BUILDING BETTER HUMANS
With THE POWER OF SPORTS
Youth sports should develop healthy, confident kids, not exclude them.
ShareWaves fixes broken youth sports systems so every child has access to movement, belonging, safety, and opportunity.
builD WHAT LASTS
Every Kid Should Play. Every Dollar Gets Them in the Game.
The Crisis We Exist to Solve
Youth sports are failing too many kids.
Our Youth Sports System was never meant to look like this.
Participation is declining. Mental health challenges are rising. Screen-first, sedentary lifestyles are replacing movement, connection, and belonging. Costs continue to increase, access continues to shrink, and the systems designed to serve children increasingly prioritize convenience, profit, and early specialization over healthy development.
We are medicating symptoms instead of addressing root causes.
We are sedating dysregulation instead of teaching regulation.
We are asking kids to adapt to systems that no longer support their developmental needs.
This is not a parenting failure.
This is not a coaching failure.
This is a systems failure.
Why are youth sports failing?
Because the system prioritizes adult outcomes over child development.
Today’s youth sports system rewards early specialization, pay-to-play models, and elite pathways, pushing kids toward burnout, injury, and quitting before they’ve had a chance to grow.
What was designed to support development has become fragmented and exclusionary. Short-term results and adult convenience too often outweigh what kids actually need to thrive.
The result is a system that works for a few but leaves far too many behind.
When kids lose access to healthy sport experiences, the consequences last far beyond the field.
What we see:
Kids are quitting sports.
Increased anxiety, isolation, and stress.
Wider gaps between those who have access and those who don’t.
Physical inactivity is now the norm as kids increase their screen time and become more sedentary.
This isn’t just a sports issue.
It’s a public health issue.
A mental health issue.
A human development issue.
Three Barriers That Keep Kids on the Sidelines
Youth sports should be a pathway to movement, belonging, and growth.
Today, too many kids never get the chance.
The system creates barriers that limit who can play and who can stay:
Cost - Pay-to-play fees, equipment, and travel costs price families out before kids ever step on the field.
Time - Overloaded schedules, travel demands, and year-round commitments make participation unrealistic for many households.
Quality Environments - Not all access is equal. Kids need safe, supportive, development-first spaces, not pressure, burnout, or risk.
Together, these barriers don’t just reduce participation; they reshape who youth sports are built for.
How ShareWaves Fixes the System Without Becoming Part of the Problem
How We Work:
A Platform, Not Just Programs
ShareWaves does not exist to add another isolated program to a broken system.
We operate as a platform and an emerging integrative backbone, aligning partners, resources, and data to strengthen the youth sports ecosystem. We invest where barriers are highest, coordinate where systems are fragmented, and build capacity where leadership is needed.
This approach allows us to deliver immediate impact for kids while also addressing the root causes that prevent access and belonging in the first place.
In 2025, ShareWaves moved thousands of kids, removed cost barriers for dozens of families, and reached tens of thousands of people with a clear message: access to play is preventative care, not a privilege.
ShareWaves is a Champion For Youth Sports
National thought leaders recognize us for our commitment to increasing youth sports participation and improving the youth sports experience. ShareWaves is proud to partner with The Aspen Institute and Health and Human Services to improve the youth sports landscape across America.
PROJECT PLAY CHAMPIONS are organizations that take new, meaningful, and specific actions consistent with Project Play's strategies for youth sports.
The National Youth Sports Strategy aims to unite U.S. youth sports culture around a shared vision: one day, all youth will have the opportunity, motivation, and access to play sports.
Nelson Mandela
“Sport has the power to change the world…it speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair.”
Join THE TEAM
Whether you’re a parent, donor, partner, or community leader, there’s a role for you in building a youth sports system that works for every child.
OUR COMMUNITY TEAM Partners
