Alright, so this Northern hick doesnt have a clue on what baseball costs around the country. Lets keep the comments on the last poll and use this one as new data only
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Yep, those numbers are much more like it! 
rz,
If I had made the poll, it would have looked like your first one. I'm way, way, under the 10K threshold.
If I had made the poll, it would have looked like your first one. I'm way, way, under the 10K threshold.
My son is in his last year of college ball; the timing is right to look back.
He played 4-years of LL; 2-years of PONY; 3-years of Babe Ruth (concurrent with PONY) and 3-years of American Legion. All together the total cost was less than $2K.
He played on a Travel team from 15-17 with tournaments mostly within 200 miles. Additionally, he did the JO's in Arizona. Over three years we spent abour $4K.
He did 3 College camps (Stanford, Pepperdine and UCD); each cost less than $500. One of which he stayed with an Aunt, one he did from home and one he stayed with another player in a hotel. Total cost less than $2K.
He did 3 showcases (BAWS, NorCal & AZ Fall). Two in the area which were about $250 each and one in Arizona which with travel was about $500. Total showcase cost $1K.
He had a hitting instructor his Jr. and Sr. year in HS which we paid about $300 per season. Throw in the cost of a new mit every other year and a new bat and spikes every year while in HS it adds another $1k.
Total Baseball cost up to going off to college was about $10K. I have not included the cost of his HS booster program which was $100 per year which I considered my responsibility to support not only his team but those of his friends.
Since College the cost has escalated due to our travel to see him play. Four trips each season to see his college games, one trip each summer to watch a few collegiate summer league games; now we are talking some real money.
It did not make sense for us to spend thousands in an effort to chase a scholarship. We invested in our son what we could; what we felt was appropriate and what was needed to help him prepare for his future.
He played 4-years of LL; 2-years of PONY; 3-years of Babe Ruth (concurrent with PONY) and 3-years of American Legion. All together the total cost was less than $2K.
He played on a Travel team from 15-17 with tournaments mostly within 200 miles. Additionally, he did the JO's in Arizona. Over three years we spent abour $4K.
He did 3 College camps (Stanford, Pepperdine and UCD); each cost less than $500. One of which he stayed with an Aunt, one he did from home and one he stayed with another player in a hotel. Total cost less than $2K.
He did 3 showcases (BAWS, NorCal & AZ Fall). Two in the area which were about $250 each and one in Arizona which with travel was about $500. Total showcase cost $1K.
He had a hitting instructor his Jr. and Sr. year in HS which we paid about $300 per season. Throw in the cost of a new mit every other year and a new bat and spikes every year while in HS it adds another $1k.
Total Baseball cost up to going off to college was about $10K. I have not included the cost of his HS booster program which was $100 per year which I considered my responsibility to support not only his team but those of his friends.
Since College the cost has escalated due to our travel to see him play. Four trips each season to see his college games, one trip each summer to watch a few collegiate summer league games; now we are talking some real money.
It did not make sense for us to spend thousands in an effort to chase a scholarship. We invested in our son what we could; what we felt was appropriate and what was needed to help him prepare for his future.
It wasn't until college that our expenses got out of control.
Most of my sons' and daughter's experiences have been local travel within the county and occasionally out of state. Fees to join the local travel and youth league were minimal. In high school, my son played for a local legion team that travelled within and to surrounding counties. Our high school now has pay to play which is 250.00 per sport. I don't believe that fee existed when either of my sons played. I am pretty sure my son got a new bat, shoes, and glove each year but they were not the most expensive equipment out there.
IMHO, baseball players can be developed locally while containing costs and without harming the player's future. I would guess our costs were at the lower end of the first poll.
Most of my sons' and daughter's experiences have been local travel within the county and occasionally out of state. Fees to join the local travel and youth league were minimal. In high school, my son played for a local legion team that travelled within and to surrounding counties. Our high school now has pay to play which is 250.00 per sport. I don't believe that fee existed when either of my sons played. I am pretty sure my son got a new bat, shoes, and glove each year but they were not the most expensive equipment out there.
