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charlieh
25 Posts |
 Posted - 07/02/2008 : 08:17:41
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| Does anyone really know what it cost to play at ecb? I hear a bunch of people say oh it's only this much. I also hear you have to buy shoes, uniforms etc from a certain place or something and it ends up costing alot more. Anyone ever really done it, is it alot more than playing travel out of a regular park? |
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12uCoach
357 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2008 : 10:08:02
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There are fixed costs associated with playing at East Cobb:
$175/player for registration
Reebok Shoes (around $50 for 12U, $75 for metal)
East Cobb Rawlings Batting Gloves $30 per pair, 2 pair minimum.
Rawlings Baseballs (ROLB's $39/dozen)
Umpires are $40-$60 per umpire for home games depending on Age group.
$440 per team for the Golf tournament
$150 per team for the Web site (instead of $300 for the program)
Uniform costs are presented to the Managers in August or September, so you know exactly what that cost will be. Same for helmets, bat bags and catchers equipment. I've never had a hidden cost come up.
The more you do with a hat the more the hat will cost, you can do it for $16 - $20 per hat.
You can come up short on Tournament costs, additional things added to shirts/pants/hats/helmets.
Some teams ask the parents to pay for registration/shoes/gloves seperate from the budget, some include it.
Tournaments that expect you to pre-buy T-Shirts may be an additional cost. A tournament that wants a gate fee instead of charging everyone may cause you to ask for more money.
Trying to budget in August for the next 11 months and hope that there is no change in prices, what the coaches want for the team or what the parents want for the team can cause a request for more money.
So, as long as you know what it is up front, any extra costs should be a surprise to all.
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bball2008
100 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2008 : 11:20:31
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| My son plays on the 8u Astros and our total cost was $1300(including uniforms, tournament fees, etc.) not including our own travel expenses and gate fees which you would have on any travel team. |
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Gold Glove
129 Posts |
Posted - 07/02/2008 : 13:28:35
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quote:
Originally posted by 12uCoach
There are fixed costs associated with playing at East Cobb:
$175/player for registration
Reebok Shoes (around $50 for 12U, $75 for metal)
East Cobb Rawlings Batting Gloves $30 per pair, 2 pair minimum.
Rawlings Baseballs (ROLB's $39/dozen)
Umpires are $40-$60 per umpire for home games depending on Age group.
$440 per team for the Golf tournament
$150 per team for the Web site (instead of $300 for the program)
Uniform costs are presented to the Managers in August or September, so you know exactly what that cost will be. Same for helmets, bat bags and catchers equipment. I've never had a hidden cost come up.
The more you do with a hat the more the hat will cost, you can do it for $16 - $20 per hat.
You can come up short on Tournament costs, additional things added to shirts/pants/hats/helmets.
Some teams ask the parents to pay for registration/shoes/gloves seperate from the budget, some include it.
Tournaments that expect you to pre-buy T-Shirts may be an additional cost. A tournament that wants a gate fee instead of charging everyone may cause you to ask for more money.
Trying to budget in August for the next 11 months and hope that there is no change in prices, what the coaches want for the team or what the parents want for the team can cause a request for more money.
So, as long as you know what it is up front, any extra costs should be a surprise to all.
Coach,
You have been there a long time. Not counting Cooperstown, what are the approximate costs. $1,200...$1,500....$2,000?
This year at 13U-$1,350 - includes 10 tournaments 4 with gate fees, park fees of $250, indoor practice fees, baseballs, 2 pr. pants, 3 hats, 3 pr. socks, 2 belts, 2 underarmours with logos and numbers, 1 vest, 1 jersey, 1 jacket, 10 away game umpires, 16 home game umpires
Last year at 12U - $1,750 pretty much the same as above with more uniform parts, 2 pr of shoes, new equipment bag.
Previous year at 12U - $2,100 included professional instructions and most of the above.
How does this compare?
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2008 : 20:09:44
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I know there are many rumors of the costs relating to EC but there are no "Mystery Costs" that make it more expensive to play there than out of most other parks.
You are required to buy uniforms through EC but the prices are in line with other options. The only limitation is you have to buy Rawlings uniforms and Reebok cleats. They are park sponsors, and naturally, the park needs to support them.
You are required to buy baseballs (10 dozen) and batting gloves (at least one pair, not 2 pair). The golf tournament requires you to find a sponsor to cover the $440 or pay it yourself.
Each team is allowed to host tournaments at EC, which can be used to offset these costs.
