In the United States, approximately 28% of all youth participate in club sports. Motivations for playing club have changed from having fun and learning to becoming strictly an avenue for scouting exposure. Other student-athletes have turned to club sports as a way to pad their resumes for the increasingly competitive college admissions process.
Grueling hours of practice, costly fees, and an overly competitive and toxic environment have plagued many youth athletic clubs. The physical and mental intensity of club sports have led to student-athletes throughout the country experiencing instances of verbal, emotional, and physical abuse.
Unlike with school sports, athletes pay to participate in club sports, intending to play at the highest level possible and increase scouting exposure. Parents are typically allowed less involvement in clubs compared to school sports, making it difficult for them to monitor the treatment of their children. While school sports are by no means perfect, the distinct intensity and competitive nature of club sports are often used to justify the abuse student-athletes receive.
The long hours of year-round travel and practice in club sports create a vulnerable environment for young children. Additionally, club sports are private organizations whose business models require winning. The prioritization of success tends to diminish clubs’ concerns of developing well-rounded individuals compared to school athletics, which emphasize athletic-academic balance.
I began playing volleyball in elementary school, starting at a recreational level and gradually working my way up to club volleyball. Throughout my time playing club volleyball, I was submerged into a world riddled with verbal and physical abuse.
At eleven years old, my teammates and I were frequently belittled by our coaches and told that we were “stupid” and “slow.” As we grew, our bodies became a hot topic of discussion. Our coaches body-shamed certain girls and put us on strict diets. They portrayed carbohydrates as our greatest enemy, swiping pita chips and popcorn from our hands at tournaments.
Off the court, we were subjected to club politics and used as pawns in administrative arguments. When I took advice from an assistant my head coach disliked, my coach quickly grew angry and suddenly began hurling volleyballs at me, which brought me to tears. I later watched as my coach threw a ball cart at the assistant coach who had advised me, also bringing him—a full-grown man—to tears.
At eleven years old, my teammates and I were frequently belittled by our coaches and told that we were “stupid” and “slow.” As we grew, our bodies became a hot topic of discussion. Our coaches body-shamed certain girls and put us on strict diets. They portrayed carbohydrates as our greatest enemy, swiping pita chips and popcorn from our hands at tournaments.
I am endlessly grateful for the friendships I forged through volleyball, but the trauma that I endured as a young girl was avoidable and unnecessary. Abuse is not a necessary step in the development of any athlete in any sport. Regardless of the level young athletes aspire to compete at, they should never think that belittlement, body-shaming, or any form of player mistreatment is acceptable.
Issues of mistreatment are not unique to my club and have taken on more serious forms within the Bay Area volleyball community. In 2022, Marin’s Absolute Volleyball Club, ranked 38th in the nation, was rocked by a player abuse scandal. The club’s co-founder and coach Konrad Ott hit a player across the face, breaking skin and bruising her cheek. This came after the player asked a “stupid” question in practice.
Ott was served a ten-day prison sentence and 40 hours of community service in addition to four years of probation and the completion of a one-year child-abusers program. He also stepped down from his position within the club, but the damage had already been done.
At the hearing, the player addressed Ott, saying, “You treated me like trash and I let you. You damaged me and I’ll never be the same person I was before I met you. I’ve become different and I hate the person you’ve turned me into,” reported the Marin Independent Journal.
This story is just another example of countless cases of abuse. According to Courage First Athlete Helpline, between 40% to 50% of all athletes have experienced some form of abuse. Though awareness for issues like sexual assault and mental health has been promoted thanks to social media, the mistreatment of youth club athletes continues to persist.
Coaches have chosen a profession dedicated to helping children grow and learn, and they must demonstrate appropriate behavior. The National Institute of Health says that the human brain is most impressionable during adolescence, meaning that the mistreatment young club athletes endure subjects them to trauma later on in life.
On her club tennis team, M-A sophomore Yara Abuelsoror witnessed and endured frequent degradation from her coaches. Abuelsoror began playing club tennis during COVID-19 and immediately grew close with her coach. “Pretty quickly, she wanted me to start playing at a higher level. I agreed because I didn’t have anything to do during COVID, so I thought I might as well work out and use my time wisely,” she said.
