March 10, 2010, The Cost of
Competitive Soccer. Why We Pay!Here we
are again at the beginning of another season. As
I spend time going through the information for
the tournaments we'll go to this spring and
check out the teams that would be attending,
rankings, results, tournament history, quality,
coaches credentials, clubs, etc. I could not
help but notice the ever increasing costs for
players to participate in the sport at the
competitive level.
To put it all into a cohesive perspective.
One must look into why is the money being spent?
And what is the money really buying?
So let's look at the "why". As parents, we
want to provide our kids with the opportunity to
participate in an activity that will be fun, can
keep them healthy, can help their development as
a person, increase their self esteem, grow their
character, etc. We hope that if we get them
involved in sports, the chances of them getting
into trouble are less likely to be present. From
that point on, if our child decides to pursue a
carrier in competitive youth soccer (or any
other sport), then we add that to the list of
reasons why we spend money for our child to do
sports. Great reasons why spend money and the money is worth it
(I am a parent too).
So when we talk about competitive soccer
specifically, what is the money we spend really
buying? Well here there are a lot of different
products, but the list can be narrowed to the
following: Player registration, Referee fees,
Uniforms, Warm-ups, Equipment & Tournament fees.
There are also for a lot of people the "Coaching
and trainer Fees". And of course there is also
the expense of gas, time, traveling, hotels,
etc. (But we are not going to get into those).
Since we are talking about our little
Northern Nevada Team, I wanted to get a real
comparison on what is the money our players are
paying really getting them when compared to
other teams and clubs.
Last fall parents paid around $300 or so per
player to be in the NV Patriots. Because we had
money left over from the spring, we were able to
spend it on warm ups and new uniforms without
additional cost to the parents. For this amount,
the players got to register in the league,
participate in 3 tournaments (2 out of town),
get new uniforms & new warm ups, and food for
the first day of the tournaments. These are the
tangibles. Then there are the "priceless" things
they got for that money. They got a chance to
continue to learn the sport, coaching
sessions/practices 1 to 3 times per week,
depending on the number of games each week, the
chance to build a bond with teammates, and oh
yes, they got to bring a Championship home at
the end of our season to top it off.
So if you put together the complete year
(last fall and this spring), the cost per player
will be around $650 for the whole year. Includes
registration for two seasons ($200 fall and
spring), 7 tournaments (Avg. $500 each),
Uniforms, Warm ups, Bags, Traveling permits for
the team, food for Saturdays at tournaments, and
office misc. supplies, Club Fees. (and yes, they
also have 1 Championship in the bag!). All for
the price of around $650 per player per year.
So what can we compare this to? Well let's
look at a team with a similar situation (not to
pick on them but just as comparison). Since the
iceing on the cake was the Championship at Yuba
City last fall, I decided to look at what the
Castro Valley Team spend getting to the
Championship game where they lost to us in
penalty kicks (It could have gone either way).
So the Castro Valley United pays
for 1 season: Registration Fees $170, Club
Competition Program Fees $100, Uniforms $275,
Tournament Fees (4 to 5) $200, Miscellaneous
Expenses $100. This totals $845. Additionally,
the Division 3 teams pay $95/month for coaching,
total of $475 for a grand total of $1320 per
player per season.
(Click Here for the Castro Valley SC Information
Literature and costs).
Of course the Castro Valley Soccer Club is one
of the best in Northern California and they do
have a lot of success with their teams. They do
employ professional coaches to work with all
their players and have a very successful
organization. So all that infrastructure must be
paid for by the players that want to obtain the
knowledge they teach. It is also important to
note that I am not making a comparison or
diminishing the quality of their coaches or
program (God knows as a coach I have too many
short comings) and probably will never achieve
the licenses their coaches hold.
I am merely making the comparison to put where
the money goes into perspective. Just like
Castro Valley SC, there are many other clubs and
teams out there that must charge players enough
money to run their program.
So with this in mind, I believe that parents
should always put in perspective why they spend
money on their kids soccer program. It is not to
win Championships or win every game. These just
come as a special prize for a very few on
special occasions.
From the perspective of Coach Quin, Alicia,
Linda, and myself, I can tell you that what we
hope to provide to the NV Patriot players (and
all the kids we coach), is a venue where the
kids can flourish and where the reasons "why"
parents spend money can be achieved for each
child. Whatever their ultimate goal may be as
soccer players and beyond. Would we coach the
players better if we were paid? Unlikely! We
love to coach and it is just fun to know that we
can provide quality coaching to your kids.
Comparable to the "best" out there for the
minimum cost of a smile from the girls!
Let's get this season Started!
Coach John |
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