ABSTRACT
In the early decades of the twentieth century, concerns about the moral development of young people in an industrializing and urbanizing society led to the creation of youth athletic programs that ranged from expanded YMCA activities to the urban “playground movement” to the blossoming of athletic programs in the nation’s newly built high schools. Fundamental social and economic shifts left young people with far more free time than their predecessors had enjoyed. New theories about the importance of play and games to healthy physical and psychological development made sports seem a productive replacement for the socialization once provided by family and work as well as a way to “Americanize” young immigrants. The spread of high schools across the country created additional opportunities for young people outside major cities, and by the 1920s many of these new high schools offered competitive athletics for female as well as male athletes. Youth athletic programs would face some of the same challenges as college programs, particularly regarding the drive to win at any cost. But they would continue to expand, making organized, competitive sports an integral part of an American childhood.
