UC Berkeley

As scholars and policymakers across disciplines argue the merits of market influences in public schooling, few have taken aim at the ongoing privatization of youth sports. Even as treatment for the poor academic performances of disadvantaged groups, too many point to the perceived cultural shortcomings of the children and their families, and ignore the inadequacies of the underlying opportunity structures. This phenomenon also manifests itself in the characterization of athletics as a potentially harmful distraction to youth in underserved communities and as an asset to youth in privileged backgrounds. While such an assertion trivializes prevailing systemic inequalities in access to opportunities, it also ignores the realities of contemporary youth sports institutions, which have become highly commercialized as pathways to college admission. This case study utilizes organizational and institutional theory to illustrate the broad-based participation in the youth athletic enterprise facilitated by the grassroots marketing divisions within a multi-national sports apparel firm. More specifically, this project identifies the actors within these institutional fields--namely young athletes and their families, youth club and college coaches, event planners and corporate marketing representatives--and the motivations, demands, and associated responses that drive their behaviors. It demonstrates that these actors span a range of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, all of whom act simultaneously as "buyers" and "sellers" of services within the market context. However, the demands of this privatized field transcend technical efficiency and material benefit, as institutional-normative legitimacy also takes on great significance. Accordingly, these actors respond to the demands they face, both by adapting their behaviors as well as leveraging their resources to assert their expectations on other groups. Finally, this investigation of a market-based youth structure informs a discussion of the implications of privatization in public schooling.