Youth Sports

The Illinois High School Association is grappling with a shrinking number of game officials, largely due to the increasingly poor treatment they've endured from fans, athletes and coaches. The IHSA has entered a new partnership aimed at reducing the negative behavior, but skepticism remains about how effective these efforts will be.

Unlike pricey club sports, New Dimensions is free, offering unstructured play for kids who need it.

Parents of transgender kids say that their children just want to play sports with their friends — and that new legislation would isolate them.

Supporters of the bill argued that allowing transgender athletes to play puts cisgender women at a disadvantage. Transgender kids and their parents said participating in team sports is about more than winning.

St. Louis City SC's club is free for any 15- or 16-year-old boys talented enough to make the squad, bucking the pay-to-play system that has long ruled competitive youth soccer.

St. Louis County Public Health Co-Director Spring Schmidt joined "St. Louis on the Air" to talk about kids and COVID-19, youth sports restrictions and, yes, the importance of flu shots.

Officials in St. Louis and St. Louis County eased coronavirus-related rules limiting youth sports Wednesday, allowing young athletes to resume practices and some to return to competitive play.

An increase of COVID-19 cases in the region has caused the St. Louis Sports Medicine COVID-19 Task Force, the St. Louis County Department of Public Health and the City of St. Louis Department of Health to initiate a hold on all youth sport games and scrimmages. The move has some pediatricians frustrated that the focus has been on youth sports, rather than congregations in bars and restaurants.

Student-athletes will have to scale back scrimmages and practices starting Monday, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page announced, saying there’s a…

Like many malls around the country, the St. Louis Outlet Mall in Hazelwood has been declining for a while. Today, it’s roughly 92% vacant — but Big Sports…