IMHO, baseball players can be developed locally while containing costs and without harming the player's future. I would guess our costs were at the lower end of the first poll.
quote:Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
It wasn't until college that our expenses got out of control.
I can relate.
To be honest, I have never added it up - nor could I really - too much mixing of baseball and family events.
Furthermore, I really don't know because it isn't important to me. Baseball is a part of who my son is - and what my family does. I don't add up the cost of groceries - why add up baseball. Both are essential to who we are and what makes us happy.
Furthermore, I really don't know because it isn't important to me. Baseball is a part of who my son is - and what my family does. I don't add up the cost of groceries - why add up baseball. Both are essential to who we are and what makes us happy.
quote:Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
It wasn't until college that our expenses got out of control.
Out of control? Out of control? I'm not out of control, you're out of control. Just because I've already booked 7 trips this spring and am trying to work in 3 more, that's not out of control. There's plenty of money, they print more everyday
I admit it, I'm a junkie now (ok, always was), but the best advice I ever got about raising my kids was...anytime they want to go out an play catch, drop everything you're doing and go do it. Even if you can only stay a couple of minutes, never miss a chance to do something with your kid.
He was/is right.
In Venezuela you could maintain a whole team of kids from LL till College for a lot less than 10K, although balls are pretty expensive.
quote:Originally posted by CPLZ:
rz,
If I had made the poll, it would have looked like your first one. I'm way, way, under the 10K threshold.
Amen. I guess we made up for it after HS.
OK,
If you play for an organization her in the DFW area you will pay between 2000.00 - 3000.00 per summer. You will pay 500.00 - 1000.00 per fall. This does not include travel expenses at all or equipment ect. Then you have the showcases, lessons, ect.
I do not know where the low numbers are coming from even if you played for one of the smaller select teams your going to pay at least 1500.00 per year for fall and summer!
If you play for an organization her in the DFW area you will pay between 2000.00 - 3000.00 per summer. You will pay 500.00 - 1000.00 per fall. This does not include travel expenses at all or equipment ect. Then you have the showcases, lessons, ect.
I do not know where the low numbers are coming from even if you played for one of the smaller select teams your going to pay at least 1500.00 per year for fall and summer!
quote:Base Stealer quote:
....I do not know where the low numbers are coming from.....
I guess everything's bigger in Texas
quote:Originally posted by BASE - STEALER:
OK,
If you play for an organization her in the DFW area you will pay between 2000.00 - 3000.00 per summer. You will pay 500.00 - 1000.00 per fall. This does not include travel expenses at all or equipment ect. Then you have the showcases, lessons, ect.
I do not know where the low numbers are coming from even if you played for one of the smaller select teams your going to pay at least 1500.00 per year for fall and summer!
Wondering what does 2-3K cover? How many games, travel in state or out, and what about the fall?
Son played on one travel team senior summer, it was about 3K when we got done, but that included everything, including meals, hotels, air and bus, everything. He was asked to play previous summers, but we didn't feel it was necessary until that summer.
It was a lot back then, everyone said we were crazy to spend that kind of money, result was lots of exposure and a great scholarship, worth every penny.
I don't think it's what you pay but the results of what you are paying for and your reasons for doing so.
This is a quick recap of approximated YEARLY costs since he was 14:
Summer team cost: $1400.00
Fall team: $600.00
Uniform: $175.00
Training/Lessons: $2000.00
Travel/lodging/meals: $2500.00
Total: $6675.00 x 4 = 26,700.00
This does not include camps or showcases that have cost about $4000.00 with travel. (two PG events and SelectFest.)
It ain't cheap but believe it or not I don't think we were fananitcal about it all. Just doing something he enjoyed doing and I enjoyed watching him do. And I never felt like it was an investment towards a scholarship, I was just facilitating his desire to play. We would have done the samething if his enjoyment came from a musical instrument or the boy scouts.
