The Future of Youth Sports: From Playgrounds to Pro Pathways

Youth sports are at a crossroads, caught between rising competitiveness, professionalized pathways, and the original promise of play as a source of joy, growth, and belonging. This panel brings together leaders shaping that ecosystem from ESPN’s efforts to “Take Back Sports” to Megan Rapinoe’s advocacy for equity and inclusion. We’ll explore what Overtime’s athlete academy reveals about teenage development in an era of NIL, branding, and hyper‑visibility, and what it means to navigate the modern pressures placed on elite young athletes. The panel is moderated by Adrian Wojnarowski, who adds a front‑office lens, breaking down how shifting incentives around recruiting and transfers are reshaping what colleges now look for in 16–17‑year‑olds. Together, the panel interrogates what today’s structures get wrong, and what a healthier, more sustainable model would look like for all kids, not just the elite.