Launching 2026 · Baltimore, Maryland
America put childhood behind a paywall. Free Play America is here to take it down: we grade the system, prove the alternative, and change the rules.
The problem
For most of American history a kid could walk to a field with a ball and play until the streetlights came on. Nobody invoiced their parents. That country is gone, and a $40 billion industry stands where it used to be.
The associations that set the fees, write the rules, and sanction the leagues operate with less public scrutiny than a mid-sized school board.
The families priced out first are the families whose children need play most. Inactive kids report worse mental health at nearly twice the rate of active kids, and every year the entry price climbs further out of reach.
This is not an accident. It is the predictable result of a governance vacuum: monopoly certification handed out by federal statute, state associations without meaningful member democracy, and a travel-sport market with every incentive to raise prices and no obligation to serve anyone.
What we do
Grade the system
An annual public report grading the bodies that govern youth sport on cost, governance, transparency, and access. Built entirely from public records. Every rubric published, every graded organization given the microphone to respond.
Prove the alternative
Weekly free, open play at public sites across Maryland. No fees, no tryouts, no season commitment. A parent council at every site and the full budget published to the dollar, so anyone can see what letting children play actually costs.
Change the rules
Federal and state advocacy to restore play as something every community provides, the way it provides libraries and schools, until free play is not a program children are lucky to find but a promise every community keeps.
The Scorecard
Four weighted dimensions. Sixteen indicators. Public records only. A thirty-day response window before anything is published, and the full dataset released alongside every grade so anyone can check our math.
Format only. No organization has been graded yet.
No curve is applied. If every association earns an A, the Scorecard has succeeded, not failed.
Founder
Mel has spent two decades as a nonprofit executive across Maryland, leading organizations in food security, energy assistance, housing, and youth services. Before that he led the work of global brands including The Walt Disney Company, SEGA and WWFE. Importantly, he worked inside the governance of world football as Head of Special Projects at CONCACAF and as a North American delegate to the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
He has spent his career in the rooms where these decisions get made, and the rest of it serving the families who live with the consequences. Free Play America is where both halves finally meet.
Get involved
We are building this in the open. Join the list for the launch, the first Scorecard, and the day we open our first field.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.