Middle-Class Families Spend Up to $25K Yearly per Child on Travel Teams

New York Magazine posted about travel sports shifting from elite athletes to anyone willing to pay for private teams and clubs. Multiple users replied that the model preys on parental fears of kids being left behind, with early professionalization required even for school teams. Senator Bernie Sanders stated youth sports generate up to $40B yearly and middle-class families spend up to $25K per child. An attached Intelligencer article notes private leagues have made youth sports expensive and hypercompetitive while investors profit.