Can we discuss the cost of competitive sports?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer u12 19k for the year.
The math is shocking, it adds up. And we have college paid for already.
3k club fee, 1k team fee, 1k hotels and gas, 7k summer sleep away camps/ destination expenses, 3k private and skill group training, 1k mentor, 1k physical therapy, 2k equipment.

how do you have $2k in equipment per year!? what is a "team fee" ? what is the $1k mentor, is this not private training? $19k for U12 with traveling and extra private training seems close-ish, but some of the fees you mention are weird.

We are well off; but it's shocking if you add it all up. I'm also an accountant, so it's easy to keep track of and I think most families underestimate what they spend in an entire year. -It's never just the Club Fee.
-2k in equipment, 7 pairs of cleats (due to growing feet) -futsal $100, -indoor turf 2x $200, - outdoor x4 ~$600 -soccer balls x4 $200, uniform items $500, practice/ soccer clothes $200, rebounder & soccer stuff $200.
-1k team fees to cover tournaments, winter training, indoor training, dinners, fundraisers
-1k mentor (programs like Athlete to Athlete...and video review are not free)

OP asked to discuss the cost of competitive sports. This is for the 1st team and some families do even more with trips to Europe in the Spring and training in Florida, or adding the full ODP track for example. Some families certainly can't do all the extras, but the team fees and the club fees, equipment and travel add up to close to 10k for everyone on the team.

If you are invited to play on a top team, be sure to ask what out of state tournaments you are going to so you know you can budget in and extra $1k to 2k per weekend depending if its something you drive to or fly to!

We do have families who are sacrificing and it is clear there will be no to little college scholarship money for their kid (based on the odds and their talent level). So, it is not a rational expense. It's something you spend money on because you love it/ can afford it.

[Anonymous]

Aren't the top teams the MLS-affiliated Academy teams? Do you actually pay to play on those teams?

[Anonymous]

One thing that I've recently asked myself: what if we had invested all the money we spent on travel sports into a UTMA for our kid? The total amount would likely exceed $200k with market growth, and it would continue to grow. That would be enough to fund a house down payment someday. Was it worth it?

Fortunately, we didn't play travel sports at the expense of saving for college, but there were tradeoffs.

[Anonymous]

DS does an individual sport and we simply can't keep up. I don't regret getting him into, as both DH and I do this sport and it goes back several generations, but clearly times have changed! He practices and competes locally, and regionally several times a year, with coaching, equipment, travel, entry fees, we are close to $10,000. But we aren't in a good region for the sport and to really be competitive we would need to move, or fly somewhere multiple times a month, plus probably extended time in Europe. I am blown away by how many families are doing this. This week is the National team trials and families are easily spending $5k, but most are more like $10 - $15k. DS qualified, but we decided not to go. This isn't a sport with college scholarships, although it can help with getting into top schools. However you need to be spending $$$$ to even get the results needed for those top schools. So for DS, he can have lifelong sport and friends, which I think is great, but it won't benefit him for college or lead to the Olympics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS does an individual sport and we simply can't keep up. I don't regret getting him into, as both DH and I do this sport and it goes back several generations, but clearly times have changed! He practices and competes locally, and regionally several times a year, with coaching, equipment, travel, entry fees, we are close to $10,000. But we aren't in a good region for the sport and to really be competitive we would need to move, or fly somewhere multiple times a month, plus probably extended time in Europe. I am blown away by how many families are doing this. This week is the National team trials and families are easily spending $5k, but most are more like $10 - $15k. DS qualified, but we decided not to go. This isn't a sport with college scholarships, although it can help with getting into top schools. However you need to be spending $$$$ to even get the results needed for those top schools. So for DS, he can have lifelong sport and friends, which I think is great, but it won't benefit him for college or lead to the Olympics.

