The State of Youth Sport: Practice, Values, and the Children We Serve

Over the past three decades, youth sport worldwide has increasingly reflected the assumption that more structured practice produces better athletes. Often associated with deliberate practice, this model shapes coaching, parental expectations, and sports programs across contexts. However, evidence from psychology, developmental science, and longitudinal research indicates that expertise develops through varied pathways and that early intensive training is neither necessary nor universally beneficial. Drawing on Kuhn’s concept of paradigms, this conceptual analysis identifies anomalies within a performance-centered youth sport model and highlights sport’s moral, social, and cultural dimensions. It calls for a paradigm shift integrating evidence, ethics, play, autonomy, holistic development, and children’s rights into practice and policy.