Rec Sports
Families and businesses are concerned about the effect of tariffs on youth sports
CHICAGO (AP) — Youth sports are a big part of Karli Casamento’s life. Her son, Jax, 15, golfs and plays on three baseball teams. Her youngest son, Colt, 7, plays baseball and basketball. The costs, especially for Jax, add up in a hurry. That’s why Casamento, 48, and her husband, Michael, 46, are watching closely […]

CHICAGO (AP) — Youth sports are a big part of Karli Casamento’s life. Her son, Jax, 15, golfs and plays on three baseball teams. Her youngest son, Colt, 7, plays baseball and basketball.
The costs, especially for Jax, add up in a hurry. That’s why Casamento, 48, and her husband, Michael, 46, are watching closely for the ramifications of tariffs on their rising youth sports budget.
“All of their equipment I’m sure comes from China,” said Karli Casamento, a second-grade teacher in suburban Philadelphia. “As they get bigger, they need new equipment. So that is definitely a concern.”
For families like the Casamentos and businesses in the marketplace, there is continued uncertainty surrounding the possible effects of President Donald Trump’s tariffs — the 10% baseline tariffs, along with a 30% rate on Chinese goods — on youth sports.
Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Puma were among 76 companies that signed an April 29 letter to Trump asking for a footwear exemption from reciprocal tariffs. The Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America letter warned tariffs would “become a major impact at the cash register for every family.”
Amer Sports, the parent company of Wilson Sporting Goods and Louisville Slugger, downplayed the effect of tariffs when it announced its first-quarter earnings on May 20. But looking beyond this year, chief financial officer Andrew Page mentioned pricing as one way the company could offset higher import tariffs.
Dick’s Sporting Goods reaffirmed its earnings guidance for 2025 when it provided its first-quarter update on May 28. CEO Lauren Hobart said Dick’s had no plans to trim its product assortment in response to tariff costs, and that its guidance confirmation was based on its belief it can manage the situation.
“We are constantly assessing our pricing down to the item level, SKU level, and we do that based on consumer demand and the profitability of the business,” Hobart said in response to a question on possible price increases. “We have a very advanced pricing capability, much more advanced than we used to have, and much more enabled to make real time and quick decisions.”
The U.S. has been the largest importer of sporting goods since 2010, accounting for 31% of the world’s imports in 2022, according to a 2024 World Trade Organization report. Boosted by racket sports, China is the most significant exporter of sporting goods at 43% in 2022.
Fueled by golf, badminton and tennis equipment, Vietnam and Taiwan experienced rapid expansion in exporting outdoor sports equipment to the U.S. from 2018 to 2024, according to data from the consulting firm, AlixPartners. Vietnam increased 340% to $705 million, and Taiwan was up 16% to $946 million.
Tariffs of 46% for Vietnam and 32% for Taiwan could go into effect next month after a 90-day pause.
Hockey skates, sticks and protective gear are often imported. Same for baseball gloves and composite and aluminum bats, which are often imported or use materials that are imported, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Soccer goals, lacrosse nets and cones are often sourced from low-cost labor markets.
“You can’t get around the fact that a lot the stuff that we use in youth sports is coming from abroad,” said Travis Dorsch, the founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University. “So surely if the tariffs go into effect and in any long-term or meaningful way, it’s going to affect youth sports.”
The Casamento family cheers for the Philadelphia Phillies, and that’s how Jax and Colt got into baseball. Karli Casamento called sports “a safe way to socialize, and it gets them active.”
But equipment has become a major expense for the family. Jax has a $400 bat and a $300 glove, Karli Casamento said, and his catching equipment is $700. There is an additional cost for registration for his travel team, in addition to what it costs to travel to tournaments.
“We’ve tried to say to Jax, ‘Well, you’re in ninth grade now, do you really need to play tournament ball? You’re not going to grow up and be, you know, the next Mike Schmidt,’ things like that,” Karli Casamento said, “because it’s just, it’s $5,000 a year and now we have two kids in sports.”