Wut is the secretive sport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer u12 19k for the year.
The math is shocking, it adds up. And we have college paid for already.
3k club fee, 1k team fee, 1k hotels and gas, 7k summer sleep away camps/ destination expenses, 3k private and skill group training, 1k mentor, 1k physical therapy, 2k equipment.

how do you have $2k in equipment per year!? what is a "team fee" ? what is the $1k mentor, is this not private training? $19k for U12 with traveling and extra private training seems close-ish, but some of the fees you mention are weird.

We are well off; but it's shocking if you add it all up. I'm also an accountant, so it's easy to keep track of and I think most families underestimate what they spend in an entire year. -It's never just the Club Fee.
-2k in equipment, 7 pairs of cleats (due to growing feet) -futsal $100, -indoor turf 2x $200, - outdoor x4 ~$600 -soccer balls x4 $200, uniform items $500, practice/ soccer clothes $200, rebounder & soccer stuff $200.
-1k team fees to cover tournaments, winter training, indoor training, dinners, fundraisers
-1k mentor (programs like Athlete to Athlete...and video review are not free)

OP asked to discuss the cost of competitive sports. This is for the 1st team and some families do even more with trips to Europe in the Spring and training in Florida, or adding the full ODP track for example. Some families certainly can't do all the extras, but the team fees and the club fees, equipment and travel add up to close to 10k for everyone on the team.

If you are invited to play on a top team, be sure to ask what out of state tournaments you are going to so you know you can budget in and extra $1k to 2k per weekend depending if its something you drive to or fly to!

We do have families who are sacrificing and it is clear there will be no to little college scholarship money for their kid (based on the odds and their talent level). So, it is not a rational expense. It's something you spend money on because you love it/ can afford it.

You paid $200 for a soccer ball? Or does that mean you paid $50 for 4 balls? Either way is a bit nuts. One $25 dollar ball is OK for the year.

[Anonymous]

This poster is off the rails and no way representative of "normal" costs. Their inability to know what's necessary is clear and they just pay whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer u12 19k for the year.
The math is shocking, it adds up. And we have college paid for already.
3k club fee, 1k team fee, 1k hotels and gas, 7k summer sleep away camps/ destination expenses, 3k private and skill group training, 1k mentor, 1k physical therapy, 2k equipment.

how do you have $2k in equipment per year!? what is a "team fee" ? what is the $1k mentor, is this not private training? $19k for U12 with traveling and extra private training seems close-ish, but some of the fees you mention are weird.

We are well off; but it's shocking if you add it all up. I'm also an accountant, so it's easy to keep track of and I think most families underestimate what they spend in an entire year. -It's never just the Club Fee.
-2k in equipment, 7 pairs of cleats (due to growing feet) -futsal $100, -indoor turf 2x $200, - outdoor x4 ~$600 -soccer balls x4 $200, uniform items $500, practice/ soccer clothes $200, rebounder & soccer stuff $200.
-1k team fees to cover tournaments, winter training, indoor training, dinners, fundraisers
-1k mentor (programs like Athlete to Athlete...and video review are not free)

OP asked to discuss the cost of competitive sports. This is for the 1st team and some families do even more with trips to Europe in the Spring and training in Florida, or adding the full ODP track for example. Some families certainly can't do all the extras, but the team fees and the club fees, equipment and travel add up to close to 10k for everyone on the team.

If you are invited to play on a top team, be sure to ask what out of state tournaments you are going to so you know you can budget in and extra $1k to 2k per weekend depending if its something you drive to or fly to!

We do have families who are sacrificing and it is clear there will be no to little college scholarship money for their kid (based on the odds and their talent level). So, it is not a rational expense. It's something you spend money on because you love it/ can afford it.

You paid $200 for a soccer ball? Or does that mean you paid $50 for 4 balls? Either way is a bit nuts. One $25 dollar ball is OK for the year.

