Cost for Sports?

[snipsnsnails]

How much do you spend on kids’ sports? My oldest was never into team sports. My next two (8 & 11) want to do everything. (Some of these sports are expensive! The registration fees and equipment costs add up.) So, I’m wondering how much do you budget monthly or per season toward your kid’s sports, and what sports?

[majique]

My two are in swimming and it’s basically year round. For my 16 yo DD it is $110/month plus $50 registration and my 11 yo DS is $80/month plus registration. Meets have an additional cost and is dependent on how many events they swim. Then we pay for suits, which wear out quickly with 6 days a week of practice.

[fluffycookie]

DS plays hockey.  Our season (Aug to Feb/March) costs needs to be paid in full before the start of the season and the season cost was anywhere from 1000 to 3500 depending on the team he is playing for.  We also budget in summer camp which is 1800. He is a goalie so he has extra stuff and his equipment is about 4K total between everything. We try and replace equipment during the summer and thankfully it's typically one or two pieces a season so we budget for that.  Off season leagues are about 250-375 depending on the league. 

Kids sports are super expensive. I was just having a conversation with a friend about how expensive baseball bats had become.  

[simpsongal]

Woof, this is very sport dependent but it really does add up....HCOL area

Swimming for DS (10) is about $4000/yr. Summer swim is the cheapest, it's his fall/winter/spring program that's pricey. Equipment is a few hundred bucks (fins, racing suits, goggles).
Baseball registration is about $250, he plays in fall and spring. Equipment isn't too much, few hundred bucks.
Ballet for DD (7) is probably about $2000/yr and going up....she also swims and it's about to go up to DS's number since she'll do the fall/winter/spring program too.
Soccer is like $220 for DD? equipment is inexpensive.

So in 2024, we'll probably spend $10K on kids sports. We also spend about $6K for both of them to take piano lessons too. So that's about $1300/mo for sports & piano. A lot, but still less than daycare [shrug].

ETA: I'm probably underestimating equipment costs - all the cleats, ballet shoes, pants, etc.  We're lucky DD's ballet studio recycles their costumes.

[noodleoo]

My kids are not really sports kids, so we haven't done a lot yet (ages 5 and 8.5) and most is through town recreation so less expensive. 

Swimming for both was $140 per kid per month at a swim school (Goldfish). DD1 graduated and has no interest in swim team, so she's done. That was a worthwhile investment, she's a far better swimmer than I am! DD2 is still going...

Soccer: we've done the town youth league. Registration is around $100 per season, spring and fall offered. Then we have to buy equipment (ball, cleats, shin guards, socks), maybe $100 for all that per year.

Basketball: through the rec center, also about $100 for the season. DD1 will be in 4th next year and it starts travel, I'm not sure if the price goes up. All she needed was a ball.

[aprilsails]

DD is getting into figure skating. She's now at the private lessons stage and it's going to be about $5000CDN per year not including any travel for competitions (which I'm not expecting the first two years). That's for two hours of ice time weekly with one hour of coaching from September - June.

[Jalapeñomel]

My son does Grit Ninja, and it's $430 a session (8 weeks, I believe 1 hr 15 minutes a week), and my daughter does gymnastics one day a week for $400 a session (45 minutes for 8 weeks).

I cannot imagine how expensive being on a team will be should either one choose to do so in the future.

[dontlook]

A million dollars give or take.

Seriously, DD plays lacrosse. Each season (fall, spring, summer) registration is between $300-500. Dibs are $250-500 or volunteer hours. Gear is mostly just shoes at this point. Winter camps are $300+. To play for school is $200 plus fundraising off another $200. That’s just kid 1 of 3.

[cjcouple]

At those ages it was mostly rexreation/town sports so it was usually $50-75 fee plus sneakers and a ball at home to practice and/or cleats and soccer needed shin guards and a ball, baseball needed a glove plus some balls and a bat for home.

I'd guess about $200 a season.

As they got older the equipment went up but school teams are free to join.

AAU was about $1k a season ($600 Fee plus sneakers and weekend fees to watch)

Oh swim lesson were a lot!! about $15 per half hour each.

