Being able to play the sports is something you love growing up as it makes life so much better. Now imagine not being able to play the sport you love because your family can’t afford it.
Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Andrew McCutchen spoke earlier this year about the difficulties his family had trying to cover the expenses necessary for him to play the sport he loves, baseball. McCutchen described how he grew up in a small town while his family was just scraping by financially and how it affected his ability to play sports. This is a problem that affects so many athletes today. The cost of playing sports can actually cripple a child’s chances of playing and cause financial hardship on the family.
Playing sports in a recreation league or for your school may not cost a lot of money, but if you are fortunate to have enough talent to play at a higher level, that comes with a much higher financial burden. Athletes who try out and are selected to play on a travel team or at the AAU level are often overwhelmed with the additional cost of playing their beloved sport. Playing at an AAU tournament gives the athlete the opportunity to play in front of recruiters and college coaches and hopefully receive offers for scholarships. Without this opportunity, some athletes would not be able to attend college. The added bonus is that playing a higher caliber of competition makes the athlete a better competitor at their sport.
Fran Dicari, a blogger, a Cincinnati-based father of three decided to record each sports-related purchase made by his family over the course of one year. He documented everything from new socks to travel cost to different states for tournaments. The total cost was a whopping $8921.00.
The average household income in this country is about $52,000. The cost of one kid playing can be six or seven thousand dollars. The cost leaves the average middle class family financially drained.
Money is the biggest determinant in a child’s early access to sports. Travel-team parents spend an average of $2,266.00 a year. And elite-level athletes’ families can spend more than $20,000.00 on their child’s sports participation. It is important to note that most higher level participants will compete in both Travel and AAU league competitions
The youth sports economy has been estimated at $5 billion. That is the money made from tournament fees and cost of admission to games. That $5 billion does not take into account the travel fees and the hotel fees paid by the families to attend the tournament.
Most of the kids love to play the sport because of the friendships they build on and off the court/field. They make memories that last a lifetime with their teammates and families. It is a special time with the parents or whomever they are traveling with to bond. The sad part is that the financial strain of traveling and all the additional cost create a hardship on the families. A kid just wants to play the sport he/she loves and have the opportunity to showcase their ability with the hope of receiving a scholarship. Unfortunately, the cost of showcasing your talent has become so high that some premier athletes will not get the chance nor the scholarship that is desperately needed.
There are a lot of benefits to kids playing sports. Research shows that kids who participate in sports are less likely to be obese, have up to 40 percent higher test scores, have lower rates of smoking and drug use, teen pregnancy and risky sexual behavior, and are more likely to go attend college and earn higher annual incomes.
Athletic participation for kids ages 6 through 12 is down almost eight percent in the last 10 years. Today, more than 70 percent of boys and girls drop out of youth sport programs by high school, and fewer kids from middle class and lower income families are able to compete for college scholarships. According to the NCAA, in 1993, 12.6 percent of athletes on scholarships came from families making $100,000 or more. By 2008, this number had doubled.
Sadly there are athletes who are gifted or full of potential but will never get the opportunity to participate in a sport because the cost to play the sport is too high.