Because we were going to Cooperstown this year, we did not buy batbags or helmets. We let the players use the ones they had before.
We bought 2 dry fit jerseys, which cost about $30 each, and one Sunday Jersey that was around $50 (It would have been cheaper if we had gone with screen print than tack twill), 3 pairs of pants (no qty requirement, we just did not want to wash uniforms while at tournaments), and a pullover (which was not required). The hats cost $20 each, from Pro-line, but they had piping on it, which made it a little more expensive. The only catch is you have to order 24 at a time, which I have ran into with other hat companies as well.
Field time is included in the $175/player fee and each team has 3 practices times a week, plus unlimited ability to batting cage time. We had a Wednesday night, Thursday night (Mt. Bethel field), and Sunday afternoon practice time, along with hitting on a seperate night.
The website fee allows you to link up to the East Cobb Site which allows people to connect to your site. It can easily be offset by a sponsor.
At the older ages, there are "Paid" coaches that require additional costs, but I am not sure what those are. If you are in a situation of evaluating a team that has a paid coach, I would suggest finding out what that cost is up front. Also you may want to know the number of tournaments a team is planning on playing.
Just thought I would dispell some of the urban legends. |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 16:44:04
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To "play out of" it's the same as every other park in the metro Atlanta area.... about 1000.00 to 1200.00 to play a 10-12 tournament season. That applies to 8's through to 14's. It gets you everything that you wear from your head to your toe and all points in between (excluding underwear). It also gets you a bat bag, a batting helmet, batting gloves and a full day at spa sydell for mom. 15's and up are roughly the same; "uniform" costs are similar, they play fewer tournaments but they cost a bit more. You just need to factor in the paid coaches if you hook up with a team organized that way and they don't give mom the spa sydell treatment.
Registration is "arguably" the same as any other park, 175.00 + 100.00 tryout / clinic... 275.00 for Jan 1 to Dec 31; comparable to every other park in metro Atlanta. (Considering parks that charge both a spring and a fall registration.)
To "play at" I'd submit that it's the LEAST expensive place to play. The typical tournament at ECB is $400.00 to $425.00 with FOUR game guarantee. That's $100.00 to $106.25 a game (excluding the Mazz' markup + $40.00 worth of baseballs). The vast majority of the other parks charge you $375.00 for a THREE game guarantee. That's $125.00 a game.
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Edited by - jay on 07/09/2008 13:38:27 |
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Gold Glove
129 Posts |
Posted - 07/07/2008 : 23:40:21
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quote:
Originally posted by jay
To "play at" I'd submit that it's the LEAST expensive place to play. The typical tournament at ECB is $400.00 to $425.00 with FOUR game guarantee. That's $100.00 to $106.25 a game (excluding the Mazz' markup + $40.00 worth of baseballs). The vast majority of the other parks charge you $325.00 for a THREE game guarantee. That's $125.00 a game.
Actually that's $108.33 per game. |
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billbclk
164 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 10:49:54
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| Is there a fee to tryout? |
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jrog76
80 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 11:23:25
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Is practice time a problem?
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 13:32:07
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I fat fingered it... it was meant to be $375.00. Still cheaper though.  |
Edited by - jay on 07/08/2008 18:55:48 |
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ECB 12U Stallions
20 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 20:45:53
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Jim:
I'll forgive you for making it sound like the Mazzone Tournament is this wildly expensive tournament at ECB. The entry fee is $450 (same as the Triple Crown North Atlanta Open which is a 3-game guarantee). Also, the $40 for baseballs was your choice. We asked for a dozen baseballs which is anywhere from $28 to $34 depending on who you buy them from. If you didn't bring baseball's, you bought a dozen from us for $40. In a four game minimum tournament, you are guaranteed to bring 8 balls to the plate. And more if you move to the next round. So you are really bringing an average of $10 of additional baseballs than what you would normally bring.
Our justification was that playing half our games on the short Field's #7 and #8 at ECB, you lose a lot more balls at 12U than at 11U and 10U (which we did). So you would have been throwing in new ones any way and probably would have gone through more than 12.
I didn't find any other coaches that didn't feel the Mazzone Tournament was a great value.
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 07/08/2008 : 21:07:44
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billbclk,
There is a $100 fee for the tryout/instruction workout. $125 if after the deadline.
Jrog76,
Practice time is not a problem. They try utilize some other fields to help out as well. One of our nights was over at Mt. Bethel. I know some of the younger ages also use the softball field over at Pope. Guerry and Dennis seem to be intent on people not using that as an excuse. I have always hear the urban legend about no practice time, but in actuality that has not proven to be the case. You are also free to come over and hit in the cages any night you want.