And they did gymnastics and Karate at various times which were about $150 a month. Karate gear was about $250 for the sparring gear to start plus replacements with wear and tear. Toutnaments were $100 for entry and spectator each

[mel]

My son plays travel/competitive baseball and high school baseball.

HS - $300 for travel to Myrtle Beach for a tournament (for just him, DH and I had to pay our own way plus food/lodging/transport), $75 pay to play fee for the school, $275 for "spirit wear" (hoodies, cage jackets, etc that was required outside of their normal uniform)

Travel - $1500 registration fee, $350 for uniforms, about $800-$1,000 for new bat/glove/spikes (almost) every year. Most of the tournaments are local enough that we don't need overnight lodging, but there's usually one or two that is a whole weekend away with a hotel stay that is not included in the team fees (for DS and us).

[thebreakfastclub]

My kid doesn't really care about sports so we just do rec stuff here and there.

Recently he's been interested in doing soccer again so we are doing some private lessons to help catch him up. They're like $50 a week.

We did year round swim for 4 years but that's over. It was $80 a month but worth it.

My neighbor pays over $6000 a year for his 12yo to do baseball. The dollars and more importantly time commitment are a no go for me. I want to go to the pool in the summer and not watch some dumb baseball game an hour away.

[pierogigirl]

We have a lacrosse player and a rower. It's about $5000 each. This includes fees for registration or camps (about half the cost), equipment/uniforms, memberships in required organizations, and travel and lodging costs for overnight trips to compete. Both sports have become year round (the rower does dry land training in the winter). Due to funding, rowing is a school and club sport, so not free. It would be more expensive, but some of the cost is paid by the school district. The lacrosse player also does club lacrosse with most of his school team and team coach (included in my estimate above).

[CrazyLucky]

I complain about the costs, but compared to people here, it isn't so bad. DD is $400/yr for soccer registration. It's $135 for the uniform, which lasts 2-3 years. They're in a couple of tournaments that are generally in the $150 range, but for one, you have to stay down the shore for three days which is a lot of additional cost. Basketball is just an in-town league and I think it's about $60. She's goes to basketball camp every year, and that's $375. So maybe $1400/yr total? Best guess.

DS is in indoor percussion. The costs are minimal other than their big season ending tournament in Wildwood, but they still rile me up. I have to drive an hour to see his team compete for literally three minutes and they charge me $20 to get in.

DH's cousin has two kids in elite travel volleyball. They travel all over the country. I don't think I'd be willing to put in the time and money for that, even if my kids were amazing athletes.

[helpshareplease]

My kid does marching band & pep band it's $600.00 per season Plus whatever spending money she gets during the season, sank bar/out of state competitions spending $, stuff like that. Thankfully she plays the sousaphone and the instrumental rental is only 25.00 for the year. Uniform and shoes are included in that fee.  I still have to pay admission for football/basketball games, and I think it's bs after paying band fees but oh well. But in a nutshell yes sports are expensive. 

[InBetweenDays]

When DD played travel lacrosse it was a lot. Travel team was about $1,500 per season (summer and fall) for the fee plus usually 3 flights to tournaments across the country. Plus maybe an average of $200/year on gear (stick, cleats, goggles). Plus high school lacrosse (which is a club sport in our state so while it's associated with the high school it's gets no financial or other support from the district) which usually is $600 registration. Plus maybe $200 for rec soccer.

DS doesn't play travel lacrosse but does play high school. So again $600 registration and probably an average of $250 in general gear (stick, pads, cleats) then since he's a freshman we had to pay for his team helmet this year which was $300. Plus another $200 since they enter into a few tournaments and do an optional fall ball program. Again plus maybe $200 for rec soccer.

So I'd say not factoring in travel lacrosse (which she doesn't do anymore because she's a senior) we're looking at around $2,500/yr but that seems low so I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

At 8 and 10 they played rec soccer and rec lacrosse. Which was probably ended up being around $1k for registration and gear.

