How Much Does It Cost to Have Your Child in Sports?

It really varies per the sport.

Our city sports (little league, soccer, basketball) are $65 per season.

Community center sports are about $50-$225 per season (dance is $50, aikido is $125, boating is $225)

Private sports (gymnastics, etc.) have really different rates, per the place that puts them on. And those rates change. As an example. My son's gymnastics place is $175 for 1 day per week, 4 months. But 2 days a week is only $220. FAR less than twice the cost. And 3 days a week is only $250. But private sports can run anywhere from $50-$500 depending on different circumstances. There are also sibling discounts in many places, and homeschool discounts in others (we rarely pay more than 50% of regular rates as homeschoolers -aka daytime classes during 'school hours', and often even LESS). The weekday snowboard class my son takes we only pay 25% of what we'd pay for a weekend class. There are ALSO sliding scale sports fees with some places. The Y, for example, has HIGH prices for their sports (plus $100 per month membership fee), unless you're low income, in which case they're free.

Some sports come with a lot of gear charges, some sports need almost no gear whatsoever.

Football (with all the pads, and helmet, and cleats needed) costs less than hockey (pads, helmet, and **skates**) but more than soccer (just cleats), which is more than swimming (just a suit).

The only way to find what a sport costs, is to actually go to the facilities or websites that offer it, and start pricing.

We pay about $200 per month for my son's sports (used to just be $100 per month, but we switched Aikido Dojos from the $125 per 3 months to $100 per month, because the new dojo is worth it). Most of his sports we pay about $50 per 3 month quarter. 2 we pay $125 per quarter. 1 we pay $100 per month. We homeschool, so he does
- gymnastics (year round)
- aikido (year round)
- swimming (year round)
- dance (year round)
- basketball (seasonal)
- snowboarding (seasonal)
- sailing (seasonal)

For awayschool kids, you wouldn't want that many. 1 at a time is usually the "cap"

No need to go broke with sports. You can play sports with him outside with some local friends. Get out the baseball bat or soccer balls & have fun. We cannot afford to put all our kids in sports, it would cost us about $350 a month and that's not including all the gear.

However, Boy scouts would be way cheaper & there are tons of outings that are very inexpensive. The teachings in boy scouts is everlasting too, you & your son would love it.

Your best bet will be through your local community center. You may also check into YMCA or Boys & Girls clubs.

My daughter ice skates and that cost is $85 for 8 sessions. We get 10 free public skates with that cost. For the skate school, you can borrow the skates and that is included. It is a good deal, but since it is privately owned, I don't think they would offer a discount.

The cost really depends on the kind of league. I'd recommend looking at the offerings through your local parks and recreation department. They're classes and leagues are typically less competitive (which is probably good if he's just starting out) and don't cost a ton.

My son is in a fall soccer league here in Maryland. It cost us $80 to register him which included his jersey. That's pretty typical for organized sports through our department of Recreation (and was the same in Sacramento where we used to live) that meet once or twice a week.

I haven't ever seen a financial need application, but that isn't to say you can't ask. It's least expensive to use the programs for your community... you'll notice they usually give a "resident" price and a "non-resident" price that is higher, so stick with where you live.

Here's the link to Peoria's recreation catalog. Click on the online registration tab and then browse activities or download the PDF catalog.

HTH
T.

I agree with the previous poster, check with your local YMCA. I know our local Y programs have assistance for families that need it. Also, our local Soccer Association gives scholarships to families in need for their children to play. So do some checking around in your area to see what groups may have discounts available for your family. The prices to play sports vary greatly depending on the sport and the equipment needed and the travel involved.

Check with your local Park & Rec Dept. In my area, the rec. dept. has soccer, baseball, flag football, basketball and summer camps at reasonable prices and have scholarships for those who can't afford it.

The YMCA is also a good place to look into for swimming lessons and sports teams.

Also, if there are high schools in your area that have swimming pools, they may offer swim lessons at reasonable prices.

I'm so sorry your going through this...Breaks my heart reading your recent questions. I will pray for your family to get through this tough time your experiencing!
Contact your city hall. In my city they have a magazine that comes out every few months with all the sports and activities they offer.. It's SOOOO much cheaper going through your city then going through a private company.. The city is even a lot cheaper than the YMCA...
Chin up, things WILL get better!!!!!!!!

We try to get almost all the stuff we can at thrift stores, shin guards, cleats, black sports shorts, soccer balls, helmets, gloves, socks, pads, all kinds of things can be bought for pennies on the dollar. And soap works, if you don't trust your laundry detergent then add a tiny bit of bleach to the load.

Okay, in Oklahoma:::

Football is the most expensive, $50 for sign up, $50 for uniform rental, includes pads and shirt, not pants or shoes from what I understand. So for $100 I get to buy some football pants in the right color, cleats, and he gets to play.

