How to Balance Church and Youth Sports
Corrina Ramirez | Content Writer at Upward Sports
The popularity of youth sports in America continues to grow. According to Project Play’s State of Play Report for 2024, 60% of children played a sport “at least one day,” while nearly 40% participated in a sport on a “regular basis.” It is clear that more and more families are dedicating their time to sports.
Activities like sports play an integral part in an adolescent’s life. Not only do youth learn fundamental sports skills, but they also work with teammates, learning the value of teamwork and collaboration. Through victories, children watch their hard work pay off. Through losses, they learn the importance of good sportsmanship and understand that winning isn’t everything.
Without a doubt, these are important values that parents want to grow in their children. Parents may also be looking to grow spiritual values in their children, too. However, longer practices, weekend games, and travel leagues in youth sports can make it hard to balance these activities with church. When faced with this dilemma, rather than pull a child from sports altogether, there are some ways to help you find a balance between youth sports and church.
Know Your Priorities
Recreation leagues, travel leagues, and church leagues like Upward Sports are all options in the world of youth sports. The first step you should take before choosing a league is knowing your priorities. What are the things that your family will negotiate, and what are the things that your family won’t negotiate? If missing Wednesday night service is a non-negotiable, knowing the league’s practice schedule and whether or not they practice on Wednesday is important. If missing Sunday service is a non-negotiable for your family, knowing ahead of time if games are held on Sunday is important. Discuss your priorities with your family and communicate those priorities with the league before signing up.
Find Out Your Why
Before committing time and money to a league, another important question to ask yourself is what you are looking for in youth sports. Knowing why you want your child to participate in youth sports is just as important as knowing your priorities. Do you want your child to learn the fundamentals of a sport and focus on having fun? Is socializing and staying active the main goal you have in mind? Does your child love the sport and want to play it every chance they get? Knowing why you want your child to participate in a sport will help you choose a league that meets those goals.
Find a League that Fits You
Research the youth sports leagues in your area and find a league that fits both your family and your priorities. This could be a league that doesn’t play games on Sunday, or that offers a lower time commitment. Upward Sports Leagues honor this with one-hour practices during the week and one-hour games (typically held on Saturday).
These leagues also focus on teaching the fundamentals of whichever sport you choose to play. Sports are offered throughout the year, including baseball, basketball, cheerleading, flag football, pickleball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. Parents who like to coach their children’s sports teams also have that opportunity with an Upward League.
Participating in an Upward Sports League, which emphasizes sharing the gospel, is an excellent choice for parents who wish to balance youth sports and church.
If you’re interested in finding a place for your child to participate in a youth sports ministry, you can find a league near you at play.upward.org.
If you’re a church leader interested in starting a sports ministry at your church, visit https://www.upward.org/church-leaders/
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