If it was an investment it was an investment in the lifelong memories and bond we both will cherish. I actually think he feels that way, even now, as a 17 yo "semi" spoiled only child. Definitely worth every penny!!!
You know I better add another couple grand because I just thought about all the bats and cleats I bought since he was 8. I gotta go before I remember anything else.
Summer team cost: $1400.00
Fall team: $600.00
Uniform: $175.00
Training/Lessons: $2000.00
Travel/lodging/meals: $2500.00
Total: $6675.00 x 4 = 26,700.00
This does not include camps or showcases that have cost about $4000.00 with travel. (two PG events and SelectFest.)
It ain't cheap but believe it or not I don't think we were fananitcal about it all. Just doing something he enjoyed doing and I enjoyed watching him do. And I never felt like it was an investment towards a scholarship, I was just facilitating his desire to play. We would have done the samething if his enjoyment came from a musical instrument or the boy scouts.
If it was an investment it was an investment in the lifelong memories and bond we both will cherish. I actually think he feels that way, even now, as a 17 yo "semi" spoiled only child. Definitely worth every penny!!!
You know I better add another couple grand because I just thought about all the bats and cleats I bought since he was 8. I gotta go before I remember anything else.
I don't think that it should really matters to anyone how much or how little one spends as long as you are happy with the result you are looking for, whether that be to share quality time with your son and family, looking for a scholarship, keeping him off the streets or off of the couch playing video games.
JMO
JMO
Where you live can affect the amount of money spent. I spent $1,000 just sending my son (airfare, hotel, food) to Georgia for a week last year. It would have been another $1,000 had I gone.
College wasn't expensive for my daughter. Just make sure the focus is just as much on academics as sports. She was on a 50% academic ride and 25% athletic.
College wasn't expensive for my daughter. Just make sure the focus is just as much on academics as sports. She was on a 50% academic ride and 25% athletic.
We spent a lot but not as much as I'm seeing here but even since son graduated in '08 costs have gone up and there are many more events to attend.
I made the mistake of agreeing to be interviewed by a journalist writing about this very topic several years ago. She slanted it to make all of us sports parents kind of look like idiots for spending so much money on our kids sports. For awhile if you googled my son's name that article would come up.
But regardless of what we spent on baseball we also spent money on things like SAT prep classes and a tutor or two in some difficult subjects. My son did his part by being a great student in hs. That paid off in college with an academic scholarship. So spend money wisely and realize you can spend all the money in the world but if your kid doesn't have the necessary talent and drive it's not necessarily going to pay off with a scholarship. Spend the money just because you and your son want to play the best competition.
I made the mistake of agreeing to be interviewed by a journalist writing about this very topic several years ago. She slanted it to make all of us sports parents kind of look like idiots for spending so much money on our kids sports. For awhile if you googled my son's name that article would come up.
But regardless of what we spent on baseball we also spent money on things like SAT prep classes and a tutor or two in some difficult subjects. My son did his part by being a great student in hs. That paid off in college with an academic scholarship. So spend money wisely and realize you can spend all the money in the world but if your kid doesn't have the necessary talent and drive it's not necessarily going to pay off with a scholarship. Spend the money just because you and your son want to play the best competition.
My best travel dad friend and I were discussing this very topic the other day, as our kids are now HS seniors and the travel ball days will soon be over. We came up with figures similar to Fillsfan's. Actually slightly higher, as our travel usually included two weeks in East Cobb for the WWBA, Jupiter, etc. I can't remember ever missing a tournament, which obviously raised the travel expenses since I was tagging along. Does the amount of money spent sound ridiculous? I suppose you could argue that, but as another poster mentioned, this is a part of who we are. It's our one and only hobby, nearly all of our friends are people we've met through baseball, and I wouldn't trade the memories for anything.
