equipment cost

[Sparky Guy]

This year 15 year old DD plays 18 Gold and will cost - well you really don't want to know...

I'll take a stab at it. If your daughter is playing Gold for a team who is really chasing a national bid you'll easily spend $2700 just for her. That doesn't include and travel costs for you if you attend all the out of town tournaments, spending money for her if you don't go, lessons, gym time, cage time or any of a dozen other different possible expenses. If you add them all up you can easily spend $5,000 for a single season of Gold with no guarantee on your investment return.

Heck it was $1100 for the 12U team I coached last year with 2 fundraisers and not planning on attending a national tournament.

 

[SoftSocDad]

I guess my point is: If cost is a big part of your decision and $200 is too much, you may want to reconsider softball (or any sport at a competitive level).

It's such a shame that softball has turned into a rich girl's sport.

Quoted for truth.

 

[Cannonball]

DD is now 17:

Glove - Nokona 12 inch - $200
Glove - Nokona 13 inch outfield glove - $200
Glove - Rawlings 1st Baseman's Mitt - $90
Catchers Mitt - Worth - $75
Bat Stealth - $270
Bath Composite Wood for practice - $52
Cleats Ringor - Pro Toe Outside = $90
Cleats Ringor - Pro Toe Inside - $75
Batting gloves - Palmguard Padded - $35
Bag? Underarmor Backpack - $22


This year we will have to replace the 12" Nokona Glove, Palmguard Batting Gloves, and we are getting Ringor steal cleats for our daughter. We are also going to have to invest in some of the new UnderArmor cold weather gear.

 

[Lozza]

SoftSocDad I read that quote you posted and it made me want to cry. I live in a different country, but we do everything to get the better players decent equipment so they can play at rep level. As broke as I am I will always pull my wallet out for the state girls when they are fundraising. The idea that someone has to spend upwards of $1000 PER YEAR on equipment just to replace it is so incredibly wasteful it's beyond disgusting.

For those who do replace their daughter's gear every year, what do you do with the old stuff?

 

[Bishop]

SoftSocDad I read that quote you posted and it made me want to cry. I live in a different country, but we do everything to get the better players decent equipment so they can play at rep level. As broke as I am I will always pull my wallet out for the state girls when they are fundraising. The idea that someone has to spend upwards of $1000 PER YEAR on equipment just to replace it is so incredibly wasteful it's beyond disgusting.

For those who do replace their daughter's gear every year, what do you do with the old stuff?

Softball is only a rich kid sport if you are rich...or need an excuse for something else.

Annual Fees: $450
Glove: Easton A400 $40 clearance 2 years ago
Bat: DeMarni Voodoo pitch black (blemish) $150 2 years ago
Batting Gloves: bought pair on sale last year for $10 each Still have 2 pair in reserve
Practice Bat: Easton Typhoon $20 wally world clearance
Cleats: Mizuno clearance last fall $25 Currently held together with duct tape.
Bag: Ringor - the big wheeled one, I think it was about $50.

Christmas this year is Akadema glove, $35; 3N2 cleats, $45 on sale and a Nanotek bat for $300 cause she's got me wrapped around her finger.

All said and done I've doubled those costs on DVD's, books, training software and coaching clinics because I'm a selfish sumgun.

All the stuff she's outgrown or no longer uses and is still serviceable has been passed down to younger players who needed the gear.

 

[Lozza]

Even then, $450 is a LOT of money for many, many people. I've seen people on this board who claim that to compete you NEED to spend the money otherwise your daughter is disadvantaged. As someone who did the amount of training (every night for four years and I would play two games on Saturdays and generally all day Sunday) and playing that seems common here, I never replaced my gear. It was too precious to me to change over. I know when my kit bag got stolen it cost me $1500 to replace it all (thank God for insurance) and that had been built up over 14 years.

