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Participation in youth sports is declining.

Aspen Institute's Sports and Society Program

, almost 45 percent of children ages 6 to 12 played a team sport regularly in 2008. In 2016, that number was 37 percent.

Researchers say the decline has a lot to do with the pressure to win.

MPR News host Angela Davis sat down with two former athletes and coaches to talk about how parents' overinvolvement at games could ruin the experience for their children.

 Cottage Grove Athletic Association president and baseball coach at Park High School in Cottage Grove.

 founder of Rethink the Win and sport broadcaster for the Lynx, Timberwolves and high school sports.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Carlos in Minneapolis said that when he played in a soccer league in Mexico, parents were required to play drums during the game. "You don't have time to scream at the kids when you are cheering for the kids."

Walt from St. Paul has coached 4th to 7th graders. His strategy for making sure the kids had fun involved keeping track of personal achievements rather than score — assigning them improvement goals.

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Angela Davis

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Karen Zamora

Youth sports are highly competitive and parents on the sidelines can be rowdy. How do we put the fun into the game?

How to make youth sports fun again

Go Deeper.

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