If it wasn't for the possibility of playing softball in college...

[LEsoftballdad]

$20K? $30K? In a single year??? Wow.

Even if your DD is a top player who actively recruited, how does that come even close to making financial sense?

With some decent academic aid, that nails down at least a year at most private schools, and two+ years at a local public. That pace of spending through HS would easily pay for college by itself.

Well, we didn't do it for four years of HS. She's a junior, so this is our first year of crazy travel. Last year was more regional with the exception of the Sparkler and Legacy. Once she's committed, it will get dialed back a little.

The real money is in academics. She goes for all kinds of hitting and pitching lessons, but the most important lessons she takes are for her SAT class.

Upper-level privates are insane at over $80K per year. I don't know many families who can afford that cost out-of-pocket without assistance.

 

[tim_s]

we played on teams that were new england only, all told with tuition, unis, expenses we might have spent $5k per girl for the year.....maybe......last year they played on the same team for the first time since 10u, so it was actually less.....

DD1 did 2 years at the "bigger" team, DD2 is on her 2nd......DD1 is going to school for about $12,500 a year (tuition is $65,000+)......so whether the "investment" made "financial sense", who knows.........

 

[nixxy311]

Sadly even if your DD gets to play in college - it doesn't mean she's going to be a starter. It's cool it's a top D1 school and you get a scholarship but if she's sitting the bench - that's no fun. So much changes going from being a top player on your TB team to playing in college. It's a balance between going to play so you can play or wanting to be at a big school.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

flying..how many teams from CA,TX, Southeast etc go play tournaments in the Northeast??

Exactly zero.

 

[Westwind]

Our team due for the year were $4,200. That includes three sets of Gluv uniforms, helmet, bat bags, and 13-14 tournaments. We also got 40 hours of coaching with Bill Edwards, and our coaches are not volunteer parents. It also includes winter workouts, which are optional.

As to @Chilixa, I'm a numbers guy too. Is it worth it financially from a just dollars and sense perspective? Probably not. If I didn't have the resources to do this, I wouldn't even consider it.

For what you are getting, that doesn’t sound bad to me at all. I think a lot of people shop ala carte to “save money” but don‘t total it up….

 

[uncdrew]

You might be surprised about the scholarship opportunities (not just athletic) at some of those levels. Ex-teammates of my DD are at D2 and D3 schools for pretty cheap, and NAIA schools on a full ride. Speaking with an NAIA coach at a showcase event, he said, "I have more money available than I can possibly spend". His biggest challenge was finding players who wanted to go to a small school in a small town, and met the eligibility requirements.

For the age of your team, there shouldn't be any scholarship talk. The idea of wanting to play in college is totally fine, however. A worthwhile conversation is talking about grades. For those girls who might have a desire to play in college, getting good grades in HS will make a significant difference in the opportunities that will be available for them. I spent the last 2+ years of my DD's playing time being the guy at showcase games talking to college coaches about our team, and who might be a fit for their school. The first 3 things the coaches look at on the team flyer...grad year, position, and GPA. We had a couple of good players that missed out on good opportunities because their GPA was lower than the standard for the school. Their playing skill was irrelevant.

A relevant story...One of the pitchers my DD faced in HS was a beast. She was one of those players who was clearly on a path to D1 level skills even as a freshman. It was puzzling to many of us on the outside that she wasn't getting a ton of interest from high-level D1 schools when she got into recruiting age. Late in her senior year, we learned that her grades were the stumbling block. She did finally find a place at a D1 school, but the amount of opportunities missed was pretty significant.

A girl in our city is committed to Brown to play softball. A day after that announcement, we noticed she was number 198 on the Extra Innings list. My DD is like 40 on that list. I told her without any confusion that it was her grades that got her into Brown, not the softball. If you want to go to Brown, study more and practice softball less.

 

[_MIA_]

Exactly zero.

Might be cheaper for you take an apartment in the middle of the country during the summer months...

 

[LEsoftballdad]

All I can say is I've had the opportunity to spend way more quality time with both of my daughters than most other parents can dream of, and that's because of softball. My kids don't drink, don't take drugs, are good students, treat people with respect, and are a lot of fun to be around. I wouldn't trade this time with them for all the money in the world.

 

[Chilixa]

All I can say is I've had the opportunity to spend way more quality time with both of my daughters than most other parents can dream of, and that's because of softball. My kids don't drink, don't take drugs, are good students, treat people with respect, and are a lot of fun to be around. I wouldn't trade this time with them for all the money in the world.

That’s my favorite part. My girls don’t even have time to get in trouble. My oldest time management skills far outweigh mine as well at an early age.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nixxy311]

A relevant story...One of the pitchers my DD faced in HS was a beast. She was one of those players who was clearly on a path to D1 level skills even as a freshman. It was puzzling to many of us on the outside that she wasn't getting a ton of interest from high-level D1 schools when she got into recruiting age. Late in her senior year, we learned that her grades were the stumbling block. She did finally find a place at a D1 school, but the amount of opportunities missed was pretty significant.

We have a 2024 on our HS team who is pretty good and once Sept 1st came around I expected to hear about a commitment. Nothing yet. She has posted pics from at least 1 P5 but I do wonder if that is a factor - I don't know if this is nationwide but varsity players with a good grade average are called Scholar athletes. She hasn't been one since she started HS. We also played against this crazy pitcher who was the starting pitcher when she was a freshman - won State last year, etc. I was so surprised she wasn't committed as soon as she was a JR. She did finally commit her senior year and it's D1 but not a P5 like I expected.