Thread: Too much money involved, will ruin the sport in the long run.

Originally Posted by Phathead

In our town there are 3 TB teams playing 12u. The three teams consist of roughly 80% that play in local rec and 20% from neighboring commuinties that also play rec in their respective area. Not sure about the third team but two of the teams parents buy uniforms and split tourny cost among players. My team I pick up insurance and saction fees. No extras like warm ups, multi uniforms, matching bags etc. By the way none of us are elite or gold just teams trying to get DD's extra playing time with hopes of making HS team. Travel stays within 90 mins or less no more than twice month for three to four months. We may go two-three hrs once a season just for something different but we make sure everyone can make it financilly or we chip in to help them out or just stay local. Works for us.

Come and do that where I live please .

I guess we are lucky. We swapped organizations this year but both we have been with have been reasonable. The first year my DD played rec as well and travel was cheaper due to fundraisers and donations. We spent about $200 total out side of traveling to two out of town tourneys and a week at the world series. Our new organization offers a whole lot more but we will get away with about $600 plus travel cost for 2 out of town tourneys and the world series in PCB. The largest cost was our jerseys which were very high but very nice. Each girl from the 95's to the 03's wear identical uniforms which I think stands out.

You can save a ton by hitting Ebay for bat deals and loading up the cooler for tourneys. Last year we had just gotten tired of burgers and hard chicken fingers from the parks so we packed lunch for a tourney. We then realized we saved a ton of money and started doing it every weedend. It adds up after the 10th tourney or so.If you figure $20-$30 per day for a family of four thats $200 or $300 over a season.

I have a close friend who's son plays travel Hockey and I live in
Florida. I thank the good lord every day that I have daughters whose love
is softball

Originally Posted by Coach JV

I have a close friend who's son plays travel Hockey and I live in
Florida. I thank the good lord every day that I have daughters whose love
is softball

Yeah I only spent a couple of minutes looking into hockey for my oldest son, I saw the price and went no further. He now plays basketball...which is SO much cheaper than softball. Child #3 might get to start playing sports in a year, will have to check age requirements since he's only 3 right now, and he likes "chaseball" (baseball) & "smackitaball" (basketball).

Originally Posted by BrianMonk

Edit -Oh, oh, I forgot the best one of all - a certified (or is it qualified ??) coach has to put your skater on the ice. They have to be there near or by the door everytime they go on the ice at a competition. It's a requirement....so naturally the coach gets paid for this service.

Can you imagine a softball coach standing at the fence making sure he/she has been paid prior to letting your kid on the field so she can go strikeout?

Softball parents have it made.

Thank you for reminding me that hitting lessons are not that bad.

In softball you may drive several hours to a tournament but then watch DD play several more hours of ball. In figure skating you drive several hours to a meet and watch DD skate for 90 to 240 seconds. Top-of-the-line bats are WAY cheaper than premium blades (boots not included.) Team Coach/Batting-Pitching Coach/Uniforms may correlate to Skating Coach/Choreographer/Costumes. Dust vs. Mildew is left to your personal preference.

It's true. We're spending a lot of money now.

But I remember back when she started with t-ball. We bought her a cheap bat, a package of t-balls and a glove and oh, yes, one of those hit-a-way balls on cables. We put the hit-a-way on one of the deck posts and I played catch with her in the yard. It didn't take much money at all to make her a good young rec player. You can spend a fortune, but the barriers to entry in softball are low.

I used to spend thousands of dollars every year fishing and hunting.

Now I spend it on softball.

When DD is done, I will likely go back to spending it on fishing and hunting.

I know many people who complain about the cost of things....and smoke a pack a day, or chew a can a day. For the most part, it's about priorities in life....I'd rather spend $2000 a year on softball than the same amount on cigs or chew, but that's just me.

I know others that complain about the cost of things....and drive a big-tired stomper truck back and forth to work at 8-10 mpg. Again, priorities; looking cool in the big rig or driving a commuter rig and spending that saved money on something else.

There are ABSOLUTELY people who are scraping by don't fit into the categories above, but I will say they are in the minority.

my .02

Originally Posted by TheRogue

I used to spend thousands of dollars every year fishing and hunting.

Now I spend it on softball.

When DD is done, I will likely go back to spending it on fishing and hunting.

I know many people who complain about the cost of things....and smoke a pack a day, or chew a can a day. For the most part, it's about priorities in life....I'd rather spend $2000 a year on softball than the same amount on cigs or chew, but that's just me.

I know others that complain about the cost of things....and drive a big-tired stomper truck back and forth to work at 8-10 mpg. Again, priorities; looking cool in the big rig or driving a commuter rig and spending that saved money on something else.

There are ABSOLUTELY people who are scraping by don't fit into the categories above, but I will say they are in the minority.

my .02

I got rid of my Harley so I could make sure my DD could play travel, take lesson, and not make it difficult on the rest of my family. I can always get another one when she is done...wait, my younger daughter will be playing by then.

My car is paid for, 186,000 miles on it. I take the train into town instead of driving to work to make it all happen.

Dead on about priorities, sir.