There are numerous benefits attached to the idea of lifelong physical activity. Because of this, various governmental and sports organisations seek to promote positive behaviours and potential health aspirations through the use of sport. This critical commentary seeks to highlight some of the issues that surround this topic, most notably the lack of suitable training or understanding for many of the practitioners who deliver youth sport (coaches and teachers). In particular, there remains a persistent gap between policy expectations and the applied pedagogical knowledge required to deliver developmentally appropriate youth sport environments. The implications this presents, i.e. for incorrect, or limited understanding within the context of youth sport practice sessions, are numerous, particularly when the ideas of performance, competition, and talent are used, with increased drop-out rates perhaps of most significance. These challenges are further compounded by structural pressures within sport systems that often prioritise short-term success, selection outcomes, and performance metrics over long-term participant development and retention. It is these challenges that frame the contention of this commentary: that those delivering youth sport must develop an appreciation of evidence-based practice that, fundamentally, places the developmental needs of youth at its heart, prioritises participation, and sees the use of competition as a means to an end, not the end itself. In doing so, youth sport environments can be better aligned with contemporary evidence from long-term athlete development models and youth physical development research, ensuring that participation is sustained and meaningfully supported across childhood and adolescence.