High Cost of Youth Sports
By Sydney Hoffman on March 14, 2018
Organized, well-structured youth sports and on-going physical activities can provide many benefits for children and adolescents. Sports help teach a person the value of hard work, dedication and teamwork as well as provide physical fitness. Positive experiences that sports and an active lifestyle bring play an important role in a young person’s life; however, those positive experiences come at a cost.
The average parent spends $671 a year on sports-related costs for a child, and 21 percent of U.S. parents will spend over $1,000 per child on a sport. These statistics do not even include health care costs for sport-related injuries. After paying for the equipment, camps, travel and lodging, the price begins to rack up. Many factors contribute to this total, and the pricing will differ depending on the sport.
The five most expensive sports to let your child play include ice hockey, horseback riding, football, skiing and gymnastics. Ice hockey requires a great deal of expensive equipment, and often, children who play ice hockey are involved in a club team which requires payment per lesson. This causes ice hockey parents to spend anywhere from $500-$900 annually.
Horseback riding gets to be rather expensive due to the maintenance and purchasing of the horse along with the saddle equipment. The first year of horseback riding can cost up to $11,220!
Football, ranked the third most expensive sport to play, is also quite popular. On the high school level, parents pay big bucks for football gear, travel to games and cover food costs for the players. Children that play in a league will have even higher fees.
Skiing is one of the most expensive sports that children will most likely quit. Equipment will cost around $535 alone. Parents should also expect to pay for group or private lessons, ski lift tickets and travel costs if the family does not live near a snow resort.
Finally, gymnastics requires warm-up gear, performance attire for competitions, traveling expenses and registration and lesson fees, which can turn a $20 hobby as a child to a $5,000 financial nightmare. This does not include costs of professional coaching at hundreds of dollars each month.
One factor that can rack up the overall average costs of playing sports is if the child plays on a league team. Travel teams in basketball and Junior Olympic (JO) teams in volleyball add to the costs due to lodging for each far away tournament. Elite leagues’ cost totals may include travel, lodging, eating and entertainment for long out-of-state distances. Championship tournament games may even include air travel costs.
The total cost may look overwhelming at first, but the travel, entertainment and food purchased at long-distance tournaments often overlap into vacation and grocery costs. So, sports’ costs may be high, but other budgeting areas may decrease. If in a financial crisis, corners can be cut and the nonessentials to sports can be disposed of. Before the season begins, it is a good suggestion to start a budget plan.
Despite the high cost of sports, many parents would agree their children’s and adolescents’ positive experiences outweigh the expensive costs.
The average parent spends $671 a year on sports-related costs for a child, and 21 percent of U.S. parents will spend over $1,000 per child on a sport. These statistics do not even include health care costs for sport-related injuries. After paying for the equipment, camps, travel and lodging, the price begins to rack up. Many factors contribute to this total, and the pricing will differ depending on the sport.
The five most expensive sports to let your child play include ice hockey, horseback riding, football, skiing and gymnastics. Ice hockey requires a great deal of expensive equipment, and often, children who play ice hockey are involved in a club team which requires payment per lesson. This causes ice hockey parents to spend anywhere from $500-$900 annually.
Horseback riding gets to be rather expensive due to the maintenance and purchasing of the horse along with the saddle equipment. The first year of horseback riding can cost up to $11,220!
Football, ranked the third most expensive sport to play, is also quite popular. On the high school level, parents pay big bucks for football gear, travel to games and cover food costs for the players. Children that play in a league will have even higher fees.
Skiing is one of the most expensive sports that children will most likely quit. Equipment will cost around $535 alone. Parents should also expect to pay for group or private lessons, ski lift tickets and travel costs if the family does not live near a snow resort.
Finally, gymnastics requires warm-up gear, performance attire for competitions, traveling expenses and registration and lesson fees, which can turn a $20 hobby as a child to a $5,000 financial nightmare. This does not include costs of professional coaching at hundreds of dollars each month.
One factor that can rack up the overall average costs of playing sports is if the child plays on a league team. Travel teams in basketball and Junior Olympic (JO) teams in volleyball add to the costs due to lodging for each far away tournament. Elite leagues’ cost totals may include travel, lodging, eating and entertainment for long out-of-state distances. Championship tournament games may even include air travel costs.
The total cost may look overwhelming at first, but the travel, entertainment and food purchased at long-distance tournaments often overlap into vacation and grocery costs. So, sports’ costs may be high, but other budgeting areas may decrease. If in a financial crisis, corners can be cut and the nonessentials to sports can be disposed of. Before the season begins, it is a good suggestion to start a budget plan.
Despite the high cost of sports, many parents would agree their children’s and adolescents’ positive experiences outweigh the expensive costs.
