Money spent

In my area of New York sports are covered in the school budget so there is no cost to play. If they go out of town for a tournament(rarely) they might have to pay out of pocket.

I'm not a coach, but I can tell you what happens here in our school district in western pa.    Each athlete in the school is charged $125 participation fee- max charge is $250 per family.  So any kids over 2 in the same family are "free".  School provides uniforms, booster club raises money for the practice gear.   Kids provide own shoes, gloves, bats and any other "personal gear".   We do a spring trip, south (Florida or Myrtle Beach) in March,  each family pays for their kid to go, and this cost is subsidized by the booster club (how much depends on how successful they are in fundraising that year).

In Chicagoland area.  Our school district charges $100 (it may have gone up to $120) athletic fee to participate in baseball.  Every sport is charged a fee based on their "tier" they fall into.  Baseball falls into the highest tier of three tiers. Im guessing the tiers have to do with cost of insurance, transportation, field maintenance, etc. 

The HC of our program is not a big fan of fundraising.  The Frosh and Soph teams do not fundraising (see below).  The V and JV teams work with a local caterer to sell an at home dinner package.  Players are expected to sell 2 meals.  For every 2 meals sold the caterer will donate one meal to a local needy family and the profits from 1 of 2 the meal sale goes to the team.  Sound complicated when you type it out but its actually pretty simple, families get a night off from cooking, needy families get a free meal and the teams raises money.  The players deliver the meals around town on a specific day.  

In order to help keep costs down everyone in the program is asked to purchase their own pants (white only, a list of suggested pants is provided) and their helmet.  The hemet is purchased through the team, the pants at local suppliers.  Our booster club maintains a fund for those students in need and will purchase any required item (helmet, pants, shoes, gloves, bats, etc) for those who ask, no questions asked. 

Finally the V and JV teams take a trip to the southern part of the state over spring break.  The school provides the transportation down for the team.  The team stays together in a hotel.  The parents are expected to pay for their child's portion of the hotel (2 to a room).  Again, if you can not pay the athletic boosters will pay.

BTW, forgot to add.  There is very little team provided equipment.  The team bag has a few older bats and helmets in it.  I would guess they have catchers gear in there as well as a catcher mitt and first base mitt, but Im not sure if anyone has every used that stuff.   We happen to live in a fairly upper-middle class area and most families are used to providing their own equipment.

Jealous - We just had the parent meeting after Tryouts at my son's HS in Georgia and it was $1250.  We also do one big fundraiser a year too.

During winter workouts in the program my son plays for in summer, I asked other parents cost to play HS and Atlanta Ga is all over the map from $500-$1500+ 

I've had 3 sons play high school baseball.  My two oldest went to a football focused high school (they've recently won 4 state championships in a row) and also had a Governor's engineering specialty center....which made an interesting dichotomy.   Let's be kind and say baseball is not at the top of the schools list,  nor does any football dollars flow into any sport other than football.  The school/county provided their capital equipment, field and operating expenses for transportation.  They would typically host a spring break tournament that raised some money that went directly toward the baseball program.  We paid about $200 per year for various optional uniforms and swag that we probably could have gotten away with $150 + glove + bat.   Contrast that with my youngest son who attended a different high school in our neighborhood that is a perennial power house in baseball every year....a very rich history with an exceptional coach.  They would fund raise aggressively across all sports and the community is very involved.  My youngest son paid about the same as my older sons ($200) BUT he got nicer equipment, uniforms, etc and a lot of support from the athletic dept.  The difference between the two programs was night and day and the reason (IMHO) was how the program decided it wanted to fund raise (every sport for itself or the whole school together) and the community involvement.  

So, to make a long story short it was about $200 for my sons for various baseball things that were mandatory and optional but what made the difference is how the school raises the funds for its programs (together or seperate) and what you get for your money.

In our area the schools call it an "Activity Fee" and it is for all extra curricular activities in the school $120 per season.  Then you provide your own BB pants and socks as defined by the team typically $40 for the 2 pair of pants and $15 for 2 pair of socks.  Players provide their own helmets $25 - $60 but can be used multiple years if it is in good shape.  So all totaled ~$200 to $225.  Anything in addition gloves, catchers equipment, bats, warm up gear sleeves are at the players / parents discretion.

