In contrast to unstructured physical activity, such as free play or independent exercise, organized sports are structured, rule-governed competitive team or individual sport activities. These activities typically are formalized through leagues, associations, or clubs. Organized sports are receiving renewed attention as both a public health opportunity and a rapidly expanding industry.

In 2024, U.S. families spent more than $40 billion annually on youth sports. The average family paid $1,500 per year, a 46% increase since 2019, highlighting the growing footprint and widening inequities in access. Federal efforts, such as the National Youth Sports Strategy—developed during the first Trump administration—continue to guide national policy on youth sports participation. In 2025, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition was revitalized.

The MAHA Report recently elevated physical activity as a national priority, outlining a strategy to promote physical activity through evidence-based approaches. It proposes designating physical activity as a vital sign for children; reinstating the Presidential Fitness Test; and focusing research on chronic disease prevention, nutrition, mental health, and environmental exposures.

The unique environments that organized sports create—characterized by physical exertion, teamwork, mentorship, and shared purpose—provide health benefits in multiple domains via distinct mechanisms:

• Physical Health: According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, youth ages 6–17 years need at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily, which organized sports participation can facilitate. Routine exercise in organized sports supports better sleep, optimal weight, heart health, and muscle and skeleton development and coordination. It can lower blood pressure and the risk of some chronic diseases and cancers, including type 2 diabetes. Benefits start immediately and can last a lifetime.
• Mental and Emotional Well-being: Organized sports participation is linked to improved psychological well-being, self-esteem, emotional stability, stress resilience, and social integration.
• Cognitive Development: Organized sports can improve such brain functions as working memory and concentration.
• Social Connection and Interpersonal Development: Organized sports foster belonging, social identity, and emotional support. Teams can create social capital networks that are especially important for youth from underrepresented groups.
• Academic and Career Outcomes: Sports participation is linked to higher grades, graduation rates, and college enrollment, as well as better employment outcomes.

To maximize the benefit of organized sports for our nation’s health, however, we need to level the playing field. Engagement in organized sports, despite the benefits, can involve potential harms and challenges. Without proper safeguards, youth may suffer concussions and overtraining injuries, especially if they specialize in a sport too early. The intensity of highly competitive sports environments can worsen mental health. Burnout and dropout rates are high, with up to 70% of youth quitting by age 13.

Some organized sports environments can foster aggression, antisocial behaviors, or substance use—often mediated by peer norms and adult modeling. Youth sports systems face ongoing issues of sexual, emotional, physical, and financial abuse and exploitation. Systemic vulnerabilities—coaching power dynamics, weak oversight, and the financialization of youth sports—contribute to these problems. “Pay-to-play” models and commercial incentives can exacerbate risks. Legalized sports betting and name, image, and likeness (NIL) monetization bring additional risks, including gambling addiction, athlete harassment, competitive imbalance, and increased pressure on young athletes.

Not all youth have comparable access to organized sports, creating stark social disparities in this critical health determinant. Socioeconomic status, race, sex, disability, health care access, and geography all influence who participates in organized sports. Economic barriers are significant, with children from high-income households participating at nearly twice the rate of those from low-income families. Racial and ethnic minorities, girls, and youth with disabilities or in under-resourced communities face additional obstacles. These disparities reveal broader structural inequities, underscoring the need for multisectoral approaches to promote inclusive access to sports. Integrating behavioral and social science insights into policies and programs can pave the way for their successful development and implementation.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) supports research that explores how organized sports can improve population health and reduce disparities. Several NIH investments and strategies are advancing this work, including the Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium, NIH’s largest program on physical activity biology, and the Sports and Health Research Program, an NIH–National Football League partnership focused on concussions, brain health, and injury prevention across the lifespan.

OBSSR aims to stimulate behavioral and social science research into critical questions around organized sports, such as:

• How do youth organized sports contribute to resilience, life skills, and reduced risk for unhealthy and antisocial behaviors?
• How can we best address disparities in access to and opportunities for organized sports?
• What are the components of optimal coaching and team environments, training, and nutritional regimens?
• How can we reduce the risk of harassment and abuse?
• How can a “whole athlete health” framework be leveraged for the greatest benefits to health?

Organized sports offer more than opportunities for physical exercise; they provide powerful, evidence-based pathways to promote lifelong habits that provide health benefits and safeguard against chronic disease risk. By centering the whole athlete and investing in structural access, community supports, basic research, and mechanism-driven intervention science, NIH can maximize the potential of organized sports to improve health for all.