What is the co$t to play at your HS?

Wow, seems expensive.
850$ for a spring trip seems a bit much

The only sport not funded by our high school is the ice hockey team. $1400 a player, player must have own gear and buy own uniforms.

Side note: Last four years team has gone to the state finals. won two championships, #1 seed going into playoffs this year.

No other high school team has won a championship in last tens years. Football and basketball get big money with no results.

About the same. The money for our spring break trip is paid for through fund raising. Most of which was weekend youth camps.

$50 sports activity fee.

I think it's free, but players pay around $60 for hat, socks, undershirt and windbreaker. Booster club is $100. Team has a LL Clinic and sells fistfulls of $20 'discount cards' (that everyone buys but never uses). The coach has mentioned a spring trip a few times, but they haven't gone yet.

Cheerleading and crew are the most expensive sports, but they are considered 'club'.

I have a Varsity and JV player at two different public schools in the same district.

Varsity - $150 for "spirit" pack" (socks, hats, windbreaker, undershirts, etc..) + booster club + any hoodies or hats for mom & dad.

Junior Varsity - $168 for "spirit" pack" (batting helmet, socks, hats, windbreaker, undershirts, etc..) + booster club + any hoodies or hats for mom & dad. This was online, and very organized and convenient. There were required and optional clothing selections.

I have no problem writing the checks for these as long as the clothing quality is very good to excellent.


Question for the northerners: Are you required to buy a dugout jacket or something to keep the hs boys warm in the early Spring? I noticed my college player (along with the whole team + coaches) wearing a "dug out jacket" this weekend. The dugout jacket came all the way down to the thigh, included a hood, and looked to have goose down in it. My son said it was very warm. They looked like weathermen in Nome, but they were really nice and warm.

Our "pay for play" fee is $250 per sport, (or $450 for hockey), plus insurance of 60. Booster club covers the varsity jacket (but it isn't as nice as the one you describe, Fenway!).

Other spirit wear purchases are optional.

The baseball booster club only looks for basic membership. They do a nice job with a few bigger fundraising events, esp. the Christmas tree sales.
Parents help with the snack bar during home games.

Currently my son's HS does not have a pay-to-play fee though there has been discussion along those lines. Some of the schools in our district do, most do not.

The Booster club contributes a lot of money to the program. Usually they cover the cost of hats and socks and new uniforms when needed. They just paid for 18 tons of infield dirt that's been delivered but not yet put on the field.

We are asked to participate in fund raisers. Last year the players were selling cases of soda. This year it has been coupons good at a regional convenience chain (Sheetz). They also have had a yearly raffle. This year the varsity parents are being asked to man the concession stand during home games. We have not always had a concession stand. Some years they did, last year we did not.

Dugout jackets, etc are optional though strongly encouraged.

$3600 property taxes

Our kids pay a 75 dollar activity fee if they play 1 sport or 3. This is waived if they are on free or reduced lunch (30 percent of our clientele). It is also maxed out at 150 if you have more than two kids.
For baseball they have to buy their own hat and socks. This year baseball parents raised enough money to go 50/50 with the district to get new unis. Our old ones were worn out but we are in a uniform freeze, except for basketball, if you've ever lived in Kansas you are nodding your head right now.
Parents also organize optional purchases of hoodies, tees, and sweat pants. Right now I have a wonderful group of parent workers who are very good about helping at the field and raising money.
We are planning a spring trip next year that will probably cost 7 or 800 bucks per kid, or we will take one for 400 just depending on things are going.
Our district has very low property taxes, some of the lowest in the state.

Last year: $50 annual activity fee due upon first activity of the year. In our case it was paid in the fall. The kids are supposed to raise $200. I bought a $200 business ad in the program. $75 for spirit pack including three baseball tees, two socks, practice sweats and game hoodie. The game hoodie was for cold weather in the Mid-Atlantic area. The varsity players are also instructors for two preseason age 7-12 season prep clinics that bring in about 3K.

We never asked for anyone to pay to play, we had booster club dues that covered all costs for the season, which would be unis, hats, socks, practice gear, jacket maintenance, trip fees, gas for bus, equipment and field maintenance. We got some money from the school from football proceeds but even at that time money was tight.

If a family did not want to pay the booster club dues, we gave them opportunities to raise the funds through signage sales, ads in our yearbook, and we did the discount cards as well as car washes and wrapped gifts at walmart during the holidays. Tshirts for parents/whoever were a big hit and we got them done almost at cost. We offered fund raising before cuts, but to be honest no one was really cut. The rest of the money needed to run our program was made through concession sales or tournaments where we collected gate fees but had to pay for umpires, permit, etc. We carried a balance from year to year so we had operating capital when needed.

We treated it as a business and it was very profitable, no one had to take a penny out of their pocket unless they wanted to. Our goal was to raise 20K a year which we usually came close. Our HS field is city owned, they would allow everyone and anyone to use the field, it was always a mess, all they did was mow it. It cost us lots of money to maintain it properly.