Jealous too....our fee (suburb of SF) is $350 with no equipment provided. Players purchase two pairs of pants for about $125 and then families are "strongly encouraged" to make an additional donation of $500 to cover all the extra expenses involved. No travel included in any of this.

At our high school there is a $160 per sport participation fee. There is a family limit for the school year, but I know it's pretty high. I have to pay the $160 fee three times (once for my daughter and twice for my son). Kids on reduced lunch have a reduced participation fee and kids on free lunch don't pay at all.

Coach requires the purchase of some practice clothing (i.e. warm-up shirts, fleece pull over), hats (1-2), pants, and specific game socks. Some of this varies by level. Varsity kids have to purchase more than sub-var kids. I would say it adds about another $100. Kids are responsible for their own equipment, except there are team helmets. But, they are old and only fit really big heads. I don't think the team actually owns any bats. The team does own catcher's gear.

The participation fee is mainly used to pay for umpires and transportation. The coach barely gets enough money from the school district to pay for turfis (we live in a very wet area) and game balls. There is no money for field maintenance or upgrades. Any money for that has to be fundraised. Our money situation is so bad that we are no longer using our second baseball field because it is shared with soccer in the fall and javelin in the Spring, so it needs a lot of upkeep. They actually throw javelins straight into the pitching mound during warm up and practice. The Freshman team will have to play at the nearby middle school where the Little League teams play. Our maintenance staff is so short staffed that we only get our field mowed a couple times during the Spring. The program actually scraped together enough money to purchase two very old (circa 1970s) tractor mowers and the coaches are out there on weekends and evenings trying to get the field mowed. Being a high school coach in our area is not easy. There is no booster club to help fundraise or support the activities. All fundraising activities are on their own.

presont posted:

Jealous - We just had the parent meeting after Tryouts at my son's HS in Georgia and it was $1250.  We also do one big fundraiser a year too.

During winter workouts in the program my son plays for in summer, I asked other parents cost to play HS and Atlanta Ga is all over the map from $500-$1500+ 

Wow, that is an insane amount of money for high school, and we would not be able to have a team if that was the case here, small class A mid-west public school.  We're lucky that our school is the last in the area to have zero cost to the athletes to participate.  We do have two optional fundraisers, one offsets costs of the school season, and the other helps cover optional trip to Florida over spring break.  We also have a very active sports boosters that helps out with purchases such as replacing batting cage nets and any repairs or upgrades at the field.  Kids are provided with hats and pullovers that they get to keep but wear same old uniforms and pants that have been in the system for years, and a handful of bats and helmets are available; as well as some ancient catchers gear.  A few of the guys have their own bats, but the majority of them use school provided stuff.  Son also uses his own catchers gear, but that is a personal choice.  Coaches do a great job of working with the small budget provided (main costs are baseballs and busing).  Bus drops kids at away games but must find their own ride home, which between coaches and parents there are plenty of spots available.

Neighboring schools charge anywhere from $100-$300 per sport.  

total fees if you played summer fall and spring is about $1,000 at my sons HS plus we do fundraisers and it's a public school

Southern California program - $1000 last year, $750 this year - cost went down because the program now has 66 kids in it (frosh = 21, JV =21, Varsity = 24). Don't pay for uniforms, do pay for sleeves, workout gear, sweatshirt, etc. There are a few fundraisers that can offset the fees by about 40%. 

I guess it's important to also describe what the school pays for.

In our case, the school pays for NOTHING.  All field maintenance, dirt mix, baseballs, uniforms, mowing, fertilizer, bleachers, dugouts, team equipment, bus transportation, John Deere drag, gas for John Deere drag, mower, repairs to mower, gas for mower, etc., etc., must be paid by the team (parents).  Actually, the school does pay for the umpires and electricity for lights, and water for field, so not entirely fair to say "nothing", but they also keep the gate fee during the season (parents must pay $5 each to watch their kids play).

