Kids sports/extra curriculars and $$$

[Oliviaxxx]

I don't understand the "future Olympian" comment. I know competitive gymnastics is a well-known sport for girls across the country. Of course, all of those parents don't see their child going to the Olympics. Because she isn't going to the Olympics it's not worth the money? If she enjoys, is willing to commit to that level of training, and you can afford it, why not? It will teach her a lot about discipline and hard work. She will make amazing memories with her friends!

 

[Floridaman999]

My youngest joined a traveling Rock, Paper, Scissors league and boy oh boy was it full of hidden costs. Thank God grandma and grandpa helped with all the equipment and travel costs.

 

[siren0119]

I've actually sat on the P&R board most of my parenting life. Yes we do have a soccer program and it usually gets decimated every time it's built up when people go in search of more hard core teams. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that (aside from them wanting to use the town fields for their private teams, which we usually shoot down or offer limited time), a lot of parents pull their kids from the town league thinking their kids are far more "elite" than they actually are...which is sad, because while those kids may develop more skills, they are not getting much playing time for the club. When our kids started travel, we actually kept them on the rec team also so they could be successful there while developing at travel practices. Town rec departments do try and workout training times with professional coaches but it only goes so far and those same coaches are connected to high priced private clubs.

BTW, yes there is cheap basketball, chess, drama club, baseball (Little League still works the way it used to in many areas), and football is actually the cheapest sport now. Sure you can do clinics on your own time, but football has somehow become the sport that doesn't discriminate. Who would have thought. I actually feel bad for your kids if you look down on the high school programs and what they do for ALL kids. Alexi Lalas actually expressed admiration for the high school programs and sadness for those not partaking.

I can't stress enough that I believe soccer is shooting itself in the foot in this country and they really need to look inward about how to properly develop. I know baseball (some) and other sports have gone down the same path, but you're not going to get the most exciting athletes or play the way they are doing things. Sports are supposed to stress work ethic and desire while acknowledging that physical size, innate talent, and luck are also factors. Somehow wallet has become a defining factor too.

Thank you for articulating this. I don't begrudge anyone their ability to pay for extra coaching, elite teams etc....but that has become the new shiny at the expense of the base-level organized sports that provided an entry point for more kids as well as a foundational level for kids who would excel. And there are only so many people available with the skill and the time to coach these activities....if the skilled coaches are also being drawn to the elite/travel/paid teams, who is left to support the foundational level teams?

 

[firefly_ris]

My youngest joined a traveling Rock, Paper, Scissors league and boy oh boy was it full of hidden costs. Thank God grandma and grandpa helped with all the equipment and travel costs.

Boxes of bandages for paper cuts adds up SO fast.

 

[Turn the Page]

Accessibility. After school programs are the easiest way to ensure you actually reach the kids who don't have other outlets for extra curriculars. Not everyone has a parent at home after school who can drive them somewhere. Not all parents work traditional office hours and can be around to transport to games/practices. Schools will rent out their facilities after hours, but again that does not address accessibility for the population of kids whose parents may not be able to foot a $3K per year bill for sports/activities or whose parents cannot transport them to said activities due to timing.

If you live in a place where that population is minimal, consider yourself privileged. There are large populations of middle- and lower-middle class families who are not eligible for reduced rate enrollment or free services, but who do not have the resources to pay thousands per year for extra curriculars. Those kids had access to some enrichment activities through afterschool programs and intramurals, but those programs have increasingly dwindled.

YES!!!!! We live in a rural area and we are lucky enough that we do have a lot of different rec programs and other activities offered. However, we run into the problem you mentioned. Several years ago another mom friend and I were discussing the various summer program options available and a teacher walking by heard us and commented about how great it is that our kids have all these summer programs available to them. I piped up and said yeah, it's great I guess but they are all only a few hours long so unless you have a stay at home parent your kids can't do any of them.

 

[sam_gordon]

I actually feel bad for your kids if you look down on the high school programs and what they do for ALL kids.

Where did I even MENTION HS programs, much less "look down" on them? Again, you're either reading something that isn't there or you're making stuff up. Go ahead, go back through the posts and quote where I've "looked down" on HS programs. DS is involved in his HS program. DS and both DDs have also played for their MS.

In many of these threads, when people talk about cost driving a lot of kids from sports, you defend it and attack those people for not being as involved as you are.

