This article is part of a series in collaboration with the Centre for Healthy Youth Development through Sport (CHYDS) at Brock University and was presented at the CHYDS’ hosted Youth Sport Summit in April 2024.
Most kids who have played basketball have never been on a basketball team. Despite its potential to be one of the most widely played, affordable and welcoming sports, basketball is one of the most expensive and least accessible sports in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and across much of Canada if you want to be on a team.
When considering sports with barriers to access, hockey often tops the list. Surprisingly, being on a hockey team is more accessible and affordable than being on a basketball team. According to the MLSE Foundation Change the Game dashboardOpens in a new window, 70% of youth who have played hockey have been on a team, while only 45% of youth who have played basketball have had the same opportunity.
For the majority of people who have played basketball, it has been informal: drop-in at a local gym (in schools, churches or community centres), pick-up ball on outdoor courts or shooting hoops in a driveway. These informal pathways into the game are arguably the lifeblood of the sport. Look up ‘NBA stars at Rucker Park’ or ‘Girls Slam Summer Classic’ to see legends like Dr. J, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant and emerging stars like Juju Watkins and Milaysia Fulwiley playing where the game started for so many.
While the majority of those who play basketball on outdoor courts will never become household names, these are the spaces where most people experience the game. However, indoor courts are crucial for basketball development, akin to ice rinks for hockey and professional surfaces for track and field athletes. Outdoor facilities are unreliable for team play and development due to weather conditions and the impact of concrete on the body when it comes to basketball.
Playing organized sport allows the participant the experience of wearing a jersey with 10 other kids who become teammates, the consistent and directed growth and learning that comes from having a coach, and the life-long skills and outcomes you gain from a season’s ups-and-downs. These experiences translate to valuable and measurable outcomes for youth: collaboration, leadership, communication, critical thinking, and friendship.
Why basketball?
Basketball’s simplicity is one of its greatest strengths. If you have a gym, a ball and a hoop, you can play. Minimal equipment required, and the proliferation of basketball courts globally means there should be minimal expenses to play. It’s a sport, when the delivered through a positive youth development lens, that can be used as a vehicle for developing and delivering life-long outcomes related to health, education and employment.
The global popularity of basketball is another factor. It is the most popular North American sport worldwide and second most popular globally after soccer. The stars of the game are some of the most recognizable figures, representing a diverse spectrum of identities. The culture of basketball, which connects the sport to music, fashion, art, design, film and tech, offers many in-roads to a deeper relationship with the game.
And the growth of basketball is also significant: WNBA viewership has increased 300% in the 2024 season, 3×3 was introduced as an Olympic sport in 2020 and will be part of the 2024 Paris Games, and wheelchair basketball continues to lead in sports for different abilities.
This all points to a heightened importance towards addressing barriers to entry that could lead to massive increases in youth accessing the benefits of physical activity, team experiences, and transferable skills.
A snapshot of the basketball landscape in the GTA and Canada
As it stands, there is no comprehensive picture of how many kids want to play on a basketball team, who is currently playing, who is being left out, or how the current levels of infrastructure of the game are able to meet that demand. However, some data, when pieced together, offers valuable insights for understanding the current state of the game and the pathways forward for the future of access to basketball.
The 2024 Jumpstart State of Play Youth Report,Opens in a new window which surveyed 3000 young people across Canada, found that basketball is highly popular among youth. It ranks among the top 3 sports played in the past 3 years among all demographics, top 4 sports among youth with disabilities, top 2 sports for youth identifying as Black, Indigenous, Arab, and South Asian and top 3 sports among girls.
This aligns with findings from the City of Toronto’s Basketball Development Plan released in 2016, which found that “basketball is one of the most attractive team sports to Canadian children and youth, it is even more popular with female and newcomer residents in these age categories” and “wheelchair basketball is the most popular team sport for people with disabilities in Ontario.”
However, the 2024 Jumpstart report also found that basketball has the highest registration costs of all sports at an average $730, followed by canoe/kayak at $711 and hockey at $647.
And while these registration costs are high, access to house league basketball is sporadic and simply not available in many neighbourhoods, particularly in the GTA. Caregivers often need to find local clubs, which can be done on the Ontario Basketball Association’s (OBA) find a club toolOpens in a new window. While many clubs offer development programs and house leagues, the OBA defines house league participants very broadly as any athlete outside of the rep system. This means that key markers such as length of a season, standings, playoffs, referees, certified coaches, stat keeping, uniforms and timed game play are not necessarily a part of these ‘house league’ experiences.
What this means practically is that most neighbourhoods in the GTA do not have a local basketball house league offering the same team experience commonly provided in sports like soccer and hockey. And joining a rep team is often the only option with fees ranging from $800 to $3500 per season plus travel.
The 2024 Jumpstart report also highlights that schools, recreation centres and after-school programs are where the majority of youth, especially racialized youth, access sport. However, these spaces do not provide basketball team experience to most youth, outside of those who make their school teams. These factors combined show that access to being on a basketball team for the majority of youth is connected to 3 major factors: joining a club, paying higher registration fees than any other sport, and significant travel.
As we think of this picture of the basketball landscape, Jumpstarts’s findingsOpens in a new window for the reasons youth do not participate in sport are important to consider. The top 5 reasons include:
- Sports are too expensive
- No time to play due to schoolwork
- I’m not good enough to play
- I don’t have a way to get to practices or games
- Not enough information available about sports programs
The City of Toronto Basketball Development plan shared similar findings around access to basketball nearly 10 years ago: “The top three barriers to participation in community basketball identified by respondents were inconvenient scheduling, program costs, and locating information about opportunities.”