So, like most in metro Atlanta, our spring fee is $750 per player, but that covers all their costs for the spring season.  Each player is typically provided practice shirts and shorts, hats, helmet, jacket(s) and some years cleats/turfs that they keep at the end of the year.  They are provided home and away uniforms that they return (except for socks and belts) at the end of the season.  The team also purchases bats for the team to share if they don't want to use their own.  Typically a couple sets of catcher gear also purchased each year.

So, while it is expensive, it's necessary unless they want to play on a field that looks like the one on The Rookie after the deer are finished feeding on it.

Regardless of the cost I just became become jealous when I see baseball programs from states that allow them to work together for more than just 70 days per year...Maryland has some very specific (read that "strange") rules regarding sports seasons and participation in out of season activities.  

(3) School athletic teams may not participate in any games representing their school in pre-season play or in post-season play.

Out-of-Season Practice. (1) MPSSAA member schools and coaches of member schools shall confine practice for all students or teams to the seasonal limitations as defined in Regulation .03. (2) A coach may not coach a team representing the coach’s school beyond the sports season as defined in Regulation .03.

Summer Camps.

(1) Students may attend a summer sports camp of their choice. HOWEVER...

(2) MPSSAA member schools, member school coaches, school-related organizations, or individuals shall not sponsor or conduct a camp in which students who are returning players are involved or participate. A camp composed of several coaches with their respective teams is a violation of this regulation.

(3) Coaches of member MPSSAA member schools, while affiliated with a camp, shall not conduct any form of team or group practice involving their school. Such a practice is considered a violation of the out-of-season practice rule defined in .03A(1), (2), and (3).

(4) A MPSSAA member school shall not provide school uniforms or equipment for students who attend a camp outside of the defined sports season in .03.

MDBallDad posted:

Regardless of the cost I just became become jealous when I see baseball programs from states that allow them to work together for more than just 70 days per year...Maryland has some very specific (read that "strange") rules regarding sports seasons and participation in out of season activities.  

(3) School athletic teams may not participate in any games representing their school in pre-season play or in post-season play.

Out-of-Season Practice. (1) MPSSAA member schools and coaches of member schools shall confine practice for all students or teams to the seasonal limitations as defined in Regulation .03. (2) A coach may not coach a team representing the coach’s school beyond the sports season as defined in Regulation .03.

Summer Camps.

(1) Students may attend a summer sports camp of their choice. HOWEVER...

(2) MPSSAA member schools, member school coaches, school-related organizations, or individuals shall not sponsor or conduct a camp in which students who are returning players are involved or participate. A camp composed of several coaches with their respective teams is a violation of this regulation.

(3) Coaches of member MPSSAA member schools, while affiliated with a camp, shall not conduct any form of team or group practice involving their school. Such a practice is considered a violation of the out-of-season practice rule defined in .03A(1), (2), and (3).

(4) A MPSSAA member school shall not provide school uniforms or equipment for students who attend a camp outside of the defined sports season in .03.

Wow! Here are our practice restriction rules:

#1509.1 With the exception of the summer dead period, until the beginning of the first official starting date for fall sports, there shall be no restriction on high school coaches working with high school students registered and/or attending their respective high school or entering them in summer competition, provided approval is received from the school principal.

#1509.3 A summer dead period must be declared by the school principal for all sports.  The dates of the dead period must be forwarded to the Southern Section Commissioner.  The dead period must be the same for all levels and must be three (3) consecutive weeks between the end of school or the first Friday in June, whichever is first, and the last Monday in August.  No class could be offered which could circumvent the rule.  There are no exceptions to the summer dead period.

During the dead period, weight lifting ONLY would be permitted.  No running or other type of conditioning would be allowed.  Special nationally recognized programs in various sports that require a national or regional championship format, such as Bobby Sox Softball, American Legion or Mickey Mantle Baseball, etc., would be allowed to continue, until completion, during the dead period.

#1519.  SUNDAY RESTRICTION A school may not play a baseball game nor conduct a scrimmage or baseball practice of any type on Sunday during the season of sport

NTGson attends Virginia public high school with no cost to play baseball in regular season. At Varsity level players can opt to pay for optional team pullovers and undershirts. Booster Club pays for any players who cannot afford the cost.  School provides baseballs, bus transportation to and from all games, umpires, all utility bills for lights and water plus various miscellaneous expenses during season. Uniforms are replaced as deemed needed.  JV program is also no pay to play but relies on leftovers from Varsity for jerseys and players supply own pants. High quality baseball caps are supplied all team members by school.