Suggestion, do a 50/50 raffle each game, we made lots of money from that.

You all would be very surprised at how much it cost just to run a HS baseball team for a little over two months.

TPM, anyone else, do you play at night? Here, nobody has baseball lights. Games are after school. Snack bar is moot because attendance is pretty much parents and younger siblings. The rest of the student body is doing their own things.

Lacrosse, field hockey, football and (you know what) play night games. They draw good crowds. The girls' softball fields have lights, too. No lights, in our town, for baseball, not even Little League.

Yes, there are lights, so there are night games, JV is afternoons.
As I stated it is considered a city field and since there are lights, it gets lots of use, but we have to maintain it.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:
TPM, anyone else, do you play at night? Here, nobody has baseball lights. Games are after school. Snack bar is moot because attendance is pretty much parents and younger siblings. The rest of the student body is doing their own things.

Lacrosse, field hockey, football and (you know what) play night games. They draw good crowds. The girls' softball fields have lights, too. No lights, in our town, for baseball, not even Little League.

Prior to the Easter break, we typically only play one night game, and it starts at 6PM. This year it will be the 3rd week in March, and I suspect it will be like every other year, where the temperature is pleasant enough at game time, but by the time its over, winter jackets and blankets are the norm. During the Easter break we head south and usually play at least 2 of the mandatory 4 games under the lights, and of course the final game as well. Those games are the 1st week in April, and 1050 miles south of us, so they’re pretty comfortable. We also almost always play at least one playoff game under the lights at the end of May, and those games are quite pleasant.

But for the most part, we’re right where you are with the schedule. Until the time change we start games at 3:30, and after that at 4:00. We’re pretty much the same as far as a snack bar as well, and for the same reasons. Our school has over 2,400 students, with a 2,000 student MS right next door, but even though the field is right on the main road out from school pickups and where walking students have to pass, and with plenty of parking less than 100 yards from the gate, we seldom get more than a dozen or so “watchers”, other than family members and scouts. And sadly, that’s the way it is for almost all the public schools, large or small. The private schools are a different story, but even so, there’s no madding crowd pound storming the turnstiles to get in.

I’ve said many times that HS baseball seems to be set up to keep enthusiasm down and people away. For most schools, it’s a summertime sport played at the wrong time because it has to be done by the end of the semester. I don’t know of other places, but here in Ca, its also a sport that isn’t allowed to charge admission. All in all, everything seems to be against the baseball team, including a myriad of other springtime sports to compete for the athletes.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:
TPM, anyone else, do you play at night? Here, nobody has baseball lights. Games are after school. Snack bar is moot because attendance is pretty much parents and younger siblings. The rest of the student body is doing their own things.

Lacrosse, field hockey, football and (you know what) play night games. They draw good crowds. The girls' softball fields have lights, too. No lights, in our town, for baseball, not even Little League.

Would you want to sit through a night game before May 1st? Except for two years ago many of the afternoons are cool. Three years ago was brutally cold.

I probably would. I've sat through tons of football games. Plenty of those April games in the sunlight aren't much warmer.

And, I'm not the poor soul who gets bees in their hands if the batter gets jammed.

60 bucks. The school gives 1200 bucks annually to the program. lots of year round fundraisers and supportive alumni. Varsity, JV and c teams very nice uniforms winter coats all catchers have new gear, new bbcor bats two fields etc. We have a MLB alumni who offered to Teri the whole field but was told he had to terf the softball field also so he declined ( title 9).

No (additional) charge unless the boys order some specific piece of clothing, such as a warm up jacket.

Aside from our 3+% property taxes , our school has an annual $200 "activity" fee that covers any sports, arts or club programs participated in. I'm not 100% sure however I think there is a $400 cap per family.

As for baseball, a small amount is given to the program for basic supplies however the majority of all baseball activities is funded through the boosters club.

Last year, we had to pay $100 because he didn't sign up a sponsor. Otherwise, there would have been no cost.

They usually have three fund raisers but are planning on having more this year.

Usually they get their cap (or two), a couple of shirts for under their uniform, socks, belt, and a pull-over warm-up shirt. For the Spring trip, we only need to provide spending money.

After reading other posts, I guess we're pretty lucky.

No fee to play..... as of yet!

As for gear... "Question for the northerners: Are you required to buy a dugout jacket or something to keep the hs boys warm in the early Spring?"
Players get their own cold weather gear no dugout jackets to buy. If they get cold it's their fault. Couple new team bats a year, helmets are provided. School bus to all travel games... but did get a charter for state playoff games.
Funds for a pre-season trip to a warm(er) place, and jackets and tee's and such comes from a 'chicken sale' the kids sell tickets for and our refresh stand.

Our parents have to donate a bit of time to the school booster club during football season.... very doable.

quote:

Originally posted by AntzDad:
TPM, anyone else, do you play at night?