If by "defending it" you mean I point out that things cost money, ok, sure. And if telling people to take the bull by the horns and set up what they'd like instead of relying on others to do it for them is "attacking", so be it.

It doesn't really take much to offend you, does it?

 

[Turn the Page]

I don't understand the "future Olympian" comment. I know competitive gymnastics is a well-known sport for girls across the country. Of course, all of those parents don't see their child going to the Olympics. Because she isn't going to the Olympics it's not worth the money? If she enjoys, is willing to commit to that level of training, and you can afford it, why not? It will teach her a lot about discipline and hard work. She will make amazing memories with her friends!

I imagine it depends on the program but I was always under the impression that competitive gymnastics was one of those activities that sucked up all of your available time and you couldn't participate in any other activities. If that is the case then I would be against it simply because of the amount of pressure and lack of opportunity for other activities.

 

[Klayfish]

My youngest joined a traveling Rock, Paper, Scissors league and boy oh boy was it full of hidden costs. Thank God grandma and grandpa helped with all the equipment and travel costs.

Just don't try to bring thte scissors as carry on luggage, you'll never make it through security. There are also some ruthless people who cheat by using thicker paper stock.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

I imagine it depends on the program but I was always under the impression that competitive gymnastics was one of those activities that sucked up all of your available time and you couldn't participate in any other activities. If that is the case then I would be against it simply because of the amount of pressure and lack of opportunity for other activities.

That was my sport and yes it does suck up all your time. But the "future Olympian" thing drives me nuts. I've seen some great gymnasts and the Olympians I saw at competitions along the way just hit it at the right time. The only kid I saw at young age that I thought had a chance of going all the way did not. Burnout and injuries got to her. I learned early just how much luck was involved...."Luck" - when preparation meets opportunity.

 

[soccerdad72]

I've actually sat on the P&R board most of my parenting life. Yes we do have a soccer program and it usually gets decimated every time it's built up when people go in search of more hard core teams. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that (aside from them wanting to use the town fields for their private teams, which we usually shoot down or offer limited time), a lot of parents pull their kids from the town league thinking their kids are far more "elite" than they actually are...which is sad, because while those kids may develop more skills, they are not getting much playing time for the club. When our kids started travel, we actually kept them on the rec team also so they could be successful there while developing at travel practices. Town rec departments do try and workout training times with professional coaches but it only goes so far and those same coaches are connected to high priced private clubs.

Our rec program a few years back ran into a bit of a Catch-22 when it came to rec / travel players. With many of the travel players also playing rec, unfortunately the rec league turned into a situation of what team can land the most travel players. And the games tended to be dominated by those travel players, thus taking away the ability of the rec-only players to develop. So the league came out with a rule that travel players (on 'A' teams) could not play rec soccer as well. And unfortunately, that resulted in having much less rec teams due to lack of players.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

Where did I even MENTION HS programs, much less "look down" on them? Again, you're either reading something that isn't there or you're making stuff up. Go ahead, go back through the posts and quote where I've "looked down" on HS programs. DS is involved in his HS program. DS and both DDs have also played for their MS.


If by "defending it" you mean I point out that things cost money, ok, sure. And if telling people to take the bull by the horns and set up what they'd like instead of relying on others to do it for them is "attacking", so be it.

It doesn't really take much to offend you, does it?

Classic answer by someone who knows it's just soooo easy. Thanks for playing.

As for offending ME...you're the one who flipped out when I pointed out how money put your child into the "elite" category.

 

[Floridaman999]

Boxes of bandages for paper cuts adds up SO fast.

Took him a really, really long time to build up a palm callus. The lotions and bandages for that alone required a second mortgage.

 

[Oliviaxxx]

I imagine it depends on the program but I was always under the impression that competitive gymnastics was one of those activities that sucked up all of your available time and you couldn't participate in any other activities. If that is the case then I would be against it simply because of the amount of pressure and lack of opportunity for other activities.

Maybe in the future, it will be more time but OP said now the commitment is only 9hrs. I did competitive dance and trained easily trained 20+hrs a week. There was no time for any other activity. If you think about it through your commitment is only to one year or season. We had girls overwhelmed by the level of training and commitment so they just finish out the year and then go and try something out the next. I dedicated most of my life to competitive dance so of course, I am partial to that way of thinking lol. However, I do understand how not being able to do other activities would be bothersome to other people.

 

[sam_gordon]

Classic answer by someone who knows it's just soooo easy. Thanks for playing.

