WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — As concerns over youth mental health continue to grow, communities are turning to an outlet to help young people cope: sports. From physical activity to social support, studies show playing sports can have long-lasting mental health benefits. 

        What You Need To Know

• North Carolina FC Youth knows youth sports can serve as an outlet to alleviate stress

• From physical activity to social support, studies show playing sports can have long-lasting mental health benefits

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study in 2023 that found 40% of these teens said that they’ve dealt with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year

• Some programs also offer financial aid for families, making it easier to access youth leagues regardless of income

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2023, a study found that among high school students across the nation, in the past year many teens face mental health issues. According to the study, 40% of these teens said that they’ve dealt with persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year. Nationwide, 20% of teens reported seriously considering attempting suicide in the past year.

In 2023, the CDC reported how teen’s mental health is taking a decline. (Spectrum News)

North Carolina FC Youth is the largest club in North Carolina, offering soccer to children from the ages of 5 to 18 across the Triangle. Lucia Namey, an NCFC Youth soccer player, said the game means everything to her.

“It was genuinely life-changing for me,” Namey said. “I don’t know where I’d be without soccer.”

Namey recently injured a ligament in her knee. 

“With injuries, they’re just very isolating, and you feel very lonely, because no one knows exactly what you are going through,” Namey said.

She said that if it weren’t for the support of her teammates, she wouldn’t have been able to get through her injury.

“Everyone showed up for me when I need their support the most,” Namey said. “I think that in moments like that, when you’re at your lowest, having a big circle around you, showing you love, helps get you through because you know that you’re not alone, even when you do feel alone.”

Her favorite part of being on the team is the strong support system that sports teams like these can bring.

“Being here definitely just boosts your mood. I leave feeling much happier,” Namey said. “I can be having the worst day, and I know that I’ll leave here feeling so much better.”

For her, it’s not only about the support of her teammates, but also being able to let off some steam and be physically active after school.

Lucia Namey, NCFC Youth soccer player, is out with an ACL injury, but she still comes to practices to support her teammates. (Spectrum News 1/Ashley Van Havere)

“You get that anger out, you get to express yourself in a different way that’s not screaming or yelling at someone,” Namey said.

It’s not just about the exercise, NCFC Youth Chief Marketing and Development Officer Katharine Eberhardt said the social side of sports plays a huge role in mental well-being.

“Mental health is such an important topic, it always has been, and especially now, it’s a part of the conversation,” Eberhardt said. “We want parents to be talking with their kids, we want coaches to be talking with their their players.”

With a world full of screen time, Eberhardt said it’s becoming even more important for activities like these to exist.

“It’s great to have an outlet where we can create this environment that allows kids some freedom to become friends,” Eberhardt said.

For NCFC Youth Coach Tom Misuraca, it’s all about watching the teens grow as people and have fun on the field.

“You just got to keep them up and keep them going, get their confidence back, let them know they’re doing a good job and just be there for them and talk to them when they when they get down,” Misuraca said.

For these kids, the real win isn’t just what’s on the scoreboard, but it’s in feeling supported. Sports doesn’t fix everything, but it might just be part of the solution. 

Some programs also offer financial aid for families, making it easier to access youth leagues regardless of income. If you’re interested in joining a youth sports team, here are some helpful resources:

NCFC Youth sign-ups

City of Raleigh’s youth athletics

YMCA of the Triangle’s youth sports

Town of Cary’s youth sports

Town of Wake Forest’s youth sports

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FRISCO, Texas (June 10, 2025) – Following extensive review and discussion, US Youth Soccer, AYSO, and US Club Soccer have collectively decided to move to an age group player formation cycle that runs from August 1 to July 31, starting with the 2026-27 season/registration year. This change was made based on additional critical feedback, data, and expert input to better align players with their school-grade peers. Our associations feel that this age group player formation will be the most inclusive and help increase participation.

The August 1 to July 31 age group player formation cycle will be used for all USYS league and Cup competitions for the 2026-27 season/registration year including: National Championships, Presidents Cup, and National League.

US Youth Soccer CEO Tom Condone addressed the adjustment to the registration process: “At US Youth Soccer, our mission is to support the development of every player. After careful collaboration with our partners and listening to our membership, we believe this shift to an August 1 player formation cycle better aligns with school calendars, supports social and individual needs, and ultimately enhances the youth soccer experience for families across the country.”

As a reminder, under U.S. Soccer’s new policy, each Federation member can determine age group registration rules for the leagues and competitions they operate or sanction. To support this transition, U.S. Soccer has introduced a tool to help parents and guardians easily understand the age groupings based on their child’s birthdate.

Again, please note that this decision is effective beginning with each Organization Member’s 2026-27 season/registration year.

READ MORE: Updates included in this article are pertaining to – US Youth Soccer, US Club Soccer, and AYSO Returning to Seasonal-Year Age Group Formation in 2026

About US Youth Soccer

US Youth Soccer, the largest youth sport organization in the country, is on a mission to provide worldclass support, resources, and leadership, helping every member fulfill their goals on and off the field of play. US Youth Soccer registers 2.68 million players annually. Through its programming, resources and leadership, US Youth Soccer is advancing the game for its 54 Member State Associations, 10,000 clubs and leagues and one million administrators, coaches, and volunteers. US Youth Soccer connects families and communities to the power of sports and its shared love of soccer. US Youth Soccer provides a path for every player, coach and referee offering programs that provide a fun, safe and healthy environment at every level of the game.