In short, if the 50K+ I've spent since we started travel ball when he was 9 helped him get accepted into the US Naval Academy, I'd say best money I ever spent. I think most parents of college baseball players would feel the same way about their "investment".
In short, if the 50K+ I've spent since we started travel ball when he was 9 helped him get accepted into the US Naval Academy, I'd say best money I ever spent. I think most parents of college baseball players would feel the same way about their "investment".
Have one son playing in college, one jr. in high school. Both played with big DFW summer organizations. Yes, we have spent a fortune, and have more to spend. We have probably spent 90% of our spare time with our sons, and they wanted us there! No dollar amount for that. I would start again next week and do it all over again.
It’s been interesting to read the different perspectives regarding the cost to support their baseball habit.
I would break down our baseball experience with my oldest son into two categories (he is now 20). The first category would be what I will call the “entertainment” years (10 thru 14). At this time in our lives travel ball was really just a way that our family decided to spend our summer/fall traveling to baseball tournaments. These years were mostly social and no one took the games too serious. It was more about the fun of watching our kids play ball and socializing with the other families. We probably spent $2,000 to $3,000 a year all told for team fees, travel and entertainment. While my non baseball friends would think we were crazy, we always looked at it as a great experience and a chance to see part of the country that we lived in at the time (California). During this period we really thought of our travels as vacation time and probably spent about as much for the summer/fall as we would have spent during a week at Disney or on a Maui beach. No regrets here, some of my best memories were of youth travel baseball.
The second category would be what I will call the “marketing” or “investment” years (15 to 17). This started when we realized that our son had the skills to possibly play at a higher level if he continued to improve. While this time period was still a lot of fun, the reality was that we pursued the “national circuit” events/showcases to help him gain exposure to warrant a chance to play college ball. This period became less of a family event, it was something my son and I did together. Not only because of the cost (about the same we spent in the “entertainment” years), we also didn’t want to take away from our other two children that have their own interest and we didn’t think it was fair to drag them all over the country to watch their brother play baseball.
Looking back he probably started a year earlier in this phase than necessary however because he had a chance to play up on a 17U showcase team in some of the PG events I think it probably helped him get on the radar earlier than most players his age. The summer prior to his senior year he was given some incredible opportunities by some great baseball people (including PGstaff). My son found a great college that wanted him, had a chance to participate in some pretty elite baseball events and was given his ultimate opportunity to fulfill his dream to start a career in baseball.
Many have told us that he would have been “discovered” if he hadn’t done all the things we did during those “investment” years. While we will never know if that’s true or not, I do know that whatever we spent was more than worth it and I may end up doing it again with my youngest son if he shows the talent needed and decides he wants to “go for it”.
I would break down our baseball experience with my oldest son into two categories (he is now 20). The first category would be what I will call the “entertainment” years (10 thru 14). At this time in our lives travel ball was really just a way that our family decided to spend our summer/fall traveling to baseball tournaments. These years were mostly social and no one took the games too serious. It was more about the fun of watching our kids play ball and socializing with the other families. We probably spent $2,000 to $3,000 a year all told for team fees, travel and entertainment. While my non baseball friends would think we were crazy, we always looked at it as a great experience and a chance to see part of the country that we lived in at the time (California). During this period we really thought of our travels as vacation time and probably spent about as much for the summer/fall as we would have spent during a week at Disney or on a Maui beach. No regrets here, some of my best memories were of youth travel baseball.
The second category would be what I will call the “marketing” or “investment” years (15 to 17). This started when we realized that our son had the skills to possibly play at a higher level if he continued to improve. While this time period was still a lot of fun, the reality was that we pursued the “national circuit” events/showcases to help him gain exposure to warrant a chance to play college ball. This period became less of a family event, it was something my son and I did together. Not only because of the cost (about the same we spent in the “entertainment” years), we also didn’t want to take away from our other two children that have their own interest and we didn’t think it was fair to drag them all over the country to watch their brother play baseball.