That effect most likely will be felt by middle- and low-income families, threatening recent gains in participation rates for youth sports.
The Sports & Fitness Industry Association, which tracks youth participation by sport, found in 2023 there was a 6% increase in young people who regularly participated in a team sport, which it said was the highest rate (39.8%) since 2015. An Aspen Institute study released in October showed participation for girls was at its highest levels since at least 2012.
“I’m really concerned that we’re going to spike this great momentum because families, who are already saying that sports is getting increasingly more expensive, equipment’s getting more expensive and they’re continuing to stretch to make that work, like this might be the one that just kind of puts them over the sidelines,” said Todd Smith, the president and CEO of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
Smith was in China in April for a World Federation of Sporting Good Industries board meeting. He visited some manufacturing facilities while he was in the country.
“The ones that I went to are really, really impressive,” Smith said. “First class, high tech, like highly skilled. And the thought that tariffs are all of a sudden just going to allow a 10-plus million dollar facility to just pop up the next day in the U.S. is just, it’s not feasible.”
Low-income families were already feeling a financial strain with youth sports before Trump was elected to a second term. According to the Aspen Institute study, 25.1% of children ages 6-17 from households earning under $25,000 played a sport on a regular basis in 2023, down slightly from 25.8% in 2022. That’s compared to 43.5% of children from households earning at least $100,000, up slightly from 42.7% in 2022.
Youth sports participation has a wide range of ramifications for public health, said Tom Farrey, the founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Sports & Society Program.
“This incredibly virtuous cycle can be engaged if you can simply get kids off their phones and off their couches and into the game and they have a sustained experience into adolescence,” Farrey said. “And if you don’t, then you’re at risk for a range of health consequences, including obesity.”
Going along with playing on three baseball teams, Jax Casamento has workouts for his travel squad and also takes hitting lessons. The Casamentos turned a baseball trip to South Carolina into a family vacation last year.
Michael Casamento is a physical education teacher in an elementary school, so the family’s concerns about the effect of tariffs on the cost of youth sports go beyond their two boys.
“I work with a lot of kids that are a lower socio-economic status,” Karli Casamento said. “It really makes it harder for those types of families to be able to afford to play sports.”
___
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Rec Sports
Youth test skills at Mandaree rodeo | News, Sports, Jobs
Submitted Photo Ryker King shows the crowd how to turn a horse loose at the MHA Youth Rodeo Association’s Mandaree Youth Rodeo. Ryker’s mother, Bailey King, is also a barrel racer and they are from Standing Rock Reservation. The event was held Saturday during the Mandaree Celebration. Submitted Photo Jordan LongTimeSleeping, left, judges the goat […]

Submitted Photo
Ryker King shows the crowd how to turn a horse loose at the MHA Youth Rodeo Association’s Mandaree Youth Rodeo. Ryker’s mother, Bailey King, is also a barrel racer and they are from Standing Rock Reservation. The event was held Saturday during the Mandaree Celebration.
Submitted Photo
Jordan LongTimeSleeping, left, judges the goat tiedown while Legend RealBird shows his skills at the MHA Youth Rodeo Association’s Mandaree Youth Rodeo held Saturday during the Mandaree Celebration. Photo by Karen LoneFight.
Submitted Photo
Ryder Johnson hangs on for a win in bareback competition at the MHA Youth Rodeo Association’s Mandaree Youth Rodeo held during the Mandaree Celebration. Photo by Karen LoneFight.
Rec Sports
Summer youth baseball back in Blaine
By Nolan Baker For the first time in a long time, nine and ten year olds played summer league competitive baseball with the word “Blaine” emblazoned across their chests, marking the first season of Blaine’s new 10U Cal Ripken team. The group of 13 highly motivated young athletes just finished their first summer season, competing […]

By Nolan Baker
For the first time in a long time, nine and ten year olds played summer league competitive baseball with the word “Blaine” emblazoned across their chests, marking the first season of Blaine’s new 10U Cal Ripken team.