[holly116]

DD is 13 and in ballet, 4 days a week at the academy for our city's professional ballet. It's about $5k a year in tuition, another $1-$2k for summer intensives, plus maybe another $300 in leotards/tights/basic ballet shoes. She's on her 4th pair of pointe shoes this year, they're $150 a pop. Recital fees, photos, tickets to performances, some professional so $40-$60 a ticket.. probably another $500 total for the family.

The boys are still rec level everything but DS2 will move to club soccer this fall. I know it's expensive but it's nothing compared to ballet. Soccer, baseball, basketball, flag football. Each one is a couple hundred a season per kid by the time we pay the fees, shoes/gear/uniforms. The biggest cost at their level is the time. Our family calendar is the stuff of nightmares.

Summer swim isn't bad. $100 in suits/t-shirts/sweatshirts per kid per season. I don't even know the registration cost, it's a super low-key cc league.

DD also does XC as a school sport. I can't remember the registration fee being much. Shoes are the biggest cost there. The team fundraises for jackets/sweatshirts/spirit wear.

[bex1973]

A whole heck of a LOT IMO but seems to be normal based on what I'm seeing in this thread.

Volleyball - $175 a session/season, each session is about a month long and kid did about 5 sessions this year. Includes team shirt.

Dance - $85 a month Sept - May plus shoes, leos, about $250/300 for recital costumes, $50 recital fee and $15 per ticket for recital. Plus a few extra things through the year for example they're having a lock in Friday night and it's $35.

Cheer - $300 for the fall season (Aug-Nov) includes uniform, shoes, jacket and cheer bows

Basketball was I think $150 for the season and included uniform.

She does a few random one time events through our parks & rec or community ed and those are usually around $30 per event.

She's doing a sleepaway camp for a week this summer for the first time and that was about $600

[sunshineandpinot]

Club Volleyball x 2 kids.
National team- about $4K/year + $$$$travel + private lessons.
Regional team- $3K ++

Both girls started at age 12.

Thankfully (or not, idk) my older dd seems to be finished with club after this season and is just going to concentrate on her high school sports teams. I don't even want to think about how much we have spent and I'm just going to be grateful for the experiences.

ETA- I think the whole club sports thing is such BS and I hate that we had to partake. It is what it is; no regrets but I won't miss it!

[ssmjlm]

Horseback Riding Lessons are $65 each and she goes once a week
Dance is $100/month for a 90 min class once a week
Gymnastics is $70/month for 60min class once a week

Obviously this doesn't include any equipment. I've started having her get horseback riding stuff for Christmas/Birthday if she was something specific.

[livinitup]

When my DD was playing tennis, court time and coaching was about $600/month. She played 10-11 months a year. Plus tournament costs.

She is a great tennis player but did not want to go-out for the tennis team in high school because she did not like the other girls tennis players. Oh well.

[grover]

My daughter does competitive dance. We are at one of the most reasonably priced studios and these prices were like half this last year (they opened during covid, so they were very very cheap to start). Our season (Aug-May) total tuition is $3500 for the U10 group. It includes all classes, 1 group dance in 4 competitions, all costumes for the 4 competitions and the 2 recitals (1 recital is just competition showcase, the other is for spring classes), an ensemble role in Nutcracker, 1 convention, warm up jacket and makeup. We then also have an extra fee of $70 per month because my daughter wanted to do a 2nd group dance and a duet in competition.

She is currently 7 and this is her first full year on the comp team (last year she did the prek team). She is taking classes 3 nights a week from 5:30-7:45 on the longest night, rehearsals on Sat mornings, and she's already asking if she can try out for a solo next year. She loves it, enjoys classes and practicing at home for classes, so we are willing to contribute for dance for as long as she loves it. Oh, and we will stick with this studio because there's no travel required unless you opt into the summer nationals comp. All the comps are an hour or less from home, which was the only reason I agreed to let her try studio over the park district we started at.

[egishere]

We spend a lot on sports!

DS plays tackle football ($425), flag football ($200) and basketball ($350) plus does a couple camps during the summer $300 or so.

DD plays rec soccer thru a club $850 for two seasons (but they have a professional coach for practices so it costs a little more than say a city rec program) plus $200 or so for two indoor sessions in the winter. Plus one tournament a year which is usually like $75 or so. She's going to a soccer camp at my alma mater this summer that is $350.