With all the practices, loss and theft occurs with all the kids. Couple $60 balls and Couple $40 balls. Good for practice at home. Cheaper price point, usually just means it will fall apart/ deflate with heavy use, it is out of round in flight, and it is bad for heading. Anyway, yes there are corners to be cut and costs can be saved everywhere.

Soccer is a simple sport, made complex by capitalists! Got your World Cup tickets for the whole family yet? -J/k!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer u12 19k for the year.
The math is shocking, it adds up. And we have college paid for already.
3k club fee, 1k team fee, 1k hotels and gas, 7k summer sleep away camps/ destination expenses, 3k private and skill group training, 1k mentor, 1k physical therapy, 2k equipment.

how do you have $2k in equipment per year!? what is a "team fee" ? what is the $1k mentor, is this not private training? $19k for U12 with traveling and extra private training seems close-ish, but some of the fees you mention are weird.

We are well off; but it's shocking if you add it all up. I'm also an accountant, so it's easy to keep track of and I think most families underestimate what they spend in an entire year. -It's never just the Club Fee.
-2k in equipment, 7 pairs of cleats (due to growing feet) -futsal $100, -indoor turf 2x $200, - outdoor x4 ~$600 -soccer balls x4 $200, uniform items $500, practice/ soccer clothes $200, rebounder & soccer stuff $200.
-1k team fees to cover tournaments, winter training, indoor training, dinners, fundraisers
-1k mentor (programs like Athlete to Athlete...and video review are not free)

OP asked to discuss the cost of competitive sports. This is for the 1st team and some families do even more with trips to Europe in the Spring and training in Florida, or adding the full ODP track for example. Some families certainly can't do all the extras, but the team fees and the club fees, equipment and travel add up to close to 10k for everyone on the team.

If you are invited to play on a top team, be sure to ask what out of state tournaments you are going to so you know you can budget in and extra $1k to 2k per weekend depending if its something you drive to or fly to!

We do have families who are sacrificing and it is clear there will be no to little college scholarship money for their kid (based on the odds and their talent level). So, it is not a rational expense. It's something you spend money on because you love it/ can afford it.

You paid $200 for a soccer ball? Or does that mean you paid $50 for 4 balls? Either way is a bit nuts. One $25 dollar ball is OK for the year.

With all the practices, loss and theft occurs with all the kids. Couple $60 balls and Couple $40 balls. Good for practice at home. Cheaper price point, usually just means it will fall apart/ deflate with heavy use, it is out of round in flight, and it is bad for heading. Anyway, yes there are corners to be cut and costs can be saved everywhere.

Soccer is a simple sport, made complex by capitalists! Got your World Cup tickets for the whole family yet? -J/k!

Yes we did boo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing that I've recently asked myself: what if we had invested all the money we spent on travel sports into a UTMA for our kid? The total amount would likely exceed $200k with market growth, and it would continue to grow. That would be enough to fund a house down payment someday. Was it worth it?

Fortunately, we didn't play travel sports at the expense of saving for college, but there were tradeoffs.

Did your kid have FUN? More fun than watching their college savings grow?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have one in volleyball and one in soccer. Volleyball club fee is $4,000 plus travel expenses. They have three tournaments this year that require flights + hotel, so about $1,500 for each of those. Another few tournaments that are hotel only, so about $1,000 there. Other kid is in travel soccer, but the club isn’t outrageous with the travel demands or cost. It’s just $2,300 for the year.

Do you live in MD? We are in VA and the clubs are so expensive. We paid around 7k for the club last year. With camps and privates that cost is several thousand more per year. Well over 10k. I never added it. Then the travel for tournaments, which included overpriced hotels and some flights.

Thankfully she decided to drop club this year and we said we would put all that towards a car. Her main motivation was the time commitment was becoming too much in HS. But we are thrilled to not be spending this much on a sport.

Yes, we’re in MD. Yikes, $7,000 is a lot for the club fee. I’ll bet the gym rental fee where you are in VA is a lot higher.