Ontario, being the most densely populated province and the largest market for youth basketball in the country, having such huge gaps in access to house league and an over-reliance on rep basketball for a team play experience, raises a pair of concerns. For one, it suggests that many youths playing on a basketball team are likely paying even higher costs than the $747 Jumpstart reported. It also begs the question of what this tells us about what the reality might be in smaller basketball markets, more rural communities and less densely populated regions (without the undeniable benefit for access to basketball that being in an NBA market, and soon to be WNBA market provides).
Our model
Lay-Up is a charity focused on the future of access to basketball providing cost-free, evidence-based programs centred on the culture of basketball that are designed to develop skills on and off the court. The organization was founded 10 years ago to deliver the benefits and experiences of paid basketball programs through structured skill development in a cost-free, community-based model.
In 2019, Lay-Up began establishing evidence-based program delivery, coach training and off-court programming around the culture of basketballOpens in a new window. This evolved into a sport for development program underpinned by the positive youth development framework, the long-term athlete development framework, best-practices in coaching girls and the future of work skills. Layered onto these pillars is a trauma-informed lens, an equity lens, a games-based and place-based approach. The goal was a well-being strategy to basketball to deliver a “gym for all skill levels.”
Using data from the City of Toronto Equity Index that identified Neighbourhood Improvement Areas, and the Toronto District School Board’s Learning Opportunities Index to identify where programs are delivered, Lay-Up serves approximately 1000 unique participants annually, providing most participants with 50 to 150 on-court hours per year and a coaching roster of 60 youth from communities across the GTA. Within that, over 50% of participants are girls and 50% of our coaching roster is female.
Resources like the Lay-Up Coach GuideOpens in a new window and the recently launched Coach HubOpens in a new window are tools developed to ensure this model is scalable and sustainable. Despite doing no little to no outreach, Lay-Up programs being fully registered all year, with extensive waitlists, illustrates the potential and need for high-quality, cost-free basketball programs designed for positive outcomes for youth.
Research connected to a sport for development approach continues to highlight the importance of taking this type of approach. The MLSE Foundation 2024 Change the Game ReportOpens in a new window cites best-practices for creating accessible sports for youth facing barriers, emphasizing access to safe spaces, healthy relationships, and environments for developing social and emotional life skills where youth can engage with sport without barriers to entry like high costs and a lack of representation in coaches.
What’s next?
To harness basketball’s potential to become one of the most accessible sports, a few key issues need to be addressed.
School boards, which own the majority of indoor facilities, are among the most significant stakeholders as it relates to youth accessing basketball. Currently, there is no official school board-wide recognition (policy, procedure, staffing or resources) of the education system’s role in access to basketball. Changing this could be transformative, especially considering sport’s impact on academic achievement, career development and wellbeing.
The City of Toronto Basketball Development Plan should be fully implemented and updated to reflect the growth of the game and the increasing importance of access to sport. Unlocking city-owned community centres for cost-free team play basketball opportunities would be a significant step.
When it comes to access to space, most new basketball spaces are owned by clubs and private organizations, often located in hard-to-access areas. Publicly owned and operated facilities dedicated to basketball, similar to hockey rinks, are vital for meeting current and future needs for affordably and accessibly. Currently there are commitments at the provincial level to build significant sports infrastructure in the years ahead, including a recently announced $200-million-dollar investmentOpens in a new window. Having publicly owned and operated facilities that are dedicated to 24/7, 365 days a year to basketball in the model of hockey rinks would be vital to meeting the current and future needs in a way that is affordable and accessible.
We also need to develop a clear definition of house league basketball, which features trained and certified coaches, regular season and playoffs, officiated and timed games, and affordable access. This would make basketball more accessible to youth across neighbourhoods.
Shifting the paradigm around sport is crucial. Viewing sport primarily as a driver for professional leagues, economic benefit, and tourism needs to evolve. Sport should be seen for its critical role in education, health, and employment outcomes, and there are more and more stakeholders making this case. Mass participation in sport for children and youth becomes essential and can drive mandates for the Ministry of Education and Health, and government departments like Social Development Canada.
Expanding the mandate of sport and recognizing its role in developing critical soft skills for the future of work could transform the landscape of youth sport. Evidence-based youth coach development and employment, funded as part of futureproofing the Canadian economy, could reduce the costs of youth sport, improve safety and quality, and facilitate the application of best practices validated by research.
Addressing these issues involves both short-term policy changes and long-term infrastructure investments. While it may seem like moving a mountain, the potential of basketball and the emerging reframing of sport’s value make the future of access to basketball a bright one.
By focusing on these strategies and committing to improving access to basketball, we can unlock the full potential of the sport and ensure that more youth can experience the benefits and positive outcomes it provides.
About the Author(s)
Chris Penrose is the Executive Director of Lay-Up and has been a part of the team since November 2019. Having worked in roles in the non-profit sector and creative industries for close to 20 years, Chris brings a unique perspective on the ways that creativity and culture intersect with the lived realities in communities across the GTA, and how basketball can tie all of that together. System-thinking is at the core of his approach to youth programming, having completed a Masters Diploma in Social Innovation at the University of Waterloo. Chris understands life through basketball analogies and sees the Culture of Basketball as the unifying force behind all of Lay-Up’s programs and priorities.
The information presented in SIRC blogs and SIRCuit articles is accurate and reliable as of the date of publication. Developments that occur after the date of publication may impact the current accuracy of the information presented in a previously published blog or article.