 

[Bishop]

Agreed $450 is a lot of money. Those who don't want to drop that kind of money have the option of putting a little effort into our organizations fund raiser to offset the out of pocket expense. I paid about $100 of that this year. There were multiple families, some with multiple kids in the program that covered it all with the fund raiser. The reality of it is you can spend as much or as little as you want and get results all across the board. Spending more doesn't nessicarily mean you are getting more or better. Where there is a will, there is always a way. For some the way is to write a check, thier money, thier choice. For others it's a whole lot a hustle. $450 covers the team fees of 8 hosted double headers and 7 tournaments and a national if we qualify. Association fees, league fees, insurance and gameballs come out of that as well. I can't see a team getting a season in for much less.

Maybe I misread your commentary on this whole thing, but I get the impression you disapprove of the amounts of money some folks spend on softball over here. Why is that?

As to NEED to spend the money to be competitive, everyone has thier own opinion. My opinion on the matter is you need good coaching to be competitive. Period, end of story. $300 bats don't fix $1 swings. $200 gloves don't fix broken mechanics. Good coaches do. I don't know how it works over there, but most coaches over here are volunteers so the cost of the annual fees in most cases don't reflect the cost of quality coaching. Costs are usually driven by location and seems to move right along with the cost of living of the area of the teams. My area cost of living is low. Sparky Guy is up in the Chicago area, low cost of living is not a defining feature of that area of the state. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the bulk of the difference in the cost between our 2 12u teams was the amount of money the team spends on practice facilities and field usage. Then again they might play a lot more games per year than us and may cover more related costs than we do.

You might want to remember who the primary participants on this forum are. Coaches looking to learn more and psycho parents looking for information to help thier players improve. The posters here are not representive of the majority of players in the US. When my daughter played rec ball it cost $40 to sign up and her $20 bat was the envy of the team. That's closer to the reality of most players in my area than even the numbers I put up.

 

[PAcoach]

I will never get back the money i have spent on equipment or travel. Having said that, this isn't about money.....Its about the Journey!

I also agree with Lozza. Why is everyone getting new gloves every 2 years? I mean i understand if you bought a 8yo a mitt you will have to replce it as she grows. Doesn't anyone do glove maintanence any more? Or any gear maintanence for that matter? Its just like watching kids walk around in their cleats. PO'S me off.

 

[lefty16]

I was wondering why it is neccesary to replace gear every 12 months? Surely if you're paying upwards of $200 for gloves etc. they would last longer than that? My gloves (i have 3) cost $90 (infield) $75 (1st) and $65 (outfield) respectively, and I have had each for well over five years, using them all year round and only the infield glove is showing any signs of age. I paid $90 for my shoes 12months ago and they are fine apart from a little dirt (granted i dont pitch). I'm wondering how parents can justify spending $300 for a bat evey 12 months, when there is little wrong with the previous one...

 

[Coach-n-Dad]

I'll take a stab at it. If your daughter is playing Gold for a team who is really chasing a national bid you'll easily spend $2700 just for her. That doesn't include and travel costs for you if you attend all the out of town tournaments, spending money for her if you don't go, lessons, gym time, cage time or any of a dozen other different possible expenses. If you add them all up you can easily spend $5,000 for a single season of Gold with no guarantee on your investment return.

Heck it was $1100 for the 12U team I coached last year with 2 fundraisers and not planning on attending a national tournament.

Sparky, you're pretty close but I think on the low end. We are in Northern CA and the team will be chasing a national title. Only 2 local tournaments, 1 week in Colorado and the rest in Southern CA (1 for a week). No travel expenses are paid. Uniform, helmet and bag are included, all other equipment is paid for by us as well as all training expenses. There is no guarantee on investment return.

Someone said that softball is a rich girls sport. It doesn't need to be! Our girls play at all different levels, from little league/rec. ball all the way up to Gold. The cost per season is anywhere between $200 per season up to $10,000 per season.

I am not complaining. DD wants to play softball in college and I am prepared to do what it takes to give her the best opportunity to do that. If it doesn't happen, that's OK. It's a heck of a lot of fun for DD and for me.