Opinion: California passed Youth Sports for All. Now it needs to pay for it

California has done something every parent recognizes.

It told kids: You should play sports.

Then it checked its wallet and went quiet.

As a dad, I understand the move.  

“You’re hungry? Go eat something.” Then your child stares at you and says, “With what money?” Suddenly, you are arguing with a 14 year old as he works in the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

At home, that would be bad parenting. In Sacramento, it’s bad policy.

Last year, California took a meaningful step by passing AB 749, the Youth Sports for All Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law in October. The bill creates a blue ribbon commission to study youth sports in California and make recommendations for how the state can better support, coordinate and expand access to sports for all young people.

Wonky but necessary.

Youth sports in California are fragmented, expensive and uneven. Some kids have private coaches, travel teams, matching backpacks and parents with those designer butt cushions. Other kids have a football with a slow leak, a park with no lights and a parent trying to figure out whether basketball registration comes before car registration.

This is not a small problem. The LA84 Foundation’s new 2026 California Play Equity Report makes that clear. The report found that 76% of California youth do not meet daily physical activity guidelines. It also found that 60% of California parents struggle to afford youth sports.

Most kids are not moving enough. Most parents are struggling to pay for the very thing that helps kids move.

This is a major play equity problem.

The Play Equity Report found that girls, Latino youth and youth with disabilities play less often and for shorter periods than their peers. We cannot call ourselves a sports capital while pricing kids out of the games.

California is co-hosting the World Cup. Los Angeles will host the Olympics and Paralympics in 2028. We are very good at celebrating elite athletic achievement. We know how to put on a show and light a torch.

But before we start patting ourselves on the back, maybe we should ask some simple questions.

Can the kid down the street afford to play soccer?

Can the girl with talent get on the team?

Can the child with a disability find a program that welcomes them?

We have spent years arguing about whether kids deserve participation trophies. The more important question is whether they get to participate at all.

That is why AB 749 matters. It recognizes that youth sports are not just about producing future college athletes or Olympians. They are about producing healthier kids and more connected communities.

But recognition without funding is where this gets off track.

The need is documented. The state has agreed the problem is real. Yet the work still needs funding to move forward. This is the public policy version of telling your kid, “Great news, we support dinner,” then handing them an empty plate.

No parent gets credit for approving the concept of lunch. No coach gets credit for drawing up a play and never sending anyone into the game. No state should get credit for passing Youth Sports for All if “for all” comes with an asterisk that says, “pending available funds.”

California’s leaders should fund AB 749 and allow the Youth Sports for All Act to do what it was created to do. Study the system. Identify the gaps. Recommend solutions. Build a path toward affordable, accessible and inclusive sports for every child.

If we believe kids need safe places to move, grow, compete, fail, laugh and try again, fund it. California already said yes to Youth Sports for All.

Now it needs to send the lunch money.

Carlos Aguilar is Editorial Director at Quantasy and Associates, a full service advertising agency in downtown Los Angeles and lives in Covina.