Danica Patrick Saddened By What's Happening To Youth Sports in America Today

Danica Patrick grew up playing a lot of different sports, before getting into professional racing.

The 44-year-old former racing star went professional in IndyCar and later NASCAR, before retiring from the sport in 2018. Patrick has since gotten into other sports, like tennis, golf, pickleball and more. The former NASCAR and IndyCar driver has been staying active in the gym, as well.

While Patrick doesn’t have kids, she feels for parents with youth athletes right now. Patrick is saddened by what she’s seeing in American high school sports across the country these days.

Patrick shared a video from a concerned parent, who was speaking out about how club sports are being prioritized over high school sports. High school athletes who play sports like soccer or volleyball will often play on a club team, as well. The club team will often be prioritized, while featuring a lot of travel and time commitment.

The former NASCAR and IndyCar driver is saddened by it all.

“I feel for you parents. Since when have high school sports not been enough?” she asked on her Instagram Story.

Patrick shared a concerning message from a parent with high school athletes.

“Has the train totally left the station? Is there any way out of this at this point? This seems….wrong? Let’s deliberate…” the parent asked.

Parents of high school athletes speak out

Parents seem to agree.

“I wrote a long post (with zero solutions) about this on Threads. One of the biggest issues is the lack of alternatives. Rec sports is a crapshoot. Your soccer coach could be a former D1 soccer player who also happens to know how to translate their skills into coaching or if could be me. 😂,” one parent wrote.

“As a mom to 3 young boys… I feel this pressure to put my kids in sports but it’s also insane because he’s in first grade and football practice is 3x a week with games on BOTH sat and Sunday like whaaaat,” one fan added.

“It’s wild how many parents things their kids will actually get a scholarship. I tutored at a D1 university that is well known in NY. The lacrosse team offers I think five full rides. When I was there (before all kids got meals) one of my students was thrilled he started getting food covered. There aren’t that many scholarships to go around Definitely not worth it to pay $2500 to play on the B team, but hey that club team is happy to take your money!” another parent shared.

“Club sports mom here (tryouts today!). It’s crazy bananas but unless everyone stopped at the same time, you just get disadvantaged by not opting in if your kid wants to play a sport in high school (especially for popular sports). They’ll never make the team. It’s nuts,” one fan added.

America certainly seems to have a youth sports problem, and a lot of it can be blamed on the parents, who think their kids have a shot at playing in college or the pros, when they almost certainly do not.

Having fun and learning teamwork and sportsmanship should be the priority.