	Login Cart Advanced Search
Our List Bestsellers Current Bestsellers All-Time Bestsellers Activism General Economic Justice Environmental Justice Education Reform Racial Justice Community Action Immigration Reform American Society General Anthropology Cultural Studies General Latin American Native American Myths Made In America Economics Law and Society Philosophy Sociology Sports and Society Child and Family Issues Adoption General Media and Technology Beacon Classics Biography and Memoir Autobiography and Memoir Biography Disability Disability Environment and Conservation Energy and Climate Conservation Food and Agriculture Wildlife Nature and Environment Concord Library Series Gardening General Biography and Memoir Feminism and Gender Feminism Gender Women's History Women's Literature Black Women Writers Bluestreak Series General Women's Lives Sexuality Biography and Memoir History American History General Early American History 19th Century American History 20th Century American History 21st Century American History African American History General The King Legacy ReVisioning History Adult Editions Young Readers Editions World History Africa Asia Central and South America Europe Middle East Literature and the Arts Fiction Poetry Nonfiction General Essays Food and Society Letters Memoirs Queer Perspectives Multicultural Interest African American Asian American Caribbean Latin American Middle Eastern Native American South Asian By Series Black Women Writers Bluestreak Concord Writers Young Adult Music The Arts National Poetry Series Raised Voices Poetry Series Politics and Current Events Politics and Current Events Progressive Education LGBT Issues Books for K-12 Classroom Use Teaching and the Classroom Higher Education History of Education Race and Education School Reform and Policy Race Education Democracy Series Queer Perspectives Education and Youth Fiction General Memoir Religion and Sexuality Queer Ideas Queer Action Transgender Perspectives Transgender Voices Also of Interest Race and Ethnicity in America General African American History African American Literature Fiction and Poetry Nonfiction Black Women Writers Celebrating Black Women Writers King Legacy Series Race Education Democracy Series Religion How We Live Our Beliefs Pluralism Buddhism Christianity African American Theology Catholicism Early Christianity General Protestant Islam Judaism Unitarian Universalism World Religions Gender and Sexuality Inspiration Science and Medicine Public Health Medicine Science Psychology Women's Health YA and Children's Audiobooks Books by Mary Oliver Poetry and Prose Audiobooks Fall 2024 Spring 2025 Summer 2025 Blog About About Beacon Address and Directions Awards Booksellers and Librarians Catalogs Staff Distribution Sales and Ordering Submission Guidelines Contact Customer Service Author Appearances Jobs and Internships Media Requests Rights and Permissions Resources Book Banning Resources Desk and Exam Copy Information Reading Guides Teacher Guides Guides for UUs and Book Groups Social Impact

The Most Expensive Game in Town

The Rising Cost of Youth Sports and the Toll on Today's Families

Author: Mark Hyman

A look at how commercialization has transformed youth sports from fun into a heavily commercialized and profitable venture

Building on his eye-opening investigation into the damaging effects of the ultra-competitive culture of youth sports in his first book, Until It Hurts, sports dad and journalist Mark Hyman takes us behind the scenes for a startling look at the business of youth sports - the reasons for rapid changes in what gets bought and sold in this lucrative marketplace, and how these changes are affecting young Americans and distorting and diminishing family life. Through extensive interviews and original reporting, Hyman also unearths promising examples of individuals and communities bucking this destructive trend and using youth sports to uplift and enrich kids’ lives, rather than to fill their own pockets.

“An eye-opening look at yet another way that profit-driven adults are robbing kids of fun. Mark Hyman’s compelling exploration of the business of youth sports today is an important read for anyone who cares about children-or how the game is played.” —Susan Linn, author of The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World

“[Hyman] presents the numbers to prove that most folks who feel that clinics for eight year olds and private coaches for children too young to brush their own teeth are more likely to lead to burnout than to brilliant careers.” —Bill Littlefield, National Public Radio’s “Only a Game”.

Reviews

Review by: Gordon Marino, The New York Times - June 8, 2012

"Hyman—a recovering sports dad himself - adopts a refreshingly nonjudgmental attitude toward the parents who started out pacing the sidelines and ended up walking off the deep end… with a mix of facts and anecdotes, Hyman pivots to explore the supply side of the equation."

Review by: Doug Glanville, Time.com - March 21, 2012

"It is widely noted that youth sports have their problems, from the obsession with results to premature specialization. However, economics are at the heart of these problems, and what often gets left unsaid is clearly outlined in Mark Hyman's new book The Most Expensive Game in Town."

Introduction
Chapter 1: The Parent Trap
Chapter 2: Baby Goes Pro
Chapter 3: Youth Sports, USA
Chapter 4: The Sponsorship Game
Chapter 5: Exposed and Overexposed
Chapter 6: Selling Hope
Chapter 7: Making Progress, and Maybe a Fortune
Chapter 8: Beyond Commercialization
Postscript
Acknowledgments
Works Cited
Index

Click here to read a review of The Most Expensive Game in Town in the February issue of Publisher's Weekly

Click here to read a review of The Most Expensive Game in Town posted on IdeasTime.com

Click here to read a write-up of The Most Expensive Game in Town posted on Momsteam.com

Click here to read an interview with Mark Hyman posted on SportsLetter.com

Click here to read a write-up of The Most Expensive Game in Town posted on OurmaninBoston.com

Click here to read a write-up of The Most Expensive Game in Town posted on the blog StatsDad.com

Click here to listen to an interview with Mark Hyman on PRI's Marketplace

Click here to read a review of The Most Expensive Game in Town in Bloomberg Businessweek

Click here to read a review of The Most Expensive Game in Town on the New York Times' Well blog

Click here to read an opinion piece on "Room for Debate" blog

To read a review in the Boston Globe sports book round-up on September 1, 2012, click here

Click here to read an article by Hyman in the New York Times about The Most Expensive Game in Town
Click here to read an article featuring The Most Expensive Game in Town a recent New York Times article