I have seen some coaches tell their parents "Well we only got one night at East Cobb to practice." when in actuality, the other two nights they were assigned were nights the coach had something else planned.
The only thing that takes some coordination is if you are playing in NWBA or one of the other leagues and need to have home games. You will need to coordinate with the team before or after you to swap practice times around to get the 2 hours you need for a game. That is typically not that big of a deal. Normal field time is 1:15 minutes but you can take the hour before or the hour after and hit in the cages. That gives you over 2 hours of practice time.
They have also built 5 or 6 pitchers mounds over by the covered batting cages that teams can use for bullpen work. They accomodate 46', 50', 54', and 60'6". |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 02:12:47
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quote:
Originally posted by jrog76
Is practice time a problem?
in reality it is.
our boys were involved down there 2 years. ec gave the team two weeknights for 1 1/4 time frames apiece , 75 minutes.
one of the times was 500 to 615 no one could make it.
coaches traded with another team then they had 2 1/2 hours for a single weeknight. weekend times were handed out but never accessed because tournaments pushed them off as I remember.
we saw the boys having fun but not keeping up with others so moved on .
the nice words about ec are expected for you guys who appear to be ec coaches. but you have to really want to play there for other reasons to convince yourslef its worth little field time.
bat cages are OK in a pinch but live field work is where its at.
best to all |
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12uCoach
357 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 08:12:35
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| Sorry Coach Danm just because you had a lousy coach who did not know how to manage their field time, don't lump the rest of the EC world with it. Yea we coaches defend what we do at East Cobb because WE KNOW how to best use 75 minutes on the field and 45 in the cage. Alternate sources of field time are abundant, you have to HAVE COACHES willing to find it and use it. Your attitude is typical of many parents today, "What are YOU giving ME?" |
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BREAMKING
323 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 10:33:26
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| Been a long time since having a family member play there but keep in mind the time off work for out of town stuff. The hotel bills for you and your family. Meals on the road. This stuff adds up. We had a good experience at East Cobb due to a great coach. Was able to stay with him all the way until high school ended. I am sure it is much different now since they got there own facility. We never had problem finding places to practice even if it was the sprayberry parking lot at 6:00 am every morning. lol... |
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jay
177 Posts |
Posted - 07/09/2008 : 13:37:41
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So defensive... no one said it was a bad deal; just poking fun. I err'd in omitting the TCS $450.00 tourneys.
At the risk of starting a political battle, I respectfully disagree with senior Lomax. Not that practice time is hard to come by; after all there are the new mounds (excellent addition I might add) and the covered batting cages (yet another perq). However, I can't say that too many teams got to use those weekend slots due to tournaments. No park in the immediate area hosts as many tournaments as ECB. You can't have it both ways; practice time and tournaments.
Suggesting that coaches have better things to do is simply disingenuous. Not every team can use those 5pm weekday slots. 12YO's typically get off the bus right around 5pm. You can always attempt to trade them away but, very few teams can use them. Mom and dad just can't get the kids to the field that early (that often).
The reality is that for most of the season some teams have 2 slots and some have 1 slot. Those with 1 have to get more creative.
And yes, there is a fee for the tryout and clinic. ECB is after all a non-profit and it gets none of the benefits enjoyed by public organizations. e.g. subsidized construction as well as significantly lower operating costs in general. As for 'nice' words about ecb, what negatives could you highlight that every other park doesn't have? The fields are nice. The bleachers are covered. The parking could be better. You really can't say a bad thing about the place. Honestly, it rains at ECB?! Well doesn't that happen everywhere
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Edited by - jay on 07/09/2008 21:26:43 |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2008 : 00:35:48
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quote:
Originally posted by 12uCoach
Sorry Coach Danm just because you had a lousy coach who did not know how to manage their field time, don't lump the rest of the EC world with it. Yea we coaches defend what we do at East Cobb because WE KNOW how to best use 75 minutes on the field and 45 in the cage. Alternate sources of field time are abundant, you have to HAVE COACHES willing to find it and use it. Your attitude is typical of many parents today, "What are YOU giving ME?"
12uCoach I hate to argue but our Coaches were good at managing the time .
Just didnt have enough of it to use for 12 boys to all get good reps.