From the beginning, Abuelsoror described her coach as being “pushy,” which made her “uncomfortable,” but she assumed it was normal given the level she was playing at. “My sixth-grade self did not have the guts to tell my coach to back off,” she said.
Abuelsoror said her coach had a short temper and often took out her frustrations on her players. “Once, she threw her binder at my friend and me and it hit us. The papers scattered all over the floor and, in front of everyone, she told us to pick it up for her,” Abuelsoror recalled.
Another time, Abuelsoror said her coach harassed her Black teammate with racist comments because she wasn’t playing well. “The coach told her that if she didn’t focus on her tennis career, she’d end up selling drugs on the street like all her ‘kind.’”
“I was too scared to say anything so it just went unsaid, but that mental and verbal abuse would just go too far,” Abuelsoror said. A few years later, in eighth grade, she quit club tennis. Now, she plays school tennis, an environment she described as “much more supportive” than her club team.
“At a certain point, it starts to take a toll on how you view yourself. When I used to play for my old club coach, I became extremely judgmental of the way I played,” she said.
Another time, Abuelsoror said her coach harassed her Black teammate with racist comments because she wasn’t playing well. “The coach told her that if she didn’t focus on her tennis career, she’d end up selling drugs on the street like all her ‘kind.’”
Like Abuelsoror, junior Izzy Zohar endured belittling comments from her gymnastics coach which profoundly affected her self-image.
Zohar began participating in competitive gymnastics at six years old and “loved it.” However, as she grew older, she began to experience humiliating treatment from her coaches. “The coaches would tell me that I was fat. One time, my coach brought me into a meeting with my mom and told me that—at ten years old—I had to go on a diet because I needed to lose weight,” she said.
“That affected my confidence and the way I thought about myself,” Zohar added. She continued to endure belittling comments from this coach for another two years.
“When I got injured, I was told to suck it up and was not allowed to cry,” she said. Zohar explained that, once, after breaking her elbow, her coaches made her continue practicing. “I wasn’t using my arm because it hurt and my coach said, ‘What are you doing? Stop being such a baby,’” Zohar said.
That injury persisted for a year and ultimately forced Zohar to quit gymnastics entirely.
“Growing up and not being allowed to cry really affected how I process emotions. It’s harder to cry and heal. I was raised thinking that crying makes you weak,” Zohar said.
“Growing up and not being allowed to cry really affected how I process emotions. It’s harder to cry and heal. I was raised thinking that crying makes you weak,” Zohar said.
Zohar still believes club athletics are valuable opportunities for student-athletes, and she’s right. Club sports allow athletes to push themselves, exercise their growing bodies, and pursue their passions. The benefits of physical exercise and social interaction from club sports are endless. The CDC says regular exercise can “improve your brain health, help manage weight, reduce the risk of disease, strengthen bones and muscles, and improve your ability to do everyday activities.” Mentally, physical exercise is known to boost self-esteem and sleep quality while reducing risks of depression and anxiety. Yet, the toxic and abusive culture that has been normalized in club sports hinders athletes’ abilities to reap these benefits.
There is no need to traumatize young athletes. Children should be able to explore their athletic identities without fear of being hit or humiliated by their coaches. Parents should feel safe enrolling their kids in club sports without worrying about their child’s safety. It is up to club administrators to maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment and ensure that athletes like Abuelsoror and Zohar are not pushed out of club sports.
Abuse in club sports is a unique issue because of the financial incentives for club directors. Players are subjected to incredible amounts of pressure because their performance, unlike in school sports, it what keeps clubs open. Clubs tend to objectify their athletes as paychecks, rather than kids, which, to them, is justification for player mistreatment.
In order to break these cycles of abuse, clubs should be constantly collecting feedback from players and parents regarding their coaches to ensure that athlete voices are heard. Coaches should undergo extensive social-emotional training which provides countless benefits to players’ confidence, self-esteem, and productivity. Ultimately, to prevent the justification of player abuse, clubs need to separate children from income.
Ultimately, to prevent the justification of player abuse, clubs need to separate children from income.
“Coaches should know how much influence they have over their athletes. The words of my coaches have stayed with me for six years now. Coaches can use their influence in a positive way, but, in my experience, they didn’t,” Zohar explained.
“Coaches need to know that their players are still kids,” Abuelsoror concluded.
