Given that more than 60 million kids play organized sports today, there is a good chance that in the next few months you will consider signing your son or daughter up to play for a team. If you are like most parents, you will not give this task a great deal of thought. Instead, you will follow the lead of other adults in your social circle. I urge you to resist that temptation.

Sports have long been embedded in youth culture. However, the form and intensity of kids’ connections with sports has shifted in some troubling ways over the past 20 years. Only a generation ago, most kids played for a local team for a few months, then moved on to a different activity. Today, community-based leagues must compete with clubs that play year-round and offer higher levels of competition to participants.

Between the years of 2010 and 2017, the youth sports industry increased by 55% and now constitutes a $17 billion market—larger than the NFL. As a result, parents today are challenged to navigate what has become a profit-driven enterprise that treats their children as high-value customers. They often lack the information they need to make decisions that are in their kids’ best interests.

The combination of a rapidly evolving youth sports industry and dearth of dependable information puts many parents in a bind. Without a clear understanding of where their children fit into this convoluted web of sports activities, parents tend to follow the lead of their friends. When confronted with uncertainty, adults chose the path of least resistance. Personal connections tend to trump all other considerations.

For the past six years I have been conducting research on the youth sports industry. Over that period, I attended hundreds of practices and games, interviewed dozens of parents, and studied scholarship that documents the effects of athletics on kids. One thing that has become clear to me is that most parents make decisions about their children’s athletic activities without thinking carefully about the consequences.

As you start to plan your children’s extra-curricular activities, I encourage you to keep the following information in mind:

• The most highly ranked or prestigious team is not necessarily the best option for your child.
• Many successful athletes do not begin playing sports year-round until middle or high school.
• Only 7% of all high school athletes in the U.S. go on to play a varsity sport in college. For this reason, it is important to make decisions based on your child’s current interests and talents rather than on the dream of receiving a college scholarship.
• Early sports specialization can lead to over-use injuries, deceased enjoyment in athletics, and burnout.
• The majority of youth sport coaches report that playing multiple sports during childhood is the most effective way to develop athletic ability.

My research provides strong support for the last item on this list. The most well-adjusted athletes I have observed invested time and energy in sports, but also participated in other extra-curricular activities. Parents of these kids resisted the temptation to make decisions based on the assumption that their children would one day receive offers to play at the college level.  Viewing a college athletic scholarship as one of many possible outcomes—rather than the ultimate sign of success—helped them to make decisions in a more holistic way.  They encouraged their sons and daughters to play multiple sports, act in school plays, and participate in school government. In other words, their children led balanced lives.

Many young athletes do benefit from the high levels of coaching and competition that club sports can offer. However, before committing to a team that plays year-round, parents should have an extended discussion with their child. During this chat, they can ask their kid about their athletic goals, the amount of time they are willing to devote to sports, and how the decision to play for an elite club will affect their ability to do other things.

If, based on this conversation, the family decides that it is in the child’s best interests to play sports for only part of the year, they can look for community-based leagues that might make a good fit. Organizations like Little League baseball or softball, AYSO soccer, church-sponsored basketball, and neighborhood swim teams will give them the opportunity to work on their athletic skills in a less-intense environment.

Parents who conclude that their child will benefit from higher levels of competition should also consider their options carefully. Most of the adults I interviewed were not aware that those options existed. In retrospect, many told me, it would have been a good idea to take the following steps before making a final decision:

• Learn as much as you can about the goals and expectations of the nearest travel team. How often do they practice? Are players permitted to participate in other extra-curricular activities?
• Interview potential coaches. Ask them to explain their coaching philosophy. Another way to get a sense of a person’s coaching style is to observe their behavior at a practice or game.
• Research the costs of playing for the team. In addition to participation fees, families may be required to pay for special equipment, supplemental training, and costs associated with playing in tournaments.
• Look into travel teams based in other nearby towns that might have different expectations than the organization you initially thought of joining. Unlike community-based leagues, travel teams will usually accept players from any location. Take advantage of this option.

This type of work places some additional demands on parents but should pay off in the long run. With rates of mental illness and the demand for counseling reaching record highs, the implications of decisions like these can be significant. Taking the time to think carefully about what makes the most sense for your child will significantly increase the chances that they find success—on and off the field.

Christopher Bjork is a Professor of Education on the Dexter M. Ferry, Jr. Chair & Coordinator of Teacher Education. You can reach them on Twitter @chrisbjork6