Tens of millions of children in the United States participate in youth sport, a pastime widely believed to be part of a good childhood. Yet most children who enter youth sport are driven to quit by the time they enter adolescence, and many more are sidelined by its high financial burdens. Until now, there has been little legal scholarly attention paid to youth sport or its reform. Dionne Koller sets the stage for a different approach by illuminating the law and policy assumptions supporting a model that puts children's bodies to work in an activity that generates significant surplus value. In doing so, she identifies the wide array of beneficiaries who have a stake in a system that is much more than just play—and the political choices that protect these parties' interests at children's expense.
Dionne Koller is Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Sport and the Law at the University of Baltimore.
"Few books deserve to be described as important, but this is one of them. More Than Play fills a void in our collective understanding of how youth sport devolved to where it is today: expensive, all-consuming, and often detrimental to the ones it is ostensibly meant to serve. Dionne Koller reveals how U.S. law and policy—rarely examined in the context of youth sport—favor a continuation of the status quo, even when the abundant harms to children are well known. If you've ever fumed over our state and federal governments' inability to reform the flaws in the system, Koller's book will help you understand why. And it might make you mad. This deeply researched and original book provides a fresh way of thinking about youth sport that doubles as a necessary call to action."—Linda Flanagan, author of Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids' Sports—and Why It Matters
"This is a very important addition to the literature on American sports development and the much-understudied area of American youth sport governance and the numerous issues that plague it. Koller's scholarship and accomplishments are numerous, and this book did not disappoint. She does a great job destructing the myths of youth sport in America and details its many current problems and issues, and she also presents realistic and achievable solutions to better youth sport in the U.S. This book is a must-read for scholars, practitioners, coaches, policy makers, parents, and athletes to forge a better, more defined future for youth sport and access to sport in America."—David Ridpath, author of Alternative Models of Sports Development in America: Solutions to a Crisis in Education and Public Health
"An outstanding review of youth sport law issues by a leading sports law scholar. Accessible, informative, and enjoyable to read, it will make a great addition to sports law courses, along with other courses in the sports space. More Than Play will be often cited by academics, practicing attorneys, and judges."—Michael McCann, coauthor of Court Justice: The Inside Story of My Battle Against the NCAA
228 pp.6 x 9
9780520399259$95.00|£80.00Hardcover
Apr 2025