Key Takeaways
The best survey data says the average kid quits a sport around age 11 or 12.
An Aspen Institute and Utah State University survey of more than 1,000 sports parents found the average child plays a sport for less than three years and quits by age 11, most often because it isn't fun anymore.
The famous claim that 70 percent of kids quit sports by 13 has no clear original source, according to researchers who went looking for it.
Kids quit most sports by 13. They don't necessarily quit all sports. Trying several sports is healthy.
Kids say sports are fun when effort pays off, teammates get along, and coaches treat them well. Getting stronger helps effort pay off.
Free download: The Mighty Oak At-Home Athlete Program, a no-equipment training plan with a video for every exercise.
You've probably heard the number. Seventy percent of kids quit sports by age 13. It gets repeated at coaching clinics, in parent meetings, and all over social media.
Here's the short answer to the question in the headline. The best survey data we have says the average kid quits a sport around age 11 or 12. And the famous 70 percent figure turns out to be on shaky ground.
Start with the real data. In 2019 the Aspen Institute's Project Play and Utah State University surveyed more than 1,000 sports parents across all 50 states. They found that the average child plays a sport for less than three years and quits by age 11, most often because it isn't fun anymore. More recently, Project Play founder Tom Farrey has said that, based on the group's youth surveys, the average age a child quits is 12.
Now the 70 percent stat. In 2026 a USA TODAY column by Stephen Borelli went looking for where it came from. Two researchers who had dug into it, Marty Fox of the Aspen Institute and Joseph Janosky of Lasell University, couldn't find an original study. What they found was a chain of articles citing each other, going back nearly four decades. Fox offered a better way to say it: kids quit most sports by 13. They don't necessarily quit all sports. The same column points to CDC survey data showing that more than half of high schoolers have played a sport in every survey since 2000, except during COVID.
That difference matters to a parent. A kid who drops soccer at 10, tries basketball at 11, and lands in volleyball at 12 hasn't quit sports. She's sampling, and that's healthy. The worry is the kid who walks away from all of it in middle school and never comes back.
So why do they walk away? The answer that shows up most is that it stopped being fun. And fun has a specific meaning to a kid. Researchers at George Washington University asked young athletes what makes sports fun and got 81 different answers. The top three were trying hard, getting along with teammates, and having a coach who treats them well. Winning didn't make the top ten. I wrote about that study in why kids quit sports and how to keep them playing for life.
Look at what's on that list. Trying hard is fun when the effort pays off. And around 11 to 13, effort stops paying off for a lot of kids. Bodies change at different speeds. Rosters get cut down. The kid who was fine at 9 is suddenly a step slow at 12, plays less, and decides she's "not athletic." Cost and pressure pile on at the same age. That Aspen survey found hockey families spending about $2,600 a year, the most of any sport it measured.
Here's where I come in, and I'll be clear that this is a coach's view, not a finding from a study. The kids who stay in sports are the ones who feel capable. Strength is the most reliable way I know to give a kid that feeling. A kid who gets stronger runs a little faster, holds her ground, and lands a jump under control. Just as important, she can see it. In our gym every athlete writes down every lift in a training journal, so progress is right there on paper. The weight went up. Nobody can argue with it, including the voice in her own head.
The weight room also gives kids something a team can't always give them: a place where effort always counts, everybody gets every rep, and the only person to beat is last month's version of you. That's a good thing to have in your week when the lineup card isn't going your way.
If your kid is 11 or 12 and going quiet about a sport, ask what stopped being fun before you talk about quitting. Listen for whether it's the sport, the team, or the feeling of falling behind. The first two might call for a change of scenery. The third one can be trained. And if the request comes in the middle of a season, I've got a simple rule for that too: finish the season, then decide.
If you live in the western suburbs, your kid's first session at our gym in Westmont is free. If you're farther away, the free Mighty Oak At-Home Athlete Program is a no-equipment plan with a video for every exercise and a six-week tracking sheet, so your athlete can watch the progress add up.
Be strong to be useful.
— Coach Mike
Book a free first session: https://calendly.com/mightyoakathletic/youth-strength
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age do most kids quit sports?
Survey data points to ages 11 to 12. An Aspen Institute and Utah State University survey found the average child quits a sport by age 11 after playing for less than three years, and Project Play's founder has said its youth surveys put the average quitting age at 12.
Is it true that 70 percent of kids quit sports by age 13?
That number is widely repeated, but researchers at the Aspen Institute and Lasell University who looked for its origin could not find an original study behind it. A more accurate statement is that kids quit most sports by 13, not that most kids quit all sports.
Why do kids quit sports?
The most common reason parents report is that the sport isn't fun anymore. Research from George Washington University found kids define fun as trying hard, getting along with teammates and having a positive coach. Pressure, cost and falling behind physically around ages 11 to 13 all cut into that.
How can I keep my child from quitting sports?
Ask what stopped being fun, and listen for whether it is the sport, the team or a feeling of falling behind. Let kids try different sports. Help them feel capable, and strength training is one reliable way to do that. Mighty Oak Athletic in Westmont, IL coaches athletes ages 6 to 18.