Looking back he probably started a year earlier in this phase than necessary however because he had a chance to play up on a 17U showcase team in some of the PG events I think it probably helped him get on the radar earlier than most players his age. The summer prior to his senior year he was given some incredible opportunities by some great baseball people (including PGstaff). My son found a great college that wanted him, had a chance to participate in some pretty elite baseball events and was given his ultimate opportunity to fulfill his dream to start a career in baseball.
Many have told us that he would have been “discovered” if he hadn’t done all the things we did during those “investment” years. While we will never know if that’s true or not, I do know that whatever we spent was more than worth it and I may end up doing it again with my youngest son if he shows the talent needed and decides he wants to “go for it”.
10 out of town weekend tournaments at $500 hotel/food/gas = $5,000.
It does cost a lot, no doubt. The way I look at it though is that it is a lot less than a country club and, for us, a lot more fun.
Amen Uncle Bubba!quote:Originally posted by Uncle Bubba:
Have one son playing in college, one jr. in high school. Both played with big DFW summer organizations. Yes, we have spent a fortune, and have more to spend. We have probably spent 90% of our spare time with our sons, and they wanted us there! No dollar amount for that. I would start again next week and do it all over again.
I’ve been away from this website for awhile, but stopped by today and saw this thread. I’d been wondering about the cost / investment I’d made in baseball, so I took a moment to guestimate it. I did not take the time to get real detailed in my guesses, but they’re probably pretty close overall.
To give the background, my son played a year of t-ball, 5 years of Cal Ripken ball and 3 years of PONY. He was on the tournament team each summer from age 7-13. From the summer he was 14 through graduation, he played with a “select” team.
We traveled all around south Louisiana in the younger years; mostly day trips or single overnight stays. Between the age of 12 and 18, we spent a week in Missouri, a week in Oklahoma, a couple weeks in Florida, three weeks in Georgia, and many weekends around the great state of Texas. I included an approximate cost for lessons along the way, as well as equipment and clothing. I even threw in the cost for a couple trips when Mom and Dad tagged along to visit colleges that were recruiting him to play ball.
The cost I calculated was definately north of $20k, but most likely less than $25k.
We had some great times along the ay, and we had some disappointments. We saw some pretty neat places and we visited some dumps. We met a lot of great friends and we met a few buffoons. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Did it pay off? No question about it. He’s playing D-1 baseball and according to the website www.collegesearch.collegeboard.com, the average cost (tuition, fees, room, board, books) to attend any of the other schools in his conference is $48-$50,000 / year. I am paying $0 for his school. (Yep, $0 tuition & fees, $0 books, $0 room & board.) My only expense is ~$300 per trip (3) to buy plane tickets for him to come home.
I figure in this first year I doubled my “baseball investment”. Even assuming that without baseball, he would have attended a state school (at a cost of $16-20k / yr), I figure I’m still almost at break even after the first year.
Is this a great country or what !!!
To give the background, my son played a year of t-ball, 5 years of Cal Ripken ball and 3 years of PONY. He was on the tournament team each summer from age 7-13. From the summer he was 14 through graduation, he played with a “select” team.
We traveled all around south Louisiana in the younger years; mostly day trips or single overnight stays. Between the age of 12 and 18, we spent a week in Missouri, a week in Oklahoma, a couple weeks in Florida, three weeks in Georgia, and many weekends around the great state of Texas. I included an approximate cost for lessons along the way, as well as equipment and clothing. I even threw in the cost for a couple trips when Mom and Dad tagged along to visit colleges that were recruiting him to play ball.
The cost I calculated was definately north of $20k, but most likely less than $25k.
