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SportsDad
293 Posts |
 Posted - 09/09/2008 : 15:23:07
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...., 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.....
That is outragous!!!!outragously cheap for that schedule!!!! I doubt there are many parents who played travel ball and paid that little!!! Like I've said previously, price is never a determinate of whether one's complains.. Really think it would be extremely difficult to get away with just one uniform... I think you still have to buy a pair of cleats too..Think it's probably a good idea to upgrade batting helmets at least every other year..I know the batting helmet my son wore at 12, I would have never let him wear at 14...safety issue...As I recall, at 13U we paid $1800, for the season, now we did spend moeny on 3 nice jerseys, and we had bags, helmets, cleats, turfs, batting gloves, 2 hats, belts, socks,and pants...so I'm sure you could save money on that...as far as jerseys go, we did have nice ones, and that's only because we agreed, that showing up to games in a cheap one, just looked bad..I think we also had a UA shirt,a mock turtleneck, and a couple of practise t-shirts..I believe our overall budget for the year was 33K..but that was a 15-16 tournament schedule, with 2 World Series scheduled. We had some extremely generous sponsers , and we hosted a tournament, which we made close to 6K from..Which the proceeds were for hotel lodging for every parent at one of the week long World Series.
I'm sure a team can play for a lot less...and I know I've seen teams whos budget were a lot more..It for the most part all depends on the number of tournaments you play, and the amount of money you want to spend/raise...I heard of a team, not out of ECB who's parents paid nothing for the year..but they held 5 fundraisers thoughout the year and hosted a tournament. (one with 12 teams in it)..
Travel ball is expensive, any way you cut it, you throw in lodging,meals and transportaion expenses to 4-5 away tournaments, and it's quite a commitment..
Maybe estimated cost per family is something coaches should discuss with parents, before they commit to the team in the fall...I bet you, especially in these times, there is more than one parent, whos under a lot of hardship paying for travel ball, who is biting a rather big bullet, rather than disappoint his son after he's been selected to play on any given team. |
Edited by - SportsDad on 09/10/2008 09:02:52 |
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C. MORTON
1051 Posts |
Posted - 09/09/2008 : 16:27:17
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I know one team there charges 1,500 per player and they do fundraisers. they also had 11 - 14 players on their team at certain parts of the season...
If you don't get fancy sirts you can get different one for Mizuno or Under Armour typ shirts for under 20 bucks. Southland pants can be bought for 31 dollar a pair if you get team pricing. Mizuno pants for 24-26 dollars a pair. Batting helmets for about 25 bucks Schutt brand.
Bat bags with wheels 50 bucks. It is all out there on the net you just have to find it..Tournaments are the biggest part of travel ball. Baseballs are not cheap either. And then there's the gas to travel...I think if people would just go back and play rec ball for ONE season they wouldn't care about what they are paying to play travel...Plus no one HAS to PLAY at EC.....It is a CHOICE on makes... |
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bball-fan
89 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 09:31:06
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| If you break down rec-ball, that can be almost as expensive as travel if you do fall, spring and all-stars. The two rec seasons at almost $200 each, then what you have to raise or pay for the summer, around $500, or more. You have $900 already. Then you would still have gate fees, possible hotel stays, and other uniform expenses (batting gloves, cleats, etc.) Any way you look at it, it's expensive. |
Edited by - bball-fan on 09/10/2008 11:28:20 |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 11:43:54
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quote:
Originally posted by bball-fan
If you break down rec-ball, that can be almost as expensive as travel if you do fall, spring and all-stars. The two rec seasons at almost $200 each, then what you have to raise or pay for the summer, around $500, or more. You have $900 already. Then you would still have gate fees, possible hotel stays, and other uniform expenses (batting gloves, cleats, etc.) Any way you look at it, it's expensive.
Any way you consider the relevance of all this , fact is that it has never been necessary to play baseball in east cobb , to improve and excel individually , or as a team , or even be recruited to play college baseball.
I suspect that much of the money that they collect and keep as profits goes back to the grounds and staff to keep it in such fine condition.
Great place to watch or play a game, thats the bottom line . |
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 12:33:44
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Here is an interesting link to check out. It is a blog site that some guys who have kids playing at the next levels (College and in the pros) who write about travel baseball related stuff. The topics on there are really interesting and even informative at times. The link is to one that somewhat pertains to this subject.
http://roundthird.blogspot.com/2008/09/if-you-are-not-over-top-youll-be-under.html
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Hook Em Horns
105 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 14:57:54
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| Been invloved with travel for only 4 years now. Estimate $1200 - $1500 per season for "team related" expeditures. All other associated expenses, hotels, meals, fuel are yours to own. Fundraising is good when focused and creative....it helps when all parents participate, but some just want to cut checks....no biggie. The coach should be upfront and candid about level of expectation with parents and financials. We just moved to a team where we have a "Capital Call" schedule through next year to include an itemized listing of expenses and fundraising programs. Transparency is a beautiful thing. |
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greglomax
1031 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 15:05:32
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CoachDan,
You are absolutely right. This topic goes way past EC and never should it be said that playing out of EC is the best situation for all teams or all players. It is a great place to play and play out of but so are other parks as well.
But the common theme about travel ball is that it is not cheap, no matter where you play out of. The scope of travel has exploded over the last 4 or 5 years. I was just thinking, over the last 2 years, my son has played as far south as Jupiter Florida, as North as Cooperstown NY and as west as Omaha NE. 4 or 5 years ago, only the top few teams would travel that far and often. Now many levels of teams travel hours and hours away from home many weekends during the season. It's amazing. |
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goyard
217 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 15:40:39
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| Good read Lomax - thanks! I say play ball and invest a bit into something that keeps your kid constructively active. Yes, it is tough at times but basically equates to a burger and coke a day. |
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coachdan06
433 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 18:49:28
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quote:
Originally posted by greglomax
CoachDan,
You are absolutely right. This topic goes way past EC and never should it be said that playing out of EC is the best situation for all teams or all players. It is a great place to play and play out of but so are other parks as well.
But the common theme about travel ball is that it is not cheap, no matter where you play out of. The scope of travel has exploded over the last 4 or 5 years. I was just thinking, over the last 2 years, my son has played as far south as Jupiter Florida, as North as Cooperstown NY and as west as Omaha NE. 4 or 5 years ago, only the top few teams would travel that far and often. Now many levels of teams travel hours and hours away from home many weekends during the season. It's amazing.
Yessir , it has exploded.
But , what better activity to spend our endless time and money on?
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wildcats9596
110 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2008 : 22:27:11
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quote:
Originally posted by coachdan06
Great place to watch or play a game, thats the bottom line .
Roger that! The tournaments there are always good. Of course, Triple Crown and the Stallions have something to do with that.
Also, there will be a good source of opponents since there are going to be 14 or 15 13U teams over there this year. |
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Roundingthirdstaff
1 Posts |
Posted - 09/11/2008 : 17:06:52
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quote:
Originally posted by greglomax
Here is an interesting link to check out. It is a blog site that some guys who have kids playing at the next levels (College and in the pros) who write about travel baseball related stuff. The topics on there are really interesting and even informative at times. The link is to one that somewhat pertains to this subject.
http://roundthird.blogspot.com/2008/09/if-you-are-not-over-top-youll-be-under.html
We are actually doing an antire series on travel ball this week on Rounding Third. Go straight to http://roundthird.blogspot.com
Thanks! |
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East Cobb Baseball how much to really play there?