The group of 13 highly motivated young athletes just finished their first summer season, competing in a flurry of tournaments over the last two months.
Blaine High School varsity coach Hunter Anderson helped a group of local coaches to revitalize the program. Like any good coach, Anderson wanted to get a pipeline of youth baseball solidified in Blaine to create a clear pathway of competitive baseball from elementary to high school.
That’s when head coach Preston Bouma came in. The Birch Bay father of five boys – all in or graduated from the Blaine school district – and a class of 1994 Blaine High School graduate himself, wanted to give kids a local option for summer ball. Many of Blaine’s talented young athletes had previously signed up for other select summer league teams outside of Blaine, Bouma said.
Bouma was joined by coaches Brent Greene, Brett Jacobs and Bill Beckett to lead the team.
“The idea came from wanting to keep Blaine kids together in a competitive atmosphere to stop losing so many kids to all the select teams,” Bouma said.
The best high school teams keep local kids together, going up through multiple levels and summer after summer of competitive baseball, Bouma said. It’s a pattern Anderson hopes to instill in the baseball program, and one that head football coach Andy Olson and girls basketball coach Vic Wolffis have been doing for years.
“If these kids have intentions of playing high school sports together, let’s keep them together right now because ultimately the goal is to win at the high school level,” Bouma said.
In the team’s first year, Bouma said they “took their lumps,” but still made huge improvements, and the team is excited to return next summer.
“These kids came a long way over two months. We started scoring runs. We started making outs. Our pitching improved. We figured out positions,” Bouma said. “The kids’ attitude the entire time was great.”
Bouma’s goal for next season is to play more games and tournaments against local teams, instead of, as he said, “driving past 150 baseball fields to travel halfway across the state to go play in a tournament.”
More Cal Ripken league teams are expected to pop up in Nooksack, Ferndale and other cities around Whatcom County, which Bouma hopes will encourage even more Blaine kids to join. The goal for next year is an earlier tryout date, potentially sometime in the spring of 2026, and to expand to more age groups.
The logistics and finances of the team are handled through Blaine Youth Sports (BYS), the local nonprofit organizing K-8 sports since 2018. Bouma said his goal is to keep player fees to a minimum with the help of BYS. Travel baseball is a notoriously expensive sport, and Bouma said BYS helps lower financial barriers.
“We want to build that community bond with all these different families and kids. We’re growing up together, so we might as well stick together and represent Blaine,” Bouma said. “I’ve been a Blaine Borderite since the day I was born. I have a passion for the orange and black.”
For more information on next year’s Cal Ripken summer league baseball, contact blaineyouthsports@gmail.com.
Rec Sports
Two people expected to be charged after wild brawl at Massachusetts youth baseball game
Two people are expected to face charges for their involvement in an American Legion playoff game earlier this week, according to a report from TMZ Sports. The fight took place in Milford, Mass. on Monday night when fans ran onto the field and at least one brawled with East Springfield Post 420 players during the […]

Two people are expected to face charges for their involvement in an American Legion playoff game earlier this week, according to a report from TMZ Sports.
The fight took place in Milford, Mass. on Monday night when fans ran onto the field and at least one brawled with East Springfield Post 420 players during the middle of a game against Milford Post 59, causing the contest to be postponed.
Milford Police had previously told the Boston Globe that they were considering charging three individuals, including at least one player and a Milford High School student.

No arrests were made nor were any injuries reported, per the outlet.
“Absolute mayhem taking place over by the third base dugout as members of the Milford crowd have now come onto the warning track on the third base side,” Milford broadcaster Tim Caouette said.
“Never in all of my years covering Legion Baseball have I ever seen this kind of activity from the fans.”
TMZ reported that the game is expected to resume Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. with “heavy police presence and restrictions” in place.
The game will include a “ban on bags, outside food and drinks … and those attending will be required to leave the game immediately after it’s over,” the outlet reported.