About US Club Soccer

A National Association member of the U.S. Soccer Federation, US Club Soccer fosters the growth and development of soccer clubs in order to create the best possible development environment for players of all ages.

Anchored by Players First and its pillars of Club Development, Coaching Development, Player Development, Referee Development, Parent Engagement & Education and Player Health & Safety, US Club Soccer offers registration, league- and cup-based competition platforms, player identification and a variety of other programming, resources and services.

US Club Soccer is sponsored by Nike, DICK’S Sporting Goods and Gatorade.

About AYSO

American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) is a national nonprofit organization committed to delivering quality youth soccer programs in a fun, family-friendly environment. AYSO is rooted in Six Philosophies: Everyone Plays®, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Positive Coaching, Good Sportsmanship, and Player Development. Now celebrating its 60th year since inception in 1964, AYSO programs span over 640 communities across the United States.

As a member organization of the U.S. Soccer Federation, all AYSO programs, including AYSO PLAY!, conform to U.S. Soccer standards for safety and player development curricula. Learn more about AYSO at www.ayso.org.

LA PINE, Ore. — After the collapse of La Pine’s youth sports programs last fall, a Bend-based nonprofit is stepping up to help local kids get back in the game—offering financial aid and hope to families still recovering from the fallout. Every Kid Sports provides qualifying families with financial support to cover youth sports registration fees.

“Sports is more than just a game, as our mission states,” said Executive Director Eleana Ranaika. “It’s supporting life and part of life is community.”

When the non-profit heard about the struggles at the La Pine Park and Recreation District, the two organizations decided they could do more by working together as a team. 

“Every youth sport will need a body, and a body is $40,000 a year, and we just don’t have those types of funds with the situation we are left in. We’re slowly but surely recouping that and we’re going to get to where we can,” said LPRD Facilities Coordinator Wynn Malikowski.

In October 2024, the previous park and recreation board resigned and dismantled all youth recreation programs, citing financial issues. Since the recreation lacks the means to recreate youth sports, the LPRD Foundation provided a $4,000 donation to Every Kid Sports to help families make sports more affordable. 

“To provide scholarships for kids in the La Pine area to play sports,” said LPRD Foundation board member Brian Lusby. “Our goal is to, with the district losing the ability to, at least temporarily, provide those programs. We wanted to support all those kids and make sure everybody has an opportunity to play.”

Every Kid Sports will be at the La Pine Concert in the Park series this Thursday to accept the $4,000 donation.

“We support kids 4-to-18 years old who are currently receiving OHIP benefits and they can come and apply to every kid’s sports pass, and we will support up to $150 to pay their youth sports registration fee,” said Fanaika.

In addition, Every Kid Sports is planning to launch its “Born in Bend” campaign. That three-year initiative will support 2,500 kids throughout all of Central Oregon.

“This gracious donation by the foundation of $4,000, that’s probably close to 400 kids, this year that that will be able to play sports because the money that we’re funding is directly for our La Pine athletes,” said Malikowski.

Athletes will now have a better opportunity to get back on the field.

JEFFERSON CITY — A bill including incentives to keep the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals in Missouri will move to the floor in the Missouri House of Representatives following committee approval Tuesday afternoon.

The House Economic Development Committee passed the bill without making any changes. The Missouri Senate passed the legislation, along with two other bills, last week in the first week of the special session.

The bill includes the Show-Me Sports Investment Act, which aims to help fund renovations to the Kansas City Chiefs’ stadium and building a new stadium for the Royals. The bill would allow up to 50% of stadium construction bond costs to be paid back with tax money generated at the stadiums.

Lawmakers are up against an end-of-June deadline to pass the legislation; Kansas passed a bill that would fund up to 70% of stadium costs and requires the teams to make a decision whether to stay in Missouri by the end of the month.

If the House votes to approve the legislation, it goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe’s desk for his signature. By placing the bill in the special session agenda, Kehoe indicated his support for the legislation.

Supporters of the bill say keeping the sports teams in Missouri is important for the economy. A New Bloomfield Republican told KOMU 8 on Monday that he believes the bill will keep jobs in Missouri.

Kathy Nelson, the president and CO of both Visit KC and the Greater Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation, agrees. She testified in favor of the bill before the Economic Development Committee on Tuesday.

“This bill was so critical to Kansas City, not only for the Royals and the Chiefs, and the stadiums, and keeping them in Missouri, but also selfishly the amateur sports tax credit,” Nelson said. “That’s a big, big deal to Kansas City and our region. So for us, to make sure that we’re able to continue to keep things like Big 12, NCAA, NAIA, Olympic type of things, and youth sports, that’s a huge deal and impact to our community.”

The bill is expected to pass the House; the chamber passed the stadium funding bill in the regular session before the Senate derailed the legislation.

However, the bill saw testimony against its passage on Tuesday, as well.

“It just spends an awful lot of money of the people of Missouri to give to wealthy team owners who don’t need it,” said Patrick Tuohey, a senior fellow at the Show-Me Institute. “And really, it won’t change their behavior. They will stay in Kansas City, and probably the Missouri side because it’s a good market. I think Missouri and Kansas City and Jackson County should be able to make the argument that we’re a great place to invest, but we’re not going to pay you to love us.”