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[Old Dog]

Does anybody know the cost of playing another sport at a very top level.

So, a good soccer player on a team that travels might be what 5 or 6K a year. What do some other sports run?

[Rbswany20]

OD

Select baseball has very similar costs associated with their fees, travel, etc. The program we are in; $3,800 fee, travel out of state 1-2 times a season as well we are out of town 1-2 times but in WA.  Bat, glove, cleats and gear adds to the costs.  Cost can quickly get into that $5K range. We are just not as tough as soccer kids who play in any weather situation  . BTW, my daughter plays with a high level soccer club so we live the dream!

[Trackside14]

I think gymnastics is one of the highest. There are 10 levels and then Elite which would be the ones good enough to be in the olympics.  Most college gymnasts would be at least level 10 but sometimes you see 9's.
My DD was level 7 at 10 years old and it was costing around $8,000 a year and that does not include travel but that was seven years ago.  We had one Elite gymnast at our gym and her costs were between $15,000-$20,000 a year.  You really are paying for a really great college education by the time you get there so you better love it.  My DD played soccer on top of gymnastics 20 hours a week and when she was about 11 yrs she decided to switch to soccer.  It sure saved us a lot of money. But supposedly the most expensive sport is ice skating. 

[tripleplay]

I think gymnastics is one of the highest. There are 10 levels and then Elite which would be the ones good enough to be in the olympics.  Most college gymnasts would be at least level 10 but sometimes you see 9's.
My DD was level 7 at 10 years old and it was costing around $8,000 a year and that does not include travel but that was seven years ago.  We had one Elite gymnast at our gym and her costs were between $15,000-$20,000 a year.  You really are paying for a really great college education by the time you get there so you better love it.  My DD played soccer on top of gymnastics 20 hours a week and when she was about 11 yrs she decided to switch to soccer.  It sure saved us a lot of money. But supposedly the most expensive sport is ice skating. 

College gymnasts have an average of 5000 hours of pre-college training. Definitely not a good scholarship investment!

And if you want to make the national team, you don't stay in Washington at all. You and some of your family moves to one of the places with Olympic track gyms like Texas.

[Old Dog]

So then why do folks blame cost and cost alone for the reason our national team sucks?

[ThiKuBC]

That's an excellent question.

One of my bigger questions is "why is it like pulling teeth to get people happily out to 3-4 days a week in soccer when other sports require 5-6 days a week without an eye being bat?"

People complain about soccer costs because there are pro clubs around the world that offer the elite training for free, as well soccer is seen as a niche sport still despite the huge popularity it currently has.

[tripleplay]

So then why do folks blame cost and cost alone for the reason our national team sucks?

You don't get it. Whatever anybody doesn't like about youth soccer is OBVIOUSLY (i.e. no data or logic needed) the reason why we don't win every World Cup. Since almost everyone wants the things they buy to cost less, that's always going to be a very popular argument.

As to ThikUBC's question, how many kids are training 5 to 6 days per week, year round, for any sport? You're talking pretty small numbers.

[Old Dog]

You don't get it.

 Thanks, I try to stay up to speed.

[ThiKuBC]

TP - can you show me in my response where I said "year round" please?

[tripleplay]

TP - can you show me in my response where I said "year round" please?

Non-responsive. You imply that there are lots of people training more than soccer players. There are some, but that's not lots.

[erickb]

Reg sport or any sport?

Both kids raced motorcycles (both gave up to focus on soccer) but my son at his peak cost

$5,000 for a new bike CRF150R
$1,000 into changed parts to set up bike as a supermoto race bike
$120 fees for racing x 10 races $1,200
open pratice $55 x 2 (all we could fit in)
Gear (with sponsers and a nice fox hook up) our cost was around $500 retail around $1,200
Travel for races total for the season $2,500 (Montana, Spokane, Yakima, Ephridia, Monroe, Kent)

$10,310 for one kid and me doing all the wrenching on bikes

[Rock27]

It's worth the cost.  Time management, team building skills, they are learning so much.  If they weren't in a sport but chose to play multiple sports with their friends, you would still be paying.  We're looking at college now and even if there's not a spot offered, he wouldn't have traded the last 10 years for nothing.