The fight reportedly broke out in the fourth inning with the bases loaded in a 1-1 game and a batter facing a 2-1 count at Fino Field in Milford, Mass., as captured by the YouTube channel @MyMilfordTV.

The stream captured a “shut the f–k up” while the Milford catcher looked toward the stands situated near the East Springfield dugout, before one fan seemingly said: “You’re an old ass woman, what the f–k you doing coming in the stands?”
Play stopped while Caouette noted how “the fans are starting to get into it over on the third base side” before it got out of hand with players and those in attendance from both sides going at it.
Rec Sports
Washington Mystics and 318 Foundation Join Forces To Host Inaugural Champions Academy From August 4-8
WASHINGTON MYSTICS AND 318 FOUNDATION JOIN FORCES TO HOST INAUGURAL CHAMPIONS ACADEMY FROM AUGUST 4-8 WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Mystics and the 318 Foundation have partnered to launch the inaugural Washington Mystics x 318 Foundation SPORTS Champions Academy, a week-long leadership and basketball immersion experience taking place from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8 on […]

WASHINGTON MYSTICS AND 318 FOUNDATION JOIN FORCES TO HOST INAUGURAL CHAMPIONS ACADEMY FROM AUGUST 4-8
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Washington Mystics and the 318 Foundation have partnered to launch the inaugural Washington Mystics x 318 Foundation SPORTS Champions Academy, a week-long leadership and basketball immersion experience taking place from Aug. 4 to Aug. 8 on the campus of George Washington University.
Founded by Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and Washington Mystics Hall of Famer Alana Beard, the 318 Foundation exists to empower girls through sports, mentorship, and leadership development. The Champions Academy combined elite basketball training with its leadership curriculum, VISION: Voice, Identity, Success, Innovation, Opportunity, and Networking.
In recognition of Beard’s deep roots in both the DMV and her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana—home to the 318 Foundation—middle and high school participants have been selected from both communities.
“I am incredibly proud to partner with the Washington Mystics and their Girls Empowerment Program to bring the Champions Academy outside of Shreveport for the first time,” stated Beard. “This partnership is more than a camp—it’s a movement, designed to build bold dreamers, doers, and global leaders through the power of sport. I am grateful to the Mystics for recognizing the value of the work we’ve done in Shreveport and understanding the impact we can bring to D.C.”
Five girls from Beard’s 318 Foundation SPORTS Champions Academy in Shreveport will travel to Washington to train alongside 15 girls from the D.C. area. Local coaches and educators nominated all 20 participants as high-potential leaders; the D.C. selections intentionally prioritized students from Wards 7 and 8. Participation is provided at no cost to the girls, with all program expenses covered.
“Alana Beard is one of the greats of the game – WNBA Champion & 4x WNBA All-Star, and a Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee to go along multiple collegiate recognitions,” stated Alycen McAuley, Washington Mystics chief business officer. “She has excelled at every level on the court. She’s also selflessly given herself to her communities – and we could not be more honored to help bring her Champions Academy to her adoptive hometown of D.C. and allow the next generation of female players & leaders learn from this Mystics great.”
The Champions Academy is a cornerstone activation of the Mystics Girls Empowerment Program, part of Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s District of Play—a multi-year, multi-million-dollar commitment to expanding access to youth sports in Washington, D.C.
Girls will train under the leadership of former WNBA player April Sykes, while coaches will engage in professional development sessions led by Edniesha Curry, a former WNBA player and NBA assistant coach.
On Wednesday, August 6, local coaches are invited to participate in a free professional development clinic led by Curry and the Champions Academy coaching staff. Coaches can RSVP here. Space is limited.
