Dan “Danny” Aronson, founder of Sport4Growth and leader of the new Park City Youth Sports Coalition. Photo: Dan Aronson

PARK CITY, Utah — Danny Aronson has spent decades coaching, advising and cheering from the sidelines. Now he aims to unite Park City’s many programs under one communitywide banner.

Aronson, founder of the strategic-planning firm Sport4Growth, has convened the new Park City Youth Sports Coalition, a network of clubs, coaches and families he hopes will “build the best youth sports community we can imagine.”

“We’re blessed with outstanding programs run by quality people,” Aronson said in an interview. “But those organizations often always operate in silos, and a child’s sports journey rarely does.”
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The coalition’s purpose, mission and vision follow a simple arc: make programs more intentional, aligned, evidence-based and accessible so that every child can stay in sports longer and reap greater benefit at lower cost. Early work will center on seven impact areas, from shared scheduling tools to coach development and data-driven feedback loops.

No top-down mandates, just a “big tent”

Aronson stresses that the coalition must not dictate programming nor strip organizations of identity, “It must be flexible to support the goals of each individual organization.”

“I envision the biggest tent you can imagine, where every organization keeps doing what makes it special,” he said. “Being inside the tent should only help them get better — on their own terms.”

Common language is a starting point. Clubs will be encouraged to publish clear development goals and commitment levels so families can compare options sport-by-sport on a single hub site now in planning. The clarity, Aronson believes, will reduce mismatched expectations that often put coaches and parents at odds.

Evidence and the long game

Nationally, only about 30% of kids remain in organized sports after age 13. Aronson wants Park City to flip that statistic on its head.

“Let’s aim for 60, 70, 80 percent,” he said. “For example, we could track how many of our graduates join an intramural team their freshman year of college — that’s a real indicator of lifelong engagement.”

Upstream metrics will measure how many 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds find at least one sport they love and can afford. Addressing cost barriers, he added, will require collaboration on fundraising and scholarships: “When we do this together, we open the door to new donors who see they’re supporting the whole community, not just one team.”

How to plug in

The coalition’s first community meeting is slated for July 30. Most local sports organizations have signed on, Aronson said, but he wants parents in the room as well.

“If you like what you’re hearing, tell your club you hope they’re participating — then sign up for updates,” he said. “Families deserve a voice in how this system evolves.”

Aronson’s own yardstick for progress rests on four core values he repeated like a mantra: intentional, evidence-based, accountable, nonjudgmental.

“Different families want different things from sports, and that’s OK,” he said. “Our job is to help everyone find the right fit — and cheer each other on while we do it.”

For more information or to join the conversation, visit the Park City Youth Sports Coalition page.