As for offending ME...you're the one who flipped out when I pointed out how money put your child into the "elite" category.

OMG. I never said it was easy. Again, how bad do you want something? If you want it bad enough, then do it. Don't wait on someone to hand it to you. I know, that's a tough concept for people to understand in this day and age. I'm sorry you disagree with that.

And yes, we pay a lot of money for our kids to participate. If you want to call that "elite", ok. But I've never looked down (your words) at kids and families who are less fortunate than ours. And I know first hand money <> talent. YOU came out of the gate making accusations that I try to "inoculate" my kids and nothing can be further from the truth. BTW, I'm still waiting for you to quote where I've "looked down" on HS programs.

 

[mjkacmom]

Our rec program a few years back ran into a bit of a Catch-22 when it came to rec / travel players. With many of the travel players also playing rec, unfortunately the rec league turned into a situation of what team can land the most travel players. And the games tended to be dominated by those travel players, thus taking away the ability of the rec-only players to develop. So the league came out with a rule that travel players (on 'A' teams) could not play rec soccer as well. And unfortunately, that resulted in having much less rec teams due to lack of players.

Ours divides them up equally, parks and rec makes the rosters.

 

[soccerdad72]

Ours divides them up equally, parks and rec makes the rosters.

Most of our rec programs allow for kids to request to be on a team with friends. Most of the programs have had to go to a rule limiting how many friends someone can request, however, as it was resulting in stacked teams (which, for the record, was inane, considering it was a rec program).

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

Our rec program a few years back ran into a bit of a Catch-22 when it came to rec / travel players. With many of the travel players also playing rec, unfortunately the rec league turned into a situation of what team can land the most travel players. And the games tended to be dominated by those travel players, thus taking away the ability of the rec-only players to develop. So the league came out with a rule that travel players (on 'A' teams) could not play rec soccer as well. And unfortunately, that resulted in having much less rec teams due to lack of players.

I see what you are saying, but it was the opposite for our league. The travel players HAD to play rec in the lower age groups and were evenly dispersed among the rec teams (we had an excellent soccer chairman at the time). The rec games became more competitive and it actually brought up the play of non-travel players also. But eventually a few travel parents thought their kids were too good for rec or didn't have the time to do both, so they voted to eliminate the rec requirement (overrode the excellent chairman)...and then the rec league emptied out after some kids went travel only. There simply weren't enough kids for rec, the age groups had to be combined, level went down, etc.

Ironically a few years later, those travel teams were struggling for numbers because some players got older and went in another (non-soccer) direction. But without a developmental league below them, no kids were around to step onto a travel team.

I talked to a few board members in other towns and they all had similar issues if the leagues were primarily volunteers. Too many parents made decisions on what was best for their own kids or their own kids' schedules. So the league suffers. The only league doing well at ALL levels was the softball league which was being run by an 78 year old man who was a local teacher and never married or had kids. While it would seem creepy these days that someone without kids would be involved...it actually worked because he made decisions based on what was best for the league, not on a few individuals.

 

[sam_gordon]

Most of our rec programs allow for kids to request to be on a team with friends. Most of the programs have had to go to a rule limiting how many friends someone can request, however, as it was resulting in stacked teams (which, for the record, was inane, considering it was a rec program).

That's one thing I liked about our rec soccer program. The coach's kid(s), and the assistant coach's kid(s) are the only ones guaranteed on a team. Other than that, it's random draw. I personally don't like teams becoming "dynasties" in a rec league.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

That's one thing I liked about our rec soccer program. The coach's kid(s), and the assistant coach's kid(s) are the only ones guaranteed on a team. Other than that, it's random draw. I personally don't like teams becoming "dynasties" in a rec league.

It takes a strong leader to squash stacked teams and U-10 rec dynasties. We've had rec basketball coaches try and recruit 2-3 assistant coaches whose kids he wanted. Also, had coaches try and declare some kids as "5"s (highest skilled) that were really 3s or 4s in the drafting phase so they cold stack their teams with real "5"s....I hate people.

 

[soccerdad72]

That's one thing I liked about our rec soccer program. The coach's kid(s), and the assistant coach's kid(s) are the only ones guaranteed on a team. Other than that, it's random draw. I personally don't like teams becoming "dynasties" in a rec league.

Often, the argument being made (partially legitimately) was in regards to carpooling to practices with other kids.