All of the varsity home games have a scheduled start of 6 pm so yeah, we tend to play at night. Most of the away games are 6 pm with two away games at 4:30 pm as those school's fields do no have lights. There is two other away games at 5 pm. The rest are 6 pm with one at 7:30 pm.

JV games start much earlier - 4:30 pm is the normal start time. JV plays away when varsity is home and vice-versa.

Wow, this year we paid $1,000 each. I have two boys in the HS program. It is a newer school that is trying to build some infastructure obviously on the backs of the parents.

My guess is that with these booster club fees and other fund raising activities the budget is $80-90,000.

This is crazy money IMO

Thurm, do you guys fly coach or charters?

At my local high school, up until this year, all sports and activities were free. The school is severely over-spent and has an operating deficit of 2 million bucks. This year, they instituted a pay-to-play fee of $75.00. Next year it will be double. Spirit wear is extra, of course, same with Boosters. No fundraising.

The basic uniform items were $225.00 and the cost of the spring break trip is $370.00 plus food money for five days.

Spring ball, little to no cost to parents. Booster club fundraising is very strong, there are a few fundraisers that players can opt out, but parents will then be cutting a check.

Our school has a $50 pay-to-play for sports and after school activities. It's refundable if the player is cut. And the fundraisers of course that go directly to the players for things like warmup gear and other things the school district won't pay for.

As for that $1,000 per player, that sounds like a private school and you gotta wonder the potential for parential influence with playing time and rosters with that kind of money being thrown around just to play on a HS baseball team.

$10,000 in school taxes + whatever swag the boy can convince me to buy him - usually around $100.

No pay to play here. The boys are asked to participate in a fundraiser and asked to raise $250 each from sponsors. Parents are assigned concession and gate duties. Parents are asked to sign up to provide team dinners on every home game. The only other costs are whatever gear the boys want to get. We have a deal cut for a uniform sponsor and the boys get a 30% discount on any gear/clothing items they sell. We play almost all games under lights since our games don't start until 7pm.

A similar thread was started a few years ago. I was amazed at how many and how much some have to pay. All we have ever had to do is do fund raiser and are encouraged to help with concession stand.

I was also amazed at how few charge for games. Is that still the case? Our games are $5 per person for all games. HOw much if any?

No fees for us. School provides two jerseys, which are turned in and reused. They give the boys a cap, and tell them to buy whatever color pants the coach wants for the year, usually white. Then he sends home a sheet for spirit wear.

This year, they get a practice cap. My son brought home his cap last week and it has a very small letter on the front. He said it was the practice cap. I figured the order was messed up and the letter was done too small. I think they will get a new cap that has a bigger logo on the front for games.

He has to sell these coupon cards for $20. He has to sell 17 of them this year, and they get a hoody if they meet the goal.

We have a concession stand that the high school boosters run. People volunteer to run it. Usually parents will do a sport their kid does not play so the other parents can watch their kids play. For example, we worked for wrestling and basketball.

Approx $700 for Spring

$260 equipment/uni fee
$100+/- booster club fee (not mandatory but it is)
$120 for team meal

That was the cost to play varsity baseball lest year. I will say that each player gets turfs and cleats as a part of the $260 fee. $480 and we still have to purchase a ticket for every game (oh -we do get 4 "free" tickets for joining the booster club. So it costs another $210 in tickets.

Total $690 per year with no spring trip.

quote:

Originally posted by YesReally:
$260 equipment/uni fee
$100+/- booster club fee (not mandatory but it is)
$120 for team meal

That was the cost to play varsity baseball lest year. I will say that each player gets turfs and cleats as a part of the $260 fee. $480 and we still have to purchase a ticket for every game (oh -we do get 4 "free" tickets for joining the booster club. So it costs another $210 in tickets.

Total $690 per year with no spring trip.

What is $120 for the team meal? Are the players eating "surf and turf"?

It is amazing. the school bought a new set of uniforms in 1977 players turned in after end of season. I had a budget. after say 2 years it was in the budget to purchase say 2 or 3 jersey and pants so we rotated. the school had a chance drive for all athletes. If they were to participate they had to sell their chances. towards the end of my tenure they purchased their hats belt and socks. Maybe 25 bucks. . give me baseballs umpires fees and a bus for away games we were happy. no practice jerseys pants equipment bags with name and logo.

It worked.

Tuition based school, no activity fees, catchers bring their own gear, no team bags, optional (truly) extra apparel like sweatshirt.

No booster club.

It's not bad at all in my son's school district:

- $50 athletic fee. You pay it once per year and can play as many sports as you can make the team. My son made basketball and baseball so its $25 each for him.
- $50 booster fee. It is mandatory although they say they'll work with people who can't afford it. Pays for snack on the bus prior to away games.
- Contribute to training table for home games. I think you actually make something to bring for a certain amount of home games.
- Fundraising. Not sure what this is yet as the meeting is tonight.

Not a bad deal for approximately 20 games - although I assume some will get rained out.