Fall and Summer organized league play requires payment by participating players at $150 per season to cover jerseys, hats, balls, umpires ($25 of fee is Seasonal Family Booster Club membership fee). Transportation to and from games is not provided. Again Booster Club covers costs for players not able to pay, no questions asked.

Varsity and JV teams each have 6 batting helmets, 4-5 BBCOR bats, 1 set of well-worn catcher's gear and miscellaneous spare gloves. Players provide own shoes, bats, helmets, gloves and other paraphernalia of an individual nature. Team bats are bartered from local retailer in exchange for fence banners/sponsorship status.

Booster Club provides funds for field care equipment (rental and purchase), field tractor and drags, rebuilding/replacing outside batting cages, pitching machines, L-screens and nets, infield mix and many of the other requirements of a high school baseball program for which the school and school system do not budget. HC annually provides funding wish list in order of priority and Booster Club runs fundraising campaigns and events, golf tournament, concession stand operation and corporate support appeals to raise funds to fulfill HC wish list.

Booster Club underwrites off-season facility rental for clinics and conditioning program for all prospective and returning players (who pay a nominal fee to attend - also covers any player who cannot afford to pay). The payment required of players was instituted to make each player and family commit to the endeavor in both time and finance.

Booster Club family membership fee is $25 per season: Fall, Spring and Summer, but membership is not mandatory for any family.

2019Dad posted:

MDBallDad posted:

Regardless of the cost I just became become jealous when I see baseball programs from states that allow them to work together for more than just 70 days per year...Maryland has some very specific (read that "strange") rules regarding sports seasons and participation in out of season activities.  

(3) School athletic teams may not participate in any games representing their school in pre-season play or in post-season play.

Out-of-Season Practice. (1) MPSSAA member schools and coaches of member schools shall confine practice for all students or teams to the seasonal limitations as defined in Regulation .03. (2) A coach may not coach a team representing the coach’s school beyond the sports season as defined in Regulation .03.

Summer Camps.

(1) Students may attend a summer sports camp of their choice. HOWEVER...

(2) MPSSAA member schools, member school coaches, school-related organizations, or individuals shall not sponsor or conduct a camp in which students who are returning players are involved or participate. A camp composed of several coaches with their respective teams is a violation of this regulation.

(3) Coaches of member MPSSAA member schools, while affiliated with a camp, shall not conduct any form of team or group practice involving their school. Such a practice is considered a violation of the out-of-season practice rule defined in .03A(1), (2), and (3).

(4) A MPSSAA member school shall not provide school uniforms or equipment for students who attend a camp outside of the defined sports season in .03.

Wow! Here are our practice restriction rules:

#1509.1 With the exception of the summer dead period, until the beginning of the first official starting date for fall sports, there shall be no restriction on high school coaches working with high school students registered and/or attending their respective high school or entering them in summer competition, provided approval is received from the school principal.

#1509.3 A summer dead period must be declared by the school principal for all sports.  The dates of the dead period must be forwarded to the Southern Section Commissioner.  The dead period must be the same for all levels and must be three (3) consecutive weeks between the end of school or the first Friday in June, whichever is first, and the last Monday in August.  No class could be offered which could circumvent the rule.  There are no exceptions to the summer dead period.

During the dead period, weight lifting ONLY would be permitted.  No running or other type of conditioning would be allowed.  Special nationally recognized programs in various sports that require a national or regional championship format, such as Bobby Sox Softball, American Legion or Mickey Mantle Baseball, etc., would be allowed to continue, until completion, during the dead period.

#1519.  SUNDAY RESTRICTION A school may not play a baseball game nor conduct a scrimmage or baseball practice of any type on Sunday during the season of sport

Like I said JEALOUS!!!...that approach is sane and safe...we in Maryland live in crazy world!!!!!

Nuke83 posted:

I guess it's important to also describe what the school pays for.

