This past weekend, I went with my daughter-in-law to see my granddaughter play in her volleyball tournament at the America’s Center in St. Louis. This is a huge venue and at least eighty teams were playing. We paid $25 to park and $20 per person to get in. This tournament lasted for two days. That makes the cost for a family of four over $100 a day.

Back when I was raising my children, there were only two options for children’s sports: city leagues and school teams. My kids played baseball and softball through our city ball leagues and each year it only cost me about $100. Yes, they had gloves and maybe a bat or two and probably some cleats for the boys, but that was about the end of it.

Now, it is completely different. Parents pay thousands of dollars each year for their children to play “select” ball. The children have to try out for the team, and if they are selected for the team, then they pay to play on the team, oftentimes more than $3,000 a year. Add to that the cost of all the equipment, bats, balls, gloves, shoes, socks, knee pads, catcher’s gear, backpacks, gear bags, etc. These teams play almost exclusively weekend tournaments. Many venues you have to pay to park and then pay an admission fee (to watch your child play a sport you already paid for them to play) to get in.  Many of the tournaments are held out of town, which means the added expense of a motel room for one or two days and meals. The cost for a family of four to attend an out-of-town tournament could be well over $500 for a weekend.

My oldest son has a dream of creating a charitable organization that would benefit children who have the ability and desire to participate in these sports teams but whose parents can’t afford it. Sports are so competitive nowadays that the inability to afford these types of teams generally puts the child at a disadvantage, as they do not get the same practice or training. Doing well in high school sports leads to college recruiting and the ultimate goal of scholarships. My son has paid well over $10,000 for my grandson to play select ball through the years, but in the long run, I guess it paid off, as my grandson has a 40% baseball college scholarship.

He hasn’t found a way to fund this dream yet, but maybe someday he will.