For many families, it costs around, if not under, $500 per season. This did not include uniform, of which the most expensive cost $127, and any fees for tournaments or leagues played in. For various reasons, we are able to keep our prices down, and our club fee for the season cost $150 per competitive player. For some background information, the club is paired with a local parks and recreation department. I accepted a leadership position with a club in the Kansas City area because I was drawn to their goal in offering proper training and development for ALL families, regardless of economic status. When I left New York, I did so to put myself in a completely different environment that would afford me new challenges and opportunities. It’s important to understand that in any multi-billion dollar industry, there are people who know how to make a profit, regardless of the quality of their product.The pay to play model is also one in which tens of thousands of children are being priced out of simply because costs are skyrocketing for supposed “top development.” “The more expensive a club costs, the better it must be.” Youth sports, and youth soccer especially, in the United States is a business to the tune of over 5 billion dollars annually. Remember, the more you know, the more you educate, the better we will be equipped to combating some of these ideas and making this a better environment for all. Let’s look at the first issue and then tackle the second. I am buying my child “Superstar Development!” This happens in a couple different ways, although the most popular ones are:ġ) The more expensive a club costs the better its training must be, andĢ) If I spend thousands of dollars a year on soccer, I expect my child to develop according to the amount of money spent. If only they had known that Messi didn’t become the best because of three hours of practice a week and orange slices on the weekends.Īll too often I see the misunderstanding from all involved within youth soccer that money is somehow linked to development. They had spent money and naturally they expected a product. Outrage ensued because after all, as the parents explained, they had spent thousands of dollars on their child’s development. With tryout season underway, a player on the “A” team was about to be dropped to a lower team after the evaluations. While I have moved to Kansas City, he remains on the east coast and we were talking about a situation a club he coached found itself in. I was recently talking to a friend of mine who I coached/worked with with the New York Red Bulls.
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February 2023
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