2025 TAKE BACK SPORTS IMPACT REPORT
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Take Back Sports is a youth sports 
initiative led by ESPN and powered by 
Disney, designed to get and keep kids 
playing sports. 
With only 38% of kids playing sports on a regular basis, 
we believe it’s time for parents, coaches and kids to 
take back sports and make it fun again. ESPN and  
The Walt Disney Company are working in  
tandem with our league, business  
and community partners to make 
the youth sports system more 
accessible so kids across the 
country have the opportunity to 
play and keep playing. 
ESPN’s Malika 
Andrews launches 
Take Back Sports 
at the Project Play 
Summit in 
Berkley, Calif.
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    ESPN's youth sports resources 
include a suite of tools 
including a dedicated website, 
TakeBackSports.org, parent 
quizzes, pledges, printable 
resources and media 
integrations highlighting the 
“fun” and inclusive side of sport.
Youth sports parents and caregivers 
are unsung heroes, taking on so 
many different roles. They are the 
ultimate multitaskers helping kids 
get from practice to games to 
tournaments. They sit in the sun,  
the cold, the rain. They get up early, 
they stay late. They share their kid’s  
joy, wipe their tears. They are there 
for all of it.
But, the system is broken. It’s  
expensive, time consuming and  
can be overwhelming. That’s why at 
ESPN, we want to Take Back Sports  
and make the experience better for  
parents, coaches and kids alike.
Recognizing that parents and coaches have outsized influence on 
whether kids stay in sport (and enjoy it), Take Back Sports primarily 
engages parents and caring adults of kids ages five-11. Age five is  
typically when kids enter sports, and 11 is the average age when they 
drop out. Parents are the key influencers and gatekeepers — they are 
the ones signing their kids up, transporting them to practices and 
games and, of course, paying for the registration fees and equipment. 
They also are often the volunteer coaches for the younger ages as well. 
To help parents and coaches, ESPN teamed up with Positive Coaching 
Alliance to create resource-centric tools, PSAs, pledges and web 
content for parents, so that we can work together to start making the 
experience better for kids.
According to Project Play, 
the average parent spends 
more than three hours 
every day at their child's 
practice or game supporting 
youth sports through  
transportation preparation, 
communication, and care.
PARENTS & 
COACHES
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TakeBackSports.org
Age five is typically when kids 
enter sports, and 11 is the average 
age when they drop out.

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