In our case, the school pays for NOTHING.  All field maintenance, dirt mix, baseballs, uniforms, mowing, fertilizer, bleachers, dugouts, team equipment, bus transportation, John Deere drag, gas for John Deere drag, mower, repairs to mower, gas for mower, etc., etc., must be paid by the team (parents).  Actually, the school does pay for the umpires and electricity for lights, and water for field, so not entirely fair to say "nothing", but they also keep the gate fee during the season (parents must pay $5 each to watch their kids play).

So, like most in metro Atlanta, our spring fee is $750 per player, but that covers all their costs for the spring season.  Each player is typically provided practice shirts and shorts, hats, helmet, jacket(s) and some years cleats/turfs that they keep at the end of the year.  They are provided home and away uniforms that they return (except for socks and belts) at the end of the season.  The team also purchases bats for the team to share if they don't want to use their own.  Typically a couple sets of catcher gear also purchased each year.

So, while it is expensive, it's necessary unless they want to play on a field that looks like the one on The Rookie after the deer are finished feeding on it.

Very good point.  My son is at a large public school and the county pays for very little. Understand that our county school system won't even come to the field to replace lights if atleast 20% of the lights are not working.  Our kids get similar items to what Nuke83 stated in their player packs, which actually pretty nice.  Nuke is definitely spot on about the field maintenance too.  All those costs are included in the budget.

I found it interesting that the rules around what a county will/will not cover are different too.  For example the county to the north of ours has to pay for transportation to/from away games (which surprised me), and ate up a chunk of their dugout club budget.

300 per player..... expected to do fund raisers that raise another 50k per year.  we have facilities better than most D1 schools.

We pay nothing to be on a team, but we pay for our own uniforms, except for jerseys that school provides.

Parents pay for all other gear, like bats, gloves etc. They provide helmets, but most kids don't use them because the moms (and maybe dads??) find the sharing of helmets icky.

We do play preseason baseball with a parent coaching and that will cost $220 for tournament fees, etc. High school will loan us jerseys although this year someone has a bug that we need to buy new ones, which is silly, but okay.

I think on the rare occasions we have an overnight trip for the high school either parents kick in a bit, or the athletic booster club picks up the tab.

Having our baseball field rebuilt this year, should be ready for summer games. All that is being done at school district expense.

You can pay to go to games ($5 for an adult) or buy a booster club membership and get free admission to all school events for about $200 a person. Then booster club turns around and helps out the kids. Works well.

It's been five years. The high school had a $50 activity fee. It was for the year whether a student participates in one activity or three. Parents were encouraged to purchase at a minimum a quarter page $50 ad in a useless program that didn't sell. A full page ad was $200. I noticed there was a correlation in how badly a kid needed help to start and the size of the ad their parents purchased (it had zero influence). There was also a $75 spirit pack. It included two practice jersies, pregame jersies in home and away colors, game socks to match home and away uniforms and a hoodie.

The serious fund raising was two one week summer baseball camps for 7-12yos and three one night baseball prep camps for 7-12yos in early March. The players were paid if they worked the summer camps. They were slace labor for the one night March camps. My son enjoyed the one night camps. He was amused by being worshipped and asked for autographs. His advice was always, "Do your homework or you won't be eligible to play."

School charges $150 activity fee to all players.  Coach hits the fundraising hard during the offseason.  Raises a bunch on money.  Varsity gets pretty much everything comped - shoes, pants, multiple hats, shirts, etc. plus a spring break trip.  Sophs get some stuff comped.  Freshman petty much have to pay for everything - pants, cheap jersey, etc.  (and they frequently get their field ready only to have the older groups take over and bump them due to inclement weather).  Extra stuff is available at a reasonable price. 

bacdorslider posted:

300 per player..... expected to do fund raisers that raise another 50k per year.  we have facilities better than most D1 schools.

Officially jealous. We are the only school in the area without an indoor hitting facility. We have an outside cage near the field and a couple cages in the gym. The varsity field is playable, but only because of the hard work and financial support of some families and coaches. Fundraising in our area is very difficult. Every sport and activity fundraises a lot (because they get no real support from the district) and we run into real fundraising fatigue. Even if we could somehow raise the funds for a facility, the school board may not approve it. Our football program puts on a great golf tournament that includes 18 holes of golf, dinner and prizes. It also includes an oral auction with a lot of great items. They barely clear $10k a year.

