In America, 75% of families want their children to participate in sports. At their best, sports protect children from hardship and prepare them for adult life. Athletics are training grounds for character, companionship, and connection. But during the past 25 years, youth sports have undergone such a radical transformation that they no longer produce the positive health outcomes that everyone desires. Unbeknownst to the majority of parents, children who participate in competitive organised sports are more likely to burn out or sustain overuse injuries than to form positive character traits or wholesome habits. What happened to youth athletics? And how might we rekindle their fun? In Take Back the Game, coach and journalist Linda Flanagan reveals how the youth sports industry capitalizes on parents? worry about their kids? futures, selling the idea that more competitive play is essential in the feeding frenzy over access to colleges and universities.