I'm curious as to what other high schools are charging for fees and also the minimum fundraising amount? My youngest has now decided to play (great news!) and I a little surprised she's expected to get $700 in cash donations after paying $235 (fees + uniform pieces) and $50 (concessions fee). The donations are cash only, btw, no product being sold.
Curious about HS Softball fees & fundraising costs?
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Wow! Our HS would not have a team if they had to raise that kind of money on their own not to mention the uniform/fees which would keep many from playing. That is more than most travel ball team fees. What is the money supposed to pay for? The school district should be footing most of the fees in my opinion.
I am the President of the Booster Club, and we have a pretty nice size pool of money to be used for various needs of the sports programs and we give more than $10,000/yr in Senior College Scholarships. Most of the sports programs do not come to us for $$$. We are able to pay for tournaments, camps, coaches gear, coaching seminars, specialized swim suits, etc.
We have a very similar fund raising goal each year, $600 per player. This does not include UIL dues and all of the other stuff. We sell ad space for our program, which is free to both home and visitors. We use the funds to upgrade equipment and pay for food/travel for the girls and other items. Each year we are tasked with raising $20,000 for the program. I will say it is a pain to go out each year and ask for donations. But, it helps offset the cost. School district and school seem to wash their hands for the most part and leave it up to the boosters. I will admit it is a bit of a a challenge when you have 22-24 young ladies playing to keep up with new equipment and repair to the field. The district does help with some stuff, but if you compare the other sports and the size of their boosted’s we are behind. Between the baseball and softball field, no comparison. Baseball has a bricked in yard, turf field, locker rooms with showers. Our girls have a metal shed with a door cut into the side. We are in a very large district in Texas and fall under 6A.
Here is an example of what a large 6A school district is doing to upgrade their softball fields with turf playing surface and updated facilities. DD2 played at one of those fields last week and it was beautiful compared to what it used to look like. They also have the deepest fences across the area. 210'-220'
https://www.cfisd.net/en/news-media...ools-receive-first-wave-synthetic-turf-fields
https://www.cfisd.net/en/news-media...ools-receive-first-wave-synthetic-turf-fields
Wow, this thread really threw me for a loop, I never knew people had to pay to play high school sports, all sports are free here. Yes, we have fund raisers for team, but it certainly isn't 20 grand!.....Then again, your heads would spin if I told you what I pay for school taxes.....
Wow, those fields look fantastic! We are in Plano, BB fields look like that. We are still the old cinder block and metal fences. Plus parents pitched in paint job.
$600 here (check or help fundraise) in So Cal + parents need to try and get 3 sponsors from local businesses for $350-500 for banners on the outfield fence.
As a long time coach in So Cal and now a parent of a player, I know these fees are not "mandatory" because you cannot require them to participate in public school sports. So, if someone has a financial hardship or comes up short, the kid can still play.
BUT, the pressure to follow along and "donate" the same as others is there for sure.
Calif has done away with transportation fees and all past required sports fees...but the HS programs word the donations and such to get around that, but it's pretty much "required".
As a long time coach in So Cal and now a parent of a player, I know these fees are not "mandatory" because you cannot require them to participate in public school sports. So, if someone has a financial hardship or comes up short, the kid can still play.
BUT, the pressure to follow along and "donate" the same as others is there for sure.
Calif has done away with transportation fees and all past required sports fees...but the HS programs word the donations and such to get around that, but it's pretty much "required".
All we "charge" is $60 in fundraising, either candy sales or team t-shirt sales. Those who sell more are rewarded for doing so. We may, as a school, institute a small activity fee ($50 or so) starting next year. That's not so much for fundraising as much as it is meant to cover us against uniform loss/damage and to get parents to invest something so there's a little more dedication and accountability.
Hundreds of dollars is absurd.
Hundreds of dollars is absurd.
Cannonball
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For where I coach, you pay $85 activity fee. We have one booster club for all sports. So, you are expected to help the booster club raise money but there isn't a set amount. Also, our team puts on a tournament. All parents and players are expected to donate something to the event from a drawing. It ranges from some type of meat to a case or two of some drink. Really, it is pretty reasonable. From that, a paid volunteer assistant is paid. This year, it is me. LOL I won't make much. Maybe a couple of hundred dollars at the most. As most of you know, I retired in 2019.
