to home.

Fees include uniform and equipment. It’s only $105 for tackle football, $85 for flag football, and $80 for cheer. VLPRA provides helmets, all pads, and uniforms for all divisions.

Parents can register their children online at www.vlpra.com or at VLPRA’s main office located at 1901 North Barack Obama Blvd.

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Rec Sports

Abdullah Amzil to Join Men’s Basketball Program

Story Links DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis men’s basketball bolstered its 2025-26 roster with the signing of forward Abdullah Amzil, a 6-foot-7 forward born and raised in Finland of Moroccan descent, head coach Jim Les announced Tuesday. “Abdullah is an extremely versatile player — he can guard all five positions, reads […]

Published

2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

Your Sports Nation

DAVIS, Calif. — UC Davis men’s basketball bolstered its 2025-26 roster with the signing of forward Abdullah Amzil, a 6-foot-7 forward born and raised in Finland of Moroccan descent, head coach Jim Les announced Tuesday.

“Abdullah is an extremely versatile player — he can guard all five positions, reads the game like a veteran and always makes the right play,” said Les. “He’s fiercely competitive, hates to lose and plays with an edge. Offensively, he’s a three-level scorer who can beat you in so many ways — and just when you think you’ve got him figured out, he’ll rise up and dunk on you out of nowhere. He’s a true problem on both ends of the floor.”

Amzil comes from a decorated basketball family. His brother Mustapha starred at Dayton and New Mexico, earning Mountain West Co-Sixth Man of the Year honors as a senior with the Lobos. His sister Latifa competed at Detroit Mercy, earning three-time Horizon League Academic Honor Roll and Athletic Director’s Honor Roll recognition. Both siblings, like Abdullah, have represented Finland internationally.

Amzil brings extensive experience from Europe’s highest youth levels. He has represented Finland’s U16 and U18 National Teams and was recently named Finnish U19 Player of the Year for the 2023-24 season, cementing his status among Europe’s top prospects.

While at Drive Academy, Amzil led consecutive Finnish Division B championships and claimed MU19 Tournament MVP honors. His transition to Torpan Pojat Juniors in Finland’s First Division A demonstrated readiness for elite competition, averaging 14.4 points and 6 rebounds per game on 59.2% shooting from the field. During a critical playoff run, he elevated his production even further, averaging 21 points per game during post-season play.

Amzil further showcased his ability in the U20 European Youth Basketball League (EYBL). He averaged 16.0 points and 6 rebounds while shooting 59.4% overall and an elite 44% from three-point range, flashing his all-around efficiency.

Amzil is the sixth signee of the offseason for UC Davis, strengthening the Aggies’ roster depth and versatility as they build momentum toward the 2025-26 campaign.

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Jr. Wolves recover after alleged theft by former president | Youth Sports

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2 hours ago

June 11, 2025

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