Dr. Dave Hutson, chair of the Department of Sports Studies will present “Where Have All The Children Gone? Youth Sports and the Slow Demise of Unsupervised Play” at Smart Towns, a lifelong learning program led by educational organizations in the greater Rochester community on Thursday, Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. at the Rochester Hills Public Library.

Hutson’s study focuses on how the youth sports environment has significantly changed from the one experienced by those who grew up prior to the 21st century.

“With travel teams, tournaments and state-of-the-art facilities, the youth sports industry is evolving from an era of children playing sports for fun to one that resembles professional sports,” Hutson said. A major societal shift has also occurred in the way children play. “Children are spending less time playing outside than their parents did, and most children’s play is highly structured and supervised by adults,” he said.

Hutson’s presentation will take a multi-faceted approach to explore the evolution of children’s play, the societal influences of play, the rise and fall of youth sports and unsupervised play, and offer a new vision for youth sports.