Why Our Kids Reject Organized Sports

You really hit the nail on the head there.

From a young adult's perspective, sports in the long run are just impractical. When first going into the work industry, how many companies do you think value potential employees who were/are on a soccer or baseball team?
Don't get me wrong, organized sports give kids plenty of skills, such as leadership, physical health, people skills, teamwork etc.
But employers just don't value organized sports for that. Sports are still seen as something you put the kids in to help them make friends and give the something to do after school. They aren't taken seriously enough by the average working person, sports are just another branch of the entertainment industry. Many parents wouldn't consider a career in sports with their children, there isn't any time, security or stability for the professional athlete. Once that kid hits 16 then it's time to get serious. It's time they start taking a direction in business, healthcare, labour or education.
Nobody working in sports seems to be able to see sports as entertainment though. Most take their jobs very seriously, they train daily for months on end every year and hardly think about anything else during. They're working to see those high numbers on the scoreboard and in their wallets.
The lax and friendly neighbourhood league seems to have been a short lived and dying trend. Not enough people have the time for something that's only just 'fun' once they/their kids get older.

We see the exact same thing in our NJ suburb. Our town has managed to maintain a rec league soccer program through age 17, but by the time the kids get that old there aren't that many playing and from age 10 on they play other rec teams from other counties. Early on, age 7 or so, the best kids try out for travel soccer ($800 or so), then the best of thoses are picked off by private (and even more expensive club leagues). And the only chance to make the middle or HS team is to have played on one of these. So if you aren't from a well-to-do household, you have little chance of even getting on the "free" school team. My husband has continued to coach our son's rec soccer team, 13/14 year olds, and was gratified when twins on his team told him that if he coached again next year, they would play for him. The games may not be as "professional" as the club leagues, but the kids play hard and yes, have fun. And there are donuts at the end.

A greater factor, I think, is the fact that time gets tighter as you move into your teens. There's more homework, opportunities to make money, dating ... and other self-actualizing pursuits that may look good on a resume. In the same way that we've abandoned sports for fun, I think we've abandoned the idea of free unstructured time for kids in general.

Any activity that you involve yourself with for several years requires a serious approach. Once a child is old enough to make certain decisions about how they spend their time, they will gravitate to activities that piques their interests. This doesn't mean that they are preparing their resumes or college letters. It is how they choose to interact with others. Granted, many kids are pushed to use any talent for the good of some 'team or club', and begins to forget the reason why they chose to play in the first place. But, no parent should allow their child to let an ability to succeed disappear, because 'it's just a sport'.