We had some great times along the ay, and we had some disappointments. We saw some pretty neat places and we visited some dumps. We met a lot of great friends and we met a few buffoons. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Did it pay off? No question about it. He’s playing D-1 baseball and according to the website www.collegesearch.collegeboard.com, the average cost (tuition, fees, room, board, books) to attend any of the other schools in his conference is $48-$50,000 / year. I am paying $0 for his school. (Yep, $0 tuition & fees, $0 books, $0 room & board.) My only expense is ~$300 per trip (3) to buy plane tickets for him to come home.
I figure in this first year I doubled my “baseball investment”. Even assuming that without baseball, he would have attended a state school (at a cost of $16-20k / yr), I figure I’m still almost at break even after the first year.
Is this a great country or what !!!
You're a lucky man, similar no doubt to the guy who bought Qualcomm at $2 a share in the late 90s and sold it a couple of years later at $800.
Wow these results get my head spinning 
I do data and trend analysis for a living and will spend thousands of dollars for bullshet survey data but this is honest data from friends with passion about the data, and that's cool. I found this data so fascinating on one hand and so incomplete on another. Fascinating because of the balance, incomplete because with every data point there are accompanying variables. In this case some of those variables include.....
risk - reward for the baseball return
value of the family experience
unrecorded affects on family due to baseball expenses
Where you live
pocket depth
player commitment
and the list goes on. Bottom line I think that this shows that happiness can be had at many prices and regardless of the investment, everyone can justify the investment as an experience that has no price tag but a priceless return.
Any thoughts or conclusions from looking at the results of this poll?
I do data and trend analysis for a living and will spend thousands of dollars for bullshet survey data but this is honest data from friends with passion about the data, and that's cool. I found this data so fascinating on one hand and so incomplete on another. Fascinating because of the balance, incomplete because with every data point there are accompanying variables. In this case some of those variables include.....
risk - reward for the baseball return
value of the family experience
unrecorded affects on family due to baseball expenses
Where you live
pocket depth
player commitment
and the list goes on. Bottom line I think that this shows that happiness can be had at many prices and regardless of the investment, everyone can justify the investment as an experience that has no price tag but a priceless return.
Any thoughts or conclusions from looking at the results of this poll?
quote:Results (67 votes counted so far):
From LL through HS what did you, or do you expect to spend on your sons baseball experience. This would include team costs, equipment, showcases, lessons, and family travel?
Under 10k 11 replies (16%)
10k - 15k 13 replies (19%)
15k - 20k 14 replies (21%)
20k - 25k 12 replies (18%)
25k - 50k 14 replies (21%)
above 50k 3 replies (4%)
quote:Originally posted by jemaz:
It does cost a lot, no doubt. The way I look at it though is that it is a lot less than a country club and, for us, a lot more fun.
Very true. A friend of ours has a daughter that is into horse shows, that is much more expensive. I can imagine the expense for professional skating, gymnastics, etc. etc. is more. Glad I don't have any girls.
What is somewhat sad about this is that the game is starting to price itself out of the market for the child that doesn't have a means of affording it.
quote:Bottom line I think that this shows that happiness can be bought at many prices and regardless of the investment, everyone can justify the investment as an experience that has no price tag but a priceless return.
Any thoughts or conclusions from looking at the results of this poll?
While it may seem (as I re-read my post) that the money we spent for my son to play ball was an investment, the truth is, we spent the money because he loved the game and he loved to compete. And we'd have done it whether there was any hope of playing college ball or not. It was not until the last 2-3 years when we made trips to Jupiter and East Cobb that focus was really on "being seen".
Someone also mentioned
While it is expensive to travel with a team, that is not the only option. In our area, there is a very good PONY program for kids age 5-18. The last year we played with them, registration was about $175 for spring ball and $150 for fall ball. That enables kids here to play pretty decent baseball "for the love of the game" for under $400/year. That's pretty reasonable entertainment and excercise.quote:... that the game is starting to price itself out of the market for the child that doesn't have a means of affording it.
That said, paying just 12 years of local league registrations for spring and fall baseball would run up a tab of $3-4,000. When you add it up, it sounds like a lot. But oh the memories . . .