BACDORSLIDER - We've got great facilities (posted pics of our new molded outfield wall recently), but we still need some work on our grass cutting skiils.  Where did your grass guy get his training?  Looks like an MLB field.

2017LHPscrewball posted:

BACDORSLIDER - We've got great facilities (posted pics of our new molder outfield wall recently), but we still need some work on our grass cutting skiils.  Where did your grass guy get his training?  Looks like an MLB field.

the parents have a couple of field days.  the coach is a nut for the field.... single guy... loves it... and we are in the south so we have a few companies that sell sod

SE PA High School:  $75 annual school activity fee; $135 baseball booster fee; $25 contribution for off season indoor workouts.  Players would also sell "discount cards" to help raise booster funds as well.  Booster dues would get player a team practice t-shirt, new hat, year-end banquet meal, year-end player gift (sweatshirt, etc.).  Booster funds would also help with field maintenance costs, senior day, etc.

$50 insurance/player fee.  For the Baseball team there is a "mandatory" player package that has to be purchased for $180 or you won't play

This year, we will charge $75 for a spirit pack that includes game hat, stirrups, belt, practice shirt, and under-jersey shirt (which will also be used as the jersey for the short summer program).  There is a $100 transportation fee.  Our league is spread fairly wide geographically, so the that fee is warranted.  It also contributes to a bus (vs. vans) for longer playoff travel. 

If a player has any sort of hardship, they don't have to pay.

The program and baseball community have been quite capable of fundraising enough to support the needs but the rules from administration and amount of support from the school has varied widely from year to year.

It's been a few years since my son played HS ball.  No activity fee then nor is there one at present. It has been discussed by the school board, but shelved to another time.  One other county in our region has instituted a pay-to-play fee ($100 per sport per student) - max $300/year.  Not due until the student makes the team.

School provides uniforms (jersey/pants/socks/hats).  Player keeps the hat and socks.  JV gets hand-me-downs when the V gets new uniforms.  School pays for the lights and transportation and collects $6 per person on home game day(s).  $6 is not bad - quite often there are also soccer and softball games and $6 gets you admittance to the entire athletic complex.  Field maintenance is in the school budget, but the coach with help from the booster club and dedicated parents maintains the field (he's picky).  He can often be found performing field maintenance (basically cutting the grass) when not teaching.  School also provides the helmets*, game balls and a few bats.  Most athletes have their own personal equipment.

Booster club runs fund raisers throughout the year to help fund capitol projects (batting cage, infield irrigation, fresh infield dirt, etc). They also run a concession stand for all home games.  Booster membership not required.

*Helmets - not sure about the baseball helmets, but the AD told me the football helmets have a shelf life of 10 years.  They must be replaced after 10 years whether or not it was actually used.  Apparently there is a manufacture date stamped on them.

One neat athletic fund raiser is you can purchase a brick ($100) with your child's name/year.  They are starting a brick wall on the athletic complex for this.

At JuCo we had to buy a "Spirit" pack ($200) - hoodie, turfs, practice jersey, socks, hat, etc.  The JuCo provided the jersey, but the player had to provide the pants (white and grey). At the D2 he transferred to it was $125. The university provided the jersey/pants/jacket.  They took care of cleaning the jersey and pants.  The jacket had to be returned.

East Texas: $0. Players are expected to have their own shoes and glove, but we usually can find some for any that can't afford them.

$25 booster club fee per year

Families pay $200 beginning of baseball year...but they also get 20 raffle tickets to sell so if they sell them all , its free.  Its up to them to sell them or just use the $200 they paid for them for themselves.  We also do an NFL raffle in the fall...pay $150 up front and can sell the 6 tickets to have it become free...

It is easy to sell raffle tickets so its on them if they dont sell them.

I cant recall our fees, think they were maybe $200. We raised money in 3 ways

1. pre-season and pre-roster selection auction where everyone participates

2. Golf tournament

3. Ads-local business sponsors-$250-$500 and $1000 level / awards like HS logo'd gear for upper levels to the players who got them.