Look at it this way: many other programs in the area including Roswell Sandy Plains Hopgood they have almost unlimited access to their fields for practicing this is what our boys needed most and it makes a clear difference in the games.
As for defending your program have at it Im not against you |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2008 : 00:44:30
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quote:
Originally posted by jay
So defensive... no one said it was a bad deal; just poking fun. I err'd in omitting the TCS $450.00 tourneys.
At the risk of starting a political battle, I respectfully disagree with senior Lomax. Not that practice time is hard to come by; after all there are the new mounds (excellent addition I might add) and the covered batting cages (yet another perq). However, I can't say that too many teams got to use those weekend slots due to tournaments. No park in the immediate area hosts as many tournaments as ECB. You can't have it both ways; practice time and tournaments.
Suggesting that coaches have better things to do is simply disingenuous. Not every team can use those 5pm weekday slots. 12YO's typically get off the bus right around 5pm. You can always attempt to trade them away but, very few teams can use them. Mom and dad just can't get the kids to the field that early (that often).
The reality is that for most of the season some teams have 2 slots and some have 1 slot. Those with 1 have to get more creative.
And yes, there is a fee for the tryout and clinic. ECB is after all a non-profit and it gets none of the benefits enjoyed by public organizations. e.g. subsidized construction as well as significantly lower operating costs in general. As for 'nice' words about ecb, what negatives could you highlight that every other park doesn't have? The fields are nice. The bleachers are covered. The parking could be better. You really can't say a bad thing about the place. Honestly, it rains at ECB?! Well doesn't that happen everywhere
You are very right about the top quality of the ec facility.
Always clean, fields were manicurred, parking wasnt bad at all.
But just what do you propose to do about the rain  |
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 07/10/2008 : 14:42:52
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Don't let me make it sound like everything is rosy, but I can say that we moved from Sandy Plains to EC this year and it was not SIGNIFICANTLY harder to manage practice time. Yes at Sandy Plains there are 2 fields and 4 travel teams at 11U and 12U but you also have to manage around the league teams and games. Early on you can get field time, but during the league season, it becomes more of a challenge, much like it does at EC when tournaments start. As with Sandy Plains, there are always fields available on Sunday afternoons once the tournaments end. The truth is, once tournaments start, most teams are playing and are not practicing on the weekends. If they are off, parents are usually looking to do other family activities. You can always plan a Sunday evening practice to get the week started.
It is all about perception and management. The only way to ensure adequate practice time is to have your own field you share with no one. (Which I wish I had. )
It is not a magical place where all lines up in the baseball world, it is just another place to play. If you come here it needs to be because it is right for you child or your team, not because of field time. To me, the more important thing to look for is good coaching. Just because someone is coaching a team here does not automatically make them a good coach or even one that knows how to team good fundamentals and baseball knowledge. I see many more people disappointed with the level of coaching they received than with the amount of field time they received.
And Jay, it's seņor, not Senior. |
Edited by - greglomax on 07/10/2008 22:24:19 |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 07/13/2008 : 12:57:50
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quote:
Originally posted by greglomax
Don't let me make it sound like everything is rosy, but I can say that we moved from Sandy Plains to EC this year and it was not SIGNIFICANTLY harder to manage practice time. Yes at Sandy Plains there are 2 fields and 4 travel teams at 11U and 12U but you also have to manage around the league teams and games. Early on you can get field time, but during the league season, it becomes more of a challenge, much like it does at EC when tournaments start. As with Sandy Plains, there are always fields available on Sunday afternoons once the tournaments end. The truth is, once tournaments start, most teams are playing and are not practicing on the weekends. If they are off, parents are usually looking to do other family activities. You can always plan a Sunday evening practice to get the week started.
It is all about perception and management. The only way to ensure adequate practice time is to have your own field you share with no one. (Which I wish I had. )
It is not a magical place where all lines up in the baseball world, it is just another place to play. If you come here it needs to be because it is right for you child or your team, not because of field time. To me, the more important thing to look for is good coaching. Just because someone is coaching a team here does not automatically make them a good coach or even one that knows how to team good fundamentals and baseball knowledge. I see many more people disappointed with the level of coaching they received than with the amount of field time they received.
And Jay, it's seņor, not Senior.
I understand your points but its not what our coaches and boys had available to them.
We had quality coaches , dont rememer hearing complaining about other teams coaches unless someone's son wasnt allowed to play as much as mom or dad thought they should. .
Cant remember their being able to just walk in and ' take a sunday night practice 'as the fields were occupied by others.