I've never added it up, and I don't particularly want to, but I will say that I've gotten more than thousands of dollars worth of enjoyment from watching my sons play (the oldest plays baseball and the youngest plays S****R). No matter what your kids do as an extra-curricular activity or hobby, it's going to cost money. You just have to measure what it's worth to them and what it's worth to you. Everybody has a budget, and as long as you don't foolishly go into debt, you pack as much activity as you can handle into that budget.
I don't play golf. I don't hunt or fish. I watch my sons play ball. That's my entertainment, and it's hard to put a price tag on that experience. The day they both stop playing (oldest is college soph and youngest is HS senior)is the day I'll have to figure out what I'm going to do for fun for the rest of my life. I guess then I'll have all sorts of expendable income.
In the meantime, I'll keep squeezing sports road trips and equipment costs into my limited budget while looking for the cheapest place to eat.
I don't play golf. I don't hunt or fish. I watch my sons play ball. That's my entertainment, and it's hard to put a price tag on that experience. The day they both stop playing (oldest is college soph and youngest is HS senior)is the day I'll have to figure out what I'm going to do for fun for the rest of my life. I guess then I'll have all sorts of expendable income.
In the meantime, I'll keep squeezing sports road trips and equipment costs into my limited budget while looking for the cheapest place to eat.
I agree, catfish. It's cheap entertainment. Take it from a guy who had a boat for a few years.
I didn't vote since I didn't want to skew the results with a softball slant.
Some of our expenses for my daughter:
Team Fee = $750. (X 6 years of travel = $4,500)
Camp Fees - $400 just this year. Typical year. (So $2,400. for 6 years)
Travel Fees per weekend - Average hotel is $90, average gas spent is $120, Food cost $200, T-shirt = $30 (my daughter has a T shirt for every tournament she has played in since she was 8. We now laugh about it.) We play on the road 6 weekends a year average. So total cost is $2,640. (So $15,840 over 6 years)
Nationals Week! Yes, this is a week long affair. Average somewhere around $700 if we spend it with two other players. Have only gone away twice. (So $1400)
This does not include equipment. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE 2 WINTER TOURNAMENTS ON THE ROAD! This does not include a second fund-raiser each year where if we don't raise a sponsor then we have to pay $200 more.
Wow, it'll be cheaper when she goes to college!
Some of our expenses for my daughter:
Team Fee = $750. (X 6 years of travel = $4,500)
Camp Fees - $400 just this year. Typical year. (So $2,400. for 6 years)
Travel Fees per weekend - Average hotel is $90, average gas spent is $120, Food cost $200, T-shirt = $30 (my daughter has a T shirt for every tournament she has played in since she was 8. We now laugh about it.) We play on the road 6 weekends a year average. So total cost is $2,640. (So $15,840 over 6 years)
Nationals Week! Yes, this is a week long affair. Average somewhere around $700 if we spend it with two other players. Have only gone away twice. (So $1400)
This does not include equipment. THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE 2 WINTER TOURNAMENTS ON THE ROAD! This does not include a second fund-raiser each year where if we don't raise a sponsor then we have to pay $200 more.
Wow, it'll be cheaper when she goes to college!
Some people have alot of money in the bank but they are poor. I have very little money in the bank but I am a very rich man.
What does it cost? Alot more if you didnt and wish you had than did and have no regrets.
What does it cost? Alot more if you didnt and wish you had than did and have no regrets.
quote:Originally posted by Coach_May:
Some people have alot of money in the bank but they are poor. I have very little money in the bank but I am a very rich man.
What does it cost? Alot more if you didnt and wish you had than did and have no regrets.
Coach, you are right! We decided very early on that we'd spend our days with our child and be parents. I've always distinguished between "biologicals" and "parents." In saying that, we spend so much time together at these tournaments, during travel, and during the week for practices etc. that this journey has been so fast. The cost is irrelevant or as one advertisement, this has been "priceless."