Soccer has scholarships pretty much across the board but it depends on the club policy. One fee is $45 and they will do all but $15 (that's for the insurance). You have to have a letter from the school that you get free lunches to verify income. If you don't get free lunches check into that for your kids, if you pack a lunch I don't know what else they might accept, still...free lunches are cheaper in the long run. The other club only does scholarship for 50% of the cost, that way they can spread the money further. I still have to have cleats, shorts and soccer socks if they only wear a team jersey or otherwise the money for a uniform and socks. One of my friends kids has been on the same team since starting and they are good about passing the uniforms down to kids when theirs outgrow them. He daughter was on a couple of different teams and she had to buy a new uniform each time, our girl had the bad luck of getting a bad coach each year and they left after each season so we ended up buying new stuff each season, twice a year if she plays both Spring and Fall.

T-Ball and softball (Don't have boys old enough for baseball yet but they play at the same field). If you go through the "Y" then you get a huge discount if you are on scholarship. The regular membership fee for a family is $45 per month, on scholarship we get membership for $23, any classes/sports we sign up for are 50% off the member fee. So if Soccer, T-Ball, Swimming Lessons, Basket Ball, etc...are $40 for non members and $20 for members then we get the same thing for $10. The Y, on scholarship is worth every penny we spend.

We do play some of these sports at a local club that only has scholarships occasionally. They work so hard to do them but the money isn't always there. They do fund raisers every season too, that helps build the bank so that next season there may be money for those who need it.

Call the local clubs directly and see what they have available.
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An addition:
We do BMX, it is sort of expensive but so worth it.

The biggest all at once cost is about $45 per year for a membership card to the National organization. That gives the person the right to race on any of that National organization's track in the USA and Canada. The ABA has over 250 in those areas. They are merging with another organization at the end of this year so that number will increase buy a lot.

Once they have their card they can go to any track that is having a race and can pay the daily race fee and ride. You have tracks nearby in Goodyear, Surprise, Phoenix, Chandler, even 2 in Tucson. You have to have a helmet, you can often borrow a bike at first then build one or buy it from a growing kid, and long sleeve shirts and long pants. There are special knee pads and elbow pads for the hot climates and they run about $25. The track will often keep loaner helmets too. They want people to come try it out. It is so much fun and is now an Olympic sport. They can get scholarships for college and other recognition too.

Here's a link to the ABABMX website with the tracks in Arizona. You can travel every weekend or do it occasionally. It's up to you. We spend about $10 per weekend for the race, called a Moto, and we have the option of spending less, she just wants a trophy if she wins instead of a ribbon or savings stickers. We race in Oklahoma and have about 5-6 tracks now. More open all the time, plus we have Grand Nationals in Tulsa each November.

http://www.ababmx.com/index.php?page=default/tracks&s...

We pay about $130 per month for gymnastics, hip hop, tap and ballet combo, and show team at the local dance studio/gymnastics business. I work there to help pay some of the cost but it is really easy to add classes after the first one that is $50 per month, each class added costs less and less.

My daughter is a JV Cheerleader. So far since April of this year when she made the team, we've spent a minimum of $2000 which does not include little things here and there such as extra clothing which is required.

She is also on her school's competition squad which will add about $40/week for her private training coach, about $1000 expenses for competition in February and we figure at least $1000 more before tryouts in April and we start all over again.

So for 1 yr of High School UIL cheer, about $5000.

IF a girl is in High School cheer and cheers separately on a competitive team, you are looking at doubling the costs.

If you want your child in a sport and cant afford the competitive leagues, go through your local parks and rec centers to get a good start. Those are usually reasonably priced.

Sports in general are very expensive depending on what is chosen but many times you can find a good option in the middle that is not too costly with MANY sports for boys and girls.

Good luck

League fees are usually around $100. For whichever sport you will need some equipment. For soccer shin guards and a ball are required. Cleats are reccommended. For baseball a mit is required. Cleats and a helmet are reccommended (cleats first). A bat and bat bag are optional. The good thing is, when your child is young these things are relatively inexpensive. As they grow up the cost increases. Plus you might be able to get second hand items. Every league will let your kid play and waive the league fee if you can not afford it. Get the contact for the league and find out who you need to talk to.This changes when you go into travel or club play at an older age but there may be scholarships or fund raising available. Some may have second hand equipment available to borrow or use. You can always check second hand stores. Gloves, balls, and bats can be great deals there. If you use hand me down cleats I would spray the insides with Lysol. For a helmet too. Make sure there are no cracks or deep scratches. On the league teams there will be additional cost for banner and coaches gifts. Sometimes the parents decide to get the kids sweatshirts or jackets which are additional. But not always. If parents can find sponsors it will offset the cost.

Try this:

http://www.bgcmp.org/