The latest report from the Coaches Association of Ontario reveals troubling disparities in youth sports participation across the province, with economic barriers and coaching shortages threatening the foundation of community athletics.
I’ve spent the past week digesting the 2025 report on youth sports in Ontario, speaking with community organizers from Windsor to Thunder Bay. What emerges is a picture of a system struggling to keep pace with changing demographics and economic pressures.
“We’re seeing a two-tiered system developing,” says Maria Sanchez, director of community engagement at the Coaches Association of Ontario. “Families with resources can access elite training and development, while many communities are making do with volunteer-led programs that operate on shoestring budgets.”
The report, which surveyed over 1,200 coaches and 3,000 families across Ontario, found that 68% of high-performance youth sports programs have increased their fees by an average of 22% since 2023. This surge comes at a time when Statistics Canada reports that 37% of Ontario households with children report finding it “somewhat difficult” or “very difficult” to meet their financial needs.
In Brampton, I met with Carlos Jimenez, who coaches three different youth soccer teams on evenings and weekends. “I’ve watched kids with tremendous talent just disappear from the program,” he told me, standing beside a patchy field where his U-14 team practices. “Their parents can’t afford the registration fees, the equipment, the tournament travel. Some families are choosing between sports and groceries.”
The provincial government allocated $12.4 million toward youth sports initiatives in the last budget cycle, but community organizers argue the funding isn’t reaching the grassroots level effectively. The Ontario Minor Hockey Association reports that registration costs have climbed above $1,500 per season for some age groups, placing the sport increasingly out of reach for middle-income families.
“When I started coaching fifteen years ago, we had kids from every background on the ice,” says Dwayne Williams, a hockey coach in Scarborough. “Now I’m seeing fewer newcomer families, fewer kids from rental housing. The diversity is shrinking, and that’s not what Canadian sport should be about.”
The coaching pipeline itself faces significant challenges. The report indicates that 41% of youth sports programs across Ontario report difficulty recruiting and retaining qualified coaches. The pandemic exodus of volunteers hasn’t fully reversed, leaving many community programs understaffed.
“We’re asking people to commit 10-15 hours weekly, often without compensation, while managing their own work and family responsibilities,” explains Dr. Anita Chaudhry, sports sociology researcher at Queen’s University. “The coaching model that worked for previous generations isn’t sustainable in today’s economic climate.”
Bright spots exist amid these challenges. The report highlights successful initiatives in London and Ottawa, where municipal partnerships have created coaching development programs that specifically target underserved communities. These programs offer stipends, training, and mentorship to develop coaching talent in neighborhoods with limited resources.
The Thunder Bay Community Sport Collective stands out as a particularly promising model. They’ve implemented a sliding scale fee system and created a community coaching corps that recruits and trains coaches from diverse backgrounds.
“We’ve seen a 34% increase in participation from lower-income neighborhoods since implementing these changes,” says Thunder Bay recreation director Jordan Neebing. “When coaches come from the community they serve, they understand the barriers families face and can help address them.”
Provincial sports organizations are taking note. Basketball Ontario launched a pilot program this fall that provides coaching certification at no cost to applicants from priority neighborhoods, while offering weekend workshops that accommodate working adults’ schedules.
“The traditional model assumes coaches have flexible schedules and financial resources,” notes Basketball Ontario’s development coordinator Amir Singh. “We’re reimagining coaching development to reflect the reality of people’s lives in 2025.”
The report’s recommendations include increasing provincial funding for coach development in underserved communities, establishing equipment libraries to reduce costs for families, and creating transportation subsidies for rural athletes who often travel long distances to compete.
For Mississauga parent Tariq Ahmed, these changes can’t come soon enough. His daughter Zara shows promise in track and field, but the family struggles with the mounting costs.
“Last month, we drove to three different meets across the province,” Ahmed told me, tallying expenses on his phone. “Gas, hotels, meet fees, new spikes… it was over $600 for one weekend. We want to support her dreams, but there’s a ceiling to what we can afford.”
The Coaches Association’s report makes clear that without intervention, youth sports participation will increasingly become a privilege rather than a right. As community organizations await provincial budget announcements expected in February, the question remains whether policymakers will recognize youth sports as an essential service worthy of sustainable funding.
“We’re not just teaching kids how to kick a ball or swing a bat,” says Sanchez. “We’re building community resilience, physical literacy, and mental health supports. When sports programs falter, the costs show up elsewhere in healthcare and social services.”
For the thousands of volunteer coaches across Ontario who submitted their experiences to this report, the hope is that their voices will translate into meaningful policy change. The future of youth sports in the province may depend on it.
