Another Sobering Article about Youth Sports

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Apr 28, 2014
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Wait... you mean people pay thousands of dollars for lessons for pitching, hitting and fielding and there not just doing that for fun? ;)
 
Aug 12, 2014
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“We’re trying to get college scholarships — that’s the only reason we are here,” Wyatt said. “The whole goal to get these girls in a school and some of it paid for.”

If you took all that money you paid for sports and put it in a 529, you'd have much more money to pay for college than the kid will likely get from a scholarship, if she even gets one.
 
Apr 28, 2014
2,316
113
“We’re trying to get college scholarships — that’s the only reason we are here,” Wyatt said. “The whole goal to get these girls in a school and some of it paid for.”

If you took all that money you paid for sports and put it in a 529, you'd have much more money to pay for college than the kid will likely get from a scholarship, if she even gets one.

That's cause in reality that's not what he means. What he means is: I love this, my kid loves this and my family enjoys it. But our friends and other family members don't understand so we will tie it directly to a scholarship so people don't think were more crazy then they already assume we are.
 
Jan 22, 2011
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Someone explained that to me before my daughter started t-ball that softball is a partial scholarship sport, that softball is a fun, but expensive hobby, and if you are banking on a scholarship, you are better off putting those team fees, lesson fees, and weekends spent in a hotel in a 529. If you can afford it and your daughter wants to do it, go for it, as its a great hobby to keep them fit, make some life-long friends, and keeps them out of trouble.

That is why she kept playing rec through 2nd year 12u. She does go to 26-30 pitching lessons a year and 12-15 hitting lessons a year, but I try to keep it reasonable. She isn't playing for one of the high end local teams as a 13 year old. Her team isn't planning on traveling more than 90 minutes away for the fall.
 
Feb 3, 2016
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I don't think about scholarships. I think about giving my daughter the best chance to succeed. The rest is up to her.

Sent from my SM-G935P using Tapatalk
 
Mar 6, 2018
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I spend a lot of money on it but not like most people. I push my daughter on the idea of possibly playing college ball even at a young age. But I'm not forcing it down her throught. I she has said she wishes to play college ball and I'm trying to play off that some for motivation. Just friendly reminders sometimes that if you ever wanna play HS or College you need to work hard. Travel is def fun for her and we are trying our best to keep it that way. She loves making friends out on the field.
 
Jul 1, 2010
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Mom and I didn't do it for the scholarship, but DD did. She decided at 8 that she wanted to play college ball and pursued that dream to it's realization this fall.

She received a very good scholarship to a mid-major, but I probably still won't break even with all the $$ we've spent on lessons, uniforms, team dues, hotels, restaurants, car mileage, airplane tickets, etc. That said, it was well worth it. I've seen an extremely introverted and shy child grow into a strong, mature young lady that is ready to take on the world. Looking forward to the next few years of watching her live her dream.
 

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