Just Kidding. Seriously.

KIDS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS. The Bull Youth Market has been an unstoppable force since the Baby Boom—the offspring of which now have grand kids and even great-grand kids of their own to lavish attention, and dollars, upon.   

Once the Boom unleashed its tidal wave of toddlers, preschoolers, tweeners, and… cha-ching …teenagers, American culture and its economy changed forever. Before Boomers, spoiled kids were so rare they served as comic relief in classic novels and early movies. Now, any kid living above the poverty line lives with everyday expectations that would have turned any of those classic Little Fontleroys green with envy.

Doting parents, grandparents, and—thanks to modern medicine—great-grandparents have been the engine driving this dynamo of cultural and economic power. Whole industries formed in the expanding universe of youthful indulgence. Toys, clothing, electronics, media and entertainment, amusement parks, and even cruise lines crowded into this evergreen market with gusto. Because of the physiology of human growth, the pace of consumer renewal in the market is breathtaking. No wonder the Child’s Play Industrial Complex is so bullish.

Beyond industry, youth culture has also flourished. The parental drive to indulge kids, to keep them occupied and entertained, spawned a giant web of extracurricular activity networks. Little leagues for every sport and schools for dance, art, acting and other expressive aptitudes filled the after-school hours of generations of kids. Aftershocks of this cultural shift include that advance in automotive design known as the Mini Van and the rebranding of beleaguered housewives as Soccer Moms.              

Over here in the outdoors industry and culture, youth has always played a major role. For eons, elders mentored the young in the skills and traditions of outdoors pursuits. As fishing and hunting evolved from necessary pursuits into recreational sports, mentoring newer generations lost its urgency. Here again, it fell to the parents and grandparents, in families where passions for the sports remained high, to do the passing on of traditions and skills. 

In an ever-expanding galaxy of economic and cultural options filling the ever-constant limit of available time, it’s a wonder ANY kids have time to fish or hunt, let alone have the attention spans to develop any interest in the sports.

But it is happening, on a scale that is both impressive and inspiring. In our last issue, Jan/Feb 2022, we had a story about our High School Conservation Challenge, in conjunction with St. Croix Rod and various high school bass associations across the state. School bass clubs are a phenomenon that we have been covering for a decade and a half. College and high school bass teams have grown at an exponential rate since we ran our first cover story on the then-new concept in 2007. Texas is a hotbed of this action, with four hundred schools and thousands of kids competing in tournaments.

It’s not Interscholastic League level… yet. But, maybe soon, those who oversee Texas High School Sports, a massive domain that encompasses everything from football to pole vaulting, will take note of the growing interest and passion for this sport and begin to recognize bass fishing competitions as interscholastic sports. Hopefully, bass fishing will make it before Pickleball.

We expect more great things from high school bass, and have high hopes for what it means to the future of outdoors sports in general. And, we will continue to cover it and promote it. 

E-mail Roy at rneves@fishgame.com and Ardia at aneves@fishgame.com

 

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