Tips for parents on sports participation and spending

[...] experts say there are ways parents can make their kids' participation in sports more positive and avoid sacrificing their own financial security.

Some crave a competitive environment and others don't want to be pushed into that pipeline, says Travis Dorsch, founding director of the Families in Sport Lab at Utah State University.

Farrey points out that free play was important to athletes like Michael Jordan and Brazilian soccer stars who played pickup games in their neighborhoods.

Sociologist Jay Coakley says many parents have been conditioned to view their child's achievements — at school, on the field or elsewhere — as a measure of their worth as a parent.

Parents who really want their kid to get college paid for should get a biology tutor, not a sports coach, says Mark Hyman of George Washington University.