[Anonymous]

For soccer, the cost varied by club. His last team was about 3k before adding uniforms, travel expenses, cleats and gloves (GK). As a GK, we spent money for private training on top of club training. Depending on year we probably spent $5-$7k.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Soccer u12 19k for the year.
The math is shocking, it adds up. And we have college paid for already.
3k club fee, 1k team fee, 1k hotels and gas, 7k summer sleep away camps/ destination expenses, 3k private and skill group training, 1k mentor, 1k physical therapy, 2k equipment.

how do you have $2k in equipment per year!? what is a "team fee" ? what is the $1k mentor, is this not private training? $19k for U12 with traveling and extra private training seems close-ish, but some of the fees you mention are weird.

We are well off; but it's shocking if you add it all up. I'm also an accountant, so it's easy to keep track of and I think most families underestimate what they spend in an entire year. -It's never just the Club Fee.
-2k in equipment, 7 pairs of cleats (due to growing feet) -futsal $100, -indoor turf 2x $200, - outdoor x4 ~$600 -soccer balls x4 $200, uniform items $500, practice/ soccer clothes $200, rebounder & soccer stuff $200.
-1k team fees to cover tournaments, winter training, indoor training, dinners, fundraisers
-1k mentor (programs like Athlete to Athlete...and video review are not free)

OP asked to discuss the cost of competitive sports. This is for the 1st team and some families do even more with trips to Europe in the Spring and training in Florida, or adding the full ODP track for example. Some families certainly can't do all the extras, but the team fees and the club fees, equipment and travel add up to close to 10k for everyone on the team.

If you are invited to play on a top team, be sure to ask what out of state tournaments you are going to so you know you can budget in and extra $1k to 2k per weekend depending if its something you drive to or fly to!

We do have families who are sacrificing and it is clear there will be no to little college scholarship money for their kid (based on the odds and their talent level). So, it is not a rational expense. It's something you spend money on because you love it/ can afford it.

You paid $200 for a soccer ball? Or does that mean you paid $50 for 4 balls? Either way is a bit nuts. One $25 dollar ball is OK for the year.

With all the practices, loss and theft occurs with all the kids. Couple $60 balls and Couple $40 balls. Good for practice at home. Cheaper price point, usually just means it will fall apart/ deflate with heavy use, it is out of round in flight, and it is bad for heading. Anyway, yes there are corners to be cut and costs can be saved everywhere.

Soccer is a simple sport, made complex by capitalists! Got your World Cup tickets for the whole family yet? -J/k!

I don’t know why you need such a pricey ball. My senior who will play in college was always happy with a $25-$30 ball. Accounting for crazy inflation, I can see maybe spending $40 in 2026. His soccer balls have all lasted years except for the one time I splurged on a Messi ball in 3rd grade and it disappeared from the field. He also bought himself some cheap soccer balls on Amazon in bulk so he doesn’t have to waste a lot of time retrieving balls when training solo. They came out to less than $20 a ball. They might not be fancy but they get the job done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:One thing that I've recently asked myself: what if we had invested all the money we spent on travel sports into a UTMA for our kid? The total amount would likely exceed $200k with market growth, and it would continue to grow. That would be enough to fund a house down payment someday. Was it worth it?

Fortunately, we didn't play travel sports at the expense of saving for college, but there were tradeoffs.

Did your kid have FUN? More fun than watching their college savings grow?

-Jokes on you, I already posted above college is paid for. -However, it is an important consideration for anyone in competitive anything for their kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a friend with a kid in formula racing. They are spending over $1 mil a year, perhaps closer to $1.5. This is appalling to me, but also gratifying so that I don’t feel so bad about $15-20k a year for two sectionals/futures level swimmers.

Well, thank goodness my kid never wanted to get into racing

Where are they getting this money from? I find that appalling.

They have many many millions of dollars. And they work for their “family office”, which I have discovered is what a lot of trust fund kids say when they are asked what line of work they are in.