High School Sports PSA

[Anonymous]

It's hard to believe that it is almost time for try-outs. 10 days to go!

As a freshman parent last year, I went in very ignorant (so, so ignorant), so I thought I would help out the newcomer parents.

High school sports are nothing like what they were when I was growing up. The time commitment is incredible. Assume 6 days of practices (for my child's team the Saturday practice was 8:30-12:30 weekly, so no catching up for sleep on Saturdays). The money commitment was also well more than I expected. We were expected to shell out around $800 at the beginning of the season and then were asked for a few more items throughout the remainder of the season. This amount SHOULD go down this year (she now has her required warm-up suit, backpack, etc), but at least this year I will be prepared for the larger money contribution that will be expected in August.

Some other parents said that the coaches "owned" the kids during the season, and that is pretty appropriate.

All this said, my DD absolutely loved playing the sport and really learned a lot from the high expectations and demands. The team was extremely close and she felt a lot more part of the school from having the bonds with the other players. So this is not to say it isn't worth it, I just wish I had known what to expect before going in so I thought it might help some other clueless parents.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! Good insights

[Anonymous]

This is a school sport or club sport? I'm surprised about the $800 and more. How does that work in schools where families cannot afford that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's hard to believe that it is almost time for try-outs. 10 days to go!

As a freshman parent last year, I went in very ignorant (so, so ignorant), so I thought I would help out the newcomer parents.

High school sports are nothing like what they were when I was growing up. The time commitment is incredible. Assume 6 days of practices (for my child's team the Saturday practice was 8:30-12:30 weekly, so no catching up for sleep on Saturdays). The money commitment was also well more than I expected. We were expected to shell out around $800 at the beginning of the season and then were asked for a few more items throughout the remainder of the season. This amount SHOULD go down this year (she now has her required warm-up suit, backpack, etc), but at least this year I will be prepared for the larger money contribution that will be expected in August.

Some other parents said that the coaches "owned" the kids during the season, and that is pretty appropriate.

All this said, my DD absolutely loved playing the sport and really learned a lot from the high expectations and demands. The team was extremely close and she felt a lot more part of the school from having the bonds with the other players. So this is not to say it isn't worth it, I just wish I had known what to expect before going in so I thought it might help some other clueless parents.

So MCPS is not holding secret lottery for sports teams?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a school sport or club sport? I'm surprised about the $800 and more. How does that work in schools where families cannot afford that?

Sounds like crew or hockey or one of those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a school sport or club sport? I'm surprised about the $800 and more. How does that work in schools where families cannot afford that?

This is a school sport. I was honestly shocked and have no idea how they handle kids who can’t pay. It took quite a bit of shuffling last August to be able to pay that amount so quickly which is why I wrote this post! I thought school sports were free! Now I know better!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a school sport or club sport? I'm surprised about the $800 and more. How does that work in schools where families cannot afford that?

Sounds like crew or hockey or one of those.

No- high school cheer. I know other sports were also high cost.

[Anonymous]

It’s always nice when an experienced parent shares info on what to expect but I’m assuming the sport makes a huge difference. DS is a rising freshman and looking forward to hopefully playing JV soccer. I think we’re pretty well looped in at this point (know coaches, attending summer workouts and attended a parent/player meeting) and there’s been no indication of high fees. And I’ve never heard of having to buy a backpack for HS sports. All the kids play club soccer and already have them (actually most have multiple).

[Anonymous]

Both of my kids ran three seasons (CC, indoor and outdoor track). Aside from uniforms and regular shoe replacement, costs were minimal.

[Anonymous]

Just chiming in to extoll the awesomeness that is HS Track and Field. We paid for running shoes, and booster club swag. That's it. Great, supportive environment (no cut). It's a time commitment, but not nearly to the same extent.
My DD had great structure and social outlet for 4 years, and now can and does continue to run years out of high school, so set up for lifetime of healthy exercise.
Give Cross Country and Track and Field a try!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Both of my kids ran three seasons (CC, indoor and outdoor track). Aside from uniforms and regular shoe replacement, costs were minimal.

That might be where the difference is- cheer uniforms are hundreds of dollars, while track ones might be cheaper? Cheer kids also are all on private teams and have the gear but were still expected to have school gear on top of that (bags and sweats). They were also required to have specific practice wear for each day of the week.

Growing up, I played soccer and field hockey and parents were not expected to pay anything. I was shocked last year. I know that other parents from other sports were also surprised and I wished that someone had clued me in before the season- hence this note! If this isn’t true for other sports, please ignore!

[Anonymous]

I’m assuming this is this school-dependent? I know there were some complaints last year about mismatched uniforms for JV teams at our schools, including some that were leftovers from previous years’ varsity teams. My understanding was that the school was paying for them, from MCPS funds supplemented by booster fundraising.

But our HS is one where the assumption is that a fair number of families might struggle to pay for sports uniforms, and would be totally unable to manage costs anywhere near the kind of fees the OP is talking about. But I know they try to make sure that kids can participate no matter what their family’s income might be.

Ours also arranges for a physician to come to the school one day over the summer to do low-cost sports physicals.

I guess my point is that parents shouldn’t assume the school will pay for everything, but also shouldn’t let the OP’s experience discourage them from allowing their child to try out if they’re not flush with cash. If your child makes the team but you really can’t afford the fees, talk to the coach or the booster club president and see if there’s assistance available, or donated equipment your child could borrow.

But for those who can handle it OK with a bit of advance planning, OP’s advice is super-helpful. It definitely doesn’t hurt to ask the coach or the booster club beforehand what the financial outlay will be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a school sport or club sport? I'm surprised about the $800 and more. How does that work in schools where families cannot afford that?

We didn’t spend nearly that much. Can’t remember how much but the biggest expense was a team jacket which was optional

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Both of my kids ran three seasons (CC, indoor and outdoor track). Aside from uniforms and regular shoe replacement, costs were minimal.

That might be where the difference is- cheer uniforms are hundreds of dollars, while track ones might be cheaper? Cheer kids also are all on private teams and have the gear but were still expected to have school gear on top of that (bags and sweats). They were also required to have specific practice wear for each day of the week.

Growing up, I played soccer and field hockey and parents were not expected to pay anything. I was shocked last year. I know that other parents from other sports were also surprised and I wished that someone had clued me in before the season- hence this note! If this isn’t true for other sports, please ignore!

This must be school specific. At our school cheer uniforms are provided.

[Anonymous]

My daughter did two sports last year and we didn’t have to pay anything.