[81alum]

I think we were up to well over $15k a year by the time my daughter was at level 9 gymnastics.   Probably more.  And that was many years ago.  Yes, there are certain sports that seem to be very class oriented--I'm not sure we ever saw a poor kid in gymnastics, which at the club level was overwhelmingly white and Asian.  Ice skating is even more extreme.

Back to football, the Forbes article below outlines a series of reasons in addition to CTE (e.g., the rise of Lacrosse) but CTE (which is a much more serious concern than just concussions) is certainly a factor in every study of declining participation.  As far as California and education levels--I think it proves the point.  You hear about teams having problems in Marin county and on the Peninsula, not in the Central Valley.  California is a very heterogeneous state, with some of the richest most highly educated communities, and some of the poorest more poorly educated communities that you will find anywhere in America. 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-02-b...tball.html
https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/...d-injuries
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/brea...story.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/201...9b0d275408
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2726...ll-players
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/201...southcoast

[81alum]

I think we were up to well over $15k a year by the time my daughter was at level 9 gymnastics.   Probably more.  And that was many years ago.  Yes, there are certain sports that seem to be very class oriented--I'm not sure we ever saw a poor kid in gymnastics, which at the club level was overwhelmingly white and Asian.  Ice skating is even more extreme.

Back to football, the Forbes article below outlines a series of reasons in addition to CTE (e.g., the rise of Lacrosse) but CTE (which is a much more serious concern than just concussions) is certainly a factor in every study of declining participation.  As far as California and education levels--I think it proves the point.  You hear about teams having problems in Marin county and on the Peninsula, not in the Central Valley.  California is a very heterogeneous state, with some of the richest most highly educated communities, and some of the poorest more poorly educated communities that you will find anywhere in America. 

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-02-b...tball.html
https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/...d-injuries
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/brea...story.html
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bobcook/201...9b0d275408
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2726...ll-players
https://www.southcoasttoday.com/news/201...southcoast