Rec Sports
Harlem Jets shape decades of brotherhood, growth, and opportunity
If you walk by Harlem River Park on any given weekend in the fall, you’ll probably hear the sharp clap of shoulder pads, coaches barking out instructions, and unified chants as young boys run laps together. The heartbeat of the field — the youth football program Harlem Jets — has served as a life raft for hundreds […]

If you walk by Harlem River Park on any given weekend in the fall, you’ll probably hear the sharp clap of shoulder pads, coaches barking out instructions, and unified chants as young boys run laps together. The heartbeat of the field — the youth football program Harlem Jets — has served as a life raft for hundreds of Harlem’s young people.
Jamel “Coach Mel” Wright and a group of committed fathers launched the Harlem Jets in August 2005, fielding just four teams and fewer than 100 youth. Since then, the Jets have blossomed into what their website describes as “a transformative two-generation sports and development organization” that is grounded in the belief that sports can be a powerful catalyst for personal growth and academic achievement.
Over the last 20 years, more than 5,000 children ages 5–13 have passed through the program, earning spots at prestigious high schools such as Cardinal Hayes, Stepinac, Iona Prep, Bergen Catholic, and Don Bosco Prep before competing at the collegiate level. A record 19 alumni are committed to college football for the 2025 season at Georgetown, Penn State, Duke, and Rutgers, to name a few.
Notable players include Ajani Cornelius, a standout offensive lineman at the University of Oregon, who is now a rookie with the Dallas Cowboys; Justin Joly, a senior tight end for North Carolina State, who was named preseason All Atlantic Coast Conference by “USAToday” this week; cornerback Elijah Jones, Arizona Cardinals; and Sanoussi Kane, now a safety with the Baltimore Ravens.
Kane still remembers the exact feeling of putting on a Harlem Jets jersey. “The camaraderie we had as a team — that bond is unforgettable,” he told the AmNews. “Those guys are still my brothers to this day.”
Kane’s story embodies what the Harlem Jets are about: belief, effort, and perseverance. “I wasn’t the best guy when I was younger,” he admitted, “but hard work and dedication pushed me over the top. I had a great support system, and that started with the Jets.”
He credits Wright with changing his life. “Coach Mel’s belief in me meant everything. That’s like my uncle — we went through a lot together. I can’t thank him enough. Some of us went to the NFL. Others became producers, news anchors — you name it. I’m just one testimony [to] his impact.”
Sanoussi has paid it forward by mentoring Jets players, not because he has to, but because he wants today’s youth to believe they can follow in his footsteps. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have NFL players come back. If these kids see me, someone from their program who lived around the corner, they’ll believe they can do it, too.”
That belief is also what fuels Coach Bob Mazer, a retired attorney who joined the Harlem Jets in 2008 after searching for a youth sports program to support. “Football rewards effort,” Mazer said. “Some kids who might not thrive in other sports can become essential players here. That’s something I love.”
He checks report cards personally, holds players accountable in the classroom, and teaches life lessons one huddle at a time. “Even when it’s tough, they stick with it. That’s growth. That’s what we’re here for.”
Former Harlem Jets quarterback and current coach Sofian Massoud echoes Wright’s philosophy. “The Harlem Jets changed my life — and the lives of so many people I grew up with,” he told the AmNews. “It gave us a productive outlet, but more importantly, strong men to look up to.”
Massoud added that “coaching is twofold. You teach the technical side, but you also share your story, your mistakes, your lessons. You give them a blueprint.”
Every Harlem Jets coach, from Massoud to Mazer to Wright himself, carries that same torch. “Football teaches you to get knocked down and get back up. That mirrors life,” Wright said.
Today, the Harlem Jets run eight teams from ages 6 through 13, in addition to cheerleading, wrestling, lacrosse, a summer camp, and a youth employment program. The organization remains proudly rooted in Harlem River Park, the field where it all began — which is now renovated and buzzing with activity, thanks to the program’s community advocacy and growth.
In an era where youth sports can feel transactional, the Harlem Jets remain transformational. “Ten years ago, nobody thought we’d have three NFL players come out of this program,” Kane said. “Now we do — and more are coming. The sky’s the limit.”
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