Me I would still prefer our boys being at the competiting programs who have several guaranteed days available then management of limited resources is not an issue that everyone has to experience. |
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743
215 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 11:15:25
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| So does ECB mark up uniform costs and batting glove costs and all that other stuff so they make a profit and use it pay for older teams or pay salaries for the administrators over there and coaches? |
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SportsDad
293 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 13:33:12
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quote:
Originally posted by 743
So does ECB mark up uniform costs and batting glove costs and all that other stuff so they make a profit and use it pay for older teams or pay salaries for the administrators over there and coaches?
Beats me...but I'm sure they get something back for their exclusive contracts...we never found that the price of shoes, uniforms, gloves, hat etc. was outragous...pretty much in line with everything else...I also find it funny that people have no real idea what it cost to maintain any park, none the lest the size of one like ECB...and price is never a detremination of whether or not people complain about it..you can pay 220 bucks to play (17 games) HS fallball and people will complain about the outragous cost..hmmm 13 bucks a game to play on a field (yes it cost money to maintain it) pay umps ( heard their fees have gone up)...provide baseballs for the games/practises..provide a jersey and a hat..and still this is considered "ripping people off"...Of course we live in a society that nobody has any choices of where to play...You have to play at ECB..you have to play where we make you...ECB used to (don't know anymore my son doesn't play out of there currently) provide fundraising opportunities for kids to off-set the cost..I presume that most place either do or should do...but no it's a lot easier to suggest that ECB and every other park is out to line their pockets than to understand what the true cost of playing baseball is...Besides when we were at ECB..the cost to ECB was small in relation to what ECB provided...team cost were detremined by the team not ECB.. |
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2008 : 14:52:08
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Not that I can tell. The prices are competitive with, and in some cases less than, what I could order them elsewhere. You have to keep in mind, though, that screening and embroidery is done by a third party and the cost is what they charge EC.
I would say it works in the opposite direction. I would say they have deals worked with Reebok, Rawlings, and the other vendors to get organizational sponsorships much like retailers do with rebates and incentives. I doubt many people give a lot of thought to what it takes to keep up that kind of non-public facility. The $175 per player sure doesn't go very far to cover those expenses. The burden is not being passed on to the players. The uniform costs are typical to playing anywhere else. How "Fancy" they are dictates the price. |
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743
215 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 10:07:24
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| So if you wanted to have only one uniform, no bat bags, repaint last years batting helmets, you could do that? I know you would still have to buy your 2 pair of batting gloves and golf tournament and $175 for registration, game balls, umpire fees, just wondering if you could do it at ECB like that. Again, I know nothing about the process, just have heard complaints by a dad and his first taste of an ECB budget. He said he spent $700.00 for travel last year out of a park with a 10 tournament schedule plus NWGA games and pick up games as well. |
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 11:29:28
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Last year we bought NO bat bags, NO helmets, one pair of batting gloves, 10 dozen baseballs (mandatory but the price was the same as anywhere else), cleats, one nice button up jersey, two dry fit shirts, three pairs of pants, and 2 hats.
The jerseys, pants and hats quantities was our own decision. We could have only purchased one of each but parents did not want to do that much laundry at tournaments.
The only thing additional was the $175 + the golf tournament sponsorship fee.
Much of the cost comes in the tournaments a team chooses to play in. That is individual to each team and is the same cost no matter what park you play out of. |
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wildcats9596
110 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 12:24:56
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quote:
Originally posted by 743
So if you wanted to have only one uniform, no bat bags, repaint last years batting helmets, you could do that? I know you would still have to buy your 2 pair of batting gloves and golf tournament and $175 for registration, game balls, umpire fees, just wondering if you could do it at ECB like that. Again, I know nothing about the process, just have heard complaints by a dad and his first taste of an ECB budget. He said he spent $700.00 for travel last year out of a park with a 10 tournament schedule plus NWGA games and pick up games as well.
Let's assume $400 per tournament. That's $4000. If they played 12 NWGA games and another, say, 8 pick up games, assume $40/game for Umps, if they split them. That's another $800. They probably had to register their players w/whatever park they played out of. $1750 would be pretty reasonable. Then assume another $300 for baseballs.
We are now up to $6850. For a 12 man team that is already $570-580 per family. If they were able to get away with $125 for uniforms, good for them. I know I'm leaving some other basic expenses out, but they either did some pretty good fundraising, or they were very frugal in some areas and didn't have any real expensive tournaments like Cooperstown.
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East Cobb Baseball how much to really play there?
