On Going Pro

Less than 3% of high school athletes will go on to play college athletics. Of those college athletes, less than 1% will ever play sports professionally. Yet youth sports has evolved into a multibillion-dollar industry that can foster an unhealthy and pressure-filled environment for student-athletes and can place unrealistic expectations on them.

The reality is, most students know they’ll never go pro—and many of them don’t even want to. Because the idea of playing professionally someday is not why they play today. “We’re kids. We’re just having fun,” one student told us. 

It’s crucial that school communities embrace purpose-based athletics to provide student-athletes with personal growth and development that they can take with them long after they graduate. In this video, students talk about the idea of going pro and why it’s not their purpose for playing the game.  Please share it with your school leaders, coaches, students and parents.