Youth sports reshaping Sundays
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The youth sports boom is reshaping Sunday mornings in Metro Detroit as religious organizations and sports clubs vie for busy families' time.
Why it matters: Churches used to anchor family life on Sundays. But youth sports — a multibillion-dollar industry — are increasingly filling that role.
- It's a shift that organizations like the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit have pushed back on.
The big picture: Youth sports are part of a broad religious shift as more Americans consider themselves religiously unaffiliated.
- Sunday religious participation among parents of kids ages 5-17 fell from 26.8% in 2003-07 to 16.7% in 2021-24, per the American Time Use Survey.
- Declining Mass attendance has prompted the Detroit archdiocese to restructure.
- Meanwhile, more games move to Sundays with packed multiday tournaments and out-of-town play.
Yes, but: Metro Detroit Catholic schools and parishes have followed a no-sports-on-Sundays policy since 2019.
- "In shifting away from the hustle of required sporting activities on Sunday, we will reclaim this holy day and create more time for families to choose activities that prioritize time spent with each other and our Lord," former Archbishop Allen Vigneron wrote in a letter at the time.
What they're saying: "We need the kids and families to be able to come together … We were no longer going to be a part of the problem; we were gonna be part of the solution," says Mike Evoy, director of the 33-school Catholic High School League.
- Exceptions are allowed for weather cancellations, facility issues and other circumstances.
- Evoy's own family goes "nonstop" for six days, knowing Sunday will bring well-deserved rest.
Zoom in: David Dwaihy, chief of soccer development for Detroit City FC, tells Axios that Sunday scheduling hasn't been raised as a big concern.
- "We try and remain mindful of the fact that we're just a small slice of the pie that makes up people's lives," he says, adding that DCFC's youth program does its best to be accommodating.
- DCFC's Detroit program grew from four teams in 2018 to 40 teams with 445 youth, plus regional clubs bringing total participation to more than 4,000.
Between the lines: For some families, Dwaihy says, soccer's togetherness "serves a similar purpose to what religion does for many people."
- That is never more evident than when DCFC's Maxwell Murray, who manages youth programs, hosts a weekly "Sunday service."
- Murray sets up goals along Jefferson Avenue, inviting anyone to play, with food and books to borrow.
The bottom line: For generations, Sunday meant bringing the family closer to heaven.
- Today, Sunday can also mean bringing your child closer to MSU's soccer team.