equipment cost

[Topdog@3rd]

Yep, All comp and beauty. I did make a type-o. 1100 this mo. out fits, class fee's and comp fee's dew. Wife corrected me. dance class and mod. classes each mo. are 496.00 sept threw april. June is nationals and the fees I'm not sure of yet and hope I don't get stuck with that one, and I don't want to know, plus the comp is in the Bahamma's this year (quite the life, wish I was living it). Side note: the only reason I found out was wife was out of town and the fee's for this mo had to be paid by this past Fri. This is the first glimps of what she spends as of late, in at least 4 years. I told her along time ago, I don't want to know. needless to say there was quite a fight that broke out. Sorry for the type-o. Now I will never hear another word about what I spend on my other two dd's. softball, I better not anyway. LOL, LOL

 

[crystlemc]

There is another thread about what other sports does your DD play, a bunch said dance.

$1100 a month? What type of dancing is your DD doing? My DD’s big performance is tomorrow night, she worked hard at it and will be great. 

The father of one of our players shared with me how much he paid last year for his other dd to dance. He added it up to the tune of a little over $18,000 last year. I'm glad my girls don't dance!!

 

[99&beyond]

we got out of the pageant world when DD was 3 and the dance world when she was 5 or 6. Maybe that was a good thing. At least she wears her $100 uniform over and over and over again.

 

[Topdog@3rd]

The father of one of our players shared with me how much he paid last year for his other dd to dance. He added it up to the tune of a little over $18,000 last year. I'm glad my girls don't dance!!

See, And you all thought I was nuttttsss. This guy is in way more than I. I don't feel so sick anymore. =o)

 

[SoCalDad]

This past year I spent about $12,000 on DD and her Travel Team:

Travel Team Dues: $1,800 ($150/month)
Hotel/Airfare/Rental Cars: $6,500 (6 tournaments with overnight stays)
Uniform/Bat Bag/Warm Up Gear: $750
(2) 2010 RocketTech 34": $500
(4) Batting Gloves: $100 (each pair lasts about 3 months)
(3) Ringor Pro-tec: $350 (each pair lasts about 4 months)
Misc Expenses: $1,000
Equipment I bought for my DD that ended up being used by the entire team: $1,000

 

[Amy in AZ.]

That is pretty much what I hear from people, SoCalDad. Of course, it all depends on team fees and the amount of travel expected. If you are paying for a team coach and private lessons, it can be even higher.

I signed up for a competitive slow pitch team without asking how much it would cost, last year. We were flying to tournaments and, of course, the gear cost as much as a girls. I decided not to spend my money that way, a second year. I never knew how the other women afforded it.

 

[InsidePitch]

Its just like watching kids walk around in their cleats. PO'S me off.

I'm with you on this one. DD does not wear cleats to or from the field. She does not wear her BB shoes outside of the court. These shoes take enough of a beating on the field or floor and she has plenty of bum around sneakers or crocs to wear before and after.

 

[Lozza]

My people! I was always taught cleats are for game time and once game time is over your cleats are off. People think I'm INSANE for that over here. (except my coaches, who are baseballers) Once we've done our cheers, shook hands, my shoes and socks are straight on and my thongs are on. I had to drive in them once and I was convinced that my mother (on the other side of the country) would know and she'd start yelling at me!

 

[BrianMonk]

This past year I spent about $12,000 on DD and her Travel Team:

Travel Team Dues: $1,800 ($150/month)
Hotel/Airfare/Rental Cars: $6,500 (6 tournaments with overnight stays)
Uniform/Bat Bag/Warm Up Gear: $750
(2) 2010 RocketTech 34": $500
(4) Batting Gloves: $100 (each pair lasts about 3 months)
(3) Ringor Pro-tec: $350 (each pair lasts about 4 months)
Misc Expenses: $1,000
Equipment I bought for my DD that ended up being used by the entire team: $1,000

The flying part is what would get to me. I don't have a problem spending good money on equipment, fees, etc... but I would have to put some serious thought into having to fly to tournaments. At least younger than 16U. I do have a lot of driving and gas money having to travel an hour each way to practice. This year we'll also be attending the HOF tournament in OKC (from Illinois) so that will be an added cost but it's driveable. Flying is getting much more expensive than it used to be.

I also have another daughter just starting ice skating on a jr. syncro team and it will easily outcost softball. We haven't hit the big dollars yet but that's coming. Just to practice you need ice. That's costly and a lot different than practicing for softball. You can do some softball stuff in the back yard if needed or find a local diamond, that's not very feasible with ice skating. Also all routines have to be choreographed and how many dads (or moms) can put that together? So everyone has to have a private coach that is a trainer/choreographer (or one of each) - that's not cheap. None of this is for a college scholarship either (do they even have those for ice skating ???)

It's all just part of being a parent these days

Some groups are as good as Disney at separating your money from your wallet.

 

[playball4]

I have found this thread insightful; and agree with most posters that at some point the value or investment is more than just dd getting a softball scholarship. Because her dad is a baseball/football coach, he hasn't had the opportunity to travel with dd to all the out of state tourneys, which means he misses alot of her play in the summer. I am the lucky one that gets to be the chauffeur, travel agent, concierge, pyschologist, and #1 fan - and wouldn't trade it for anything! I have been able to see her grow, deal with victories, deal with defeats, and learn how to navigate what life throws at her, which I consider a real blessing. Yes she plays Gold now, and the yearly costs are steep ($1800 team fee, $6000 in travel costs, etc), but it has increasingly become worth it to me and her dad.

On the equipment side, we only replace what needs replacing. Haven't had to buy new catcher's or fielders mitts for a couple of years now, and catcher's gear all over 3 years old. However, we are forced to buy her a new bat seemingly every year because they seem to develop cracks or some defect that the umpires notice and declare her bat unusable. She uses one of her previously declared useless bats for hitting dimple balls, and saves the new one for games only. And we typically get her quality stuff ($300 Easton), so we are trying out a different brand to see if we get better longevity (Louiville Slugger). Anyone else have this happen?