Other DD is in competitive dance which is $480 a month for classes and team fees, charged Aug-May-which includes the costumes and going to four competitions/convention. Summer intensives are $1600. Then I spent another $200 or so on costumes for her regular classes. Since this was her first year we had to buy some things like the makeup kit and team jacket- probably about $250 or so. We have spent a few nights in hotels for competitions and will be going to CA for a week in June for "nationals". With flights, rental car and splitting a two bed suite with another dance friend I'm guessing it will be around $2500 or so. Ugh but she loves it!

[Roc A Bee]

We are lucky in that SD discovered soccer in high school, so it’s much cheaper. Just cleats and shinguards. Her physical was free, it’s free to play. We’ve bought her some equipment to practice at home, but it also doubled as a bday gift. Her team sweatshirt doubled as Christmas gift.

[devonpow]

It’s not terrible for us. DS2 does track and cross country - so 3 seasons. Each season costs $300 through the high school. Then each season we get new training shoes and spikes - maybe $300 total for those? Training clothes aren’t pricey except for things like his winter training gear, but those are mostly one time purchases

[glitzy07]

I just looked at YNAB for 2023 and it looks like we spent ~$7500 last year. That is inclusive of registration fees for the season, camps, gear, and anything I purchased as a team manager for the hockey team.

My 10yo plays winter hockey, spring/summer lacrosse, spring/summer AAA hockey, and then soccer in the fall.

My 8yo plays soccer.

My 17yo SS snowboards, but he gets his pass free by working at the rental shop and he bought his own gear.

[ECB]

DS plays lacrosse. There's a wide spectrum, and we've always aimed for the less expensive options. In middle school, his club team cost about $800 a season, and we had to buy all his gear - sticks, helmet, glove, pads, etc.

Now that he's in high school - all the clubs are more expensive. This year is $1,600. And that's cheap in our area! Many clubs are easily over $2k and even $3k.

And that doesn't include travel! Luckily, we only have one out of town tournament and it's in driving distance - so hotel is the only cost. But there are teams that travel more, and sometimes to locations that you have to fly to.

[sugarbear1]

Last year, all told (team fees, equipment, uniforms, and all travel expenses), I paid $11,400 for DS1 (13) to play baseball. That was a little more than half of the fees because exH and I cover the travel expenses when we take him to tournaments and I traveled more than exH did. I also just forked over $900 for a 4-day 9am-2pm catchers camp this summer.

DS2's Muay Thai classes are $150/month.

It's obscene.

[sugarbear1]

Apr 18, 2024 9:30:40 GMT -5 sunshineandpinot said:

ETA- I think the whole club sports thing is such BS and I hate that we had to partake. It is what it is; no regrets but I won't miss it!

100%
But my kid loves it and it has been SO GOOD for him.
I've landed at, "don't hate the player, hate the game." 

[gardengal]

We do rec soccer & only Fall & Spring seasons so it’s like $300/yr? After initial equipment purchase (ball, jersey which is $20 & lasts their entire time at their school, socks, shin guards), it’s only cleats we have to replace as feet grow. They do have a cleat exchange, though we’ve never been able to take advantage of it. We’ve found either good sales or lightly used ones on eBay.

I’m glad my kids are content w rec soccer bc I cannot deal with the absurdity of travel team schedules & prices

[DotAndBuzz]

So I think if they're into everything, and haven't really picked something they love yet (totally normal/age appropriate for ages 8 and 11), I'd stick to rec and school leagues over private clubs/travel. That will help with the cost. My oldest isn't a sports kid, and while she liked volleyball, she wasn't *all in.* Her friends were all signing up for private clubs, and we didn't. No regrets. Tennis she liked more, so we started with her middle school team, and she connected with a couple girls there that we went in on private lessons in the off season together. That also helped with the cost, splitting $60 3 ways each week worked out to $80/month for those. After 2 years on the JV HS team, she has since shifted again, and is letting tennis fall of in favor of theater (still only doing that through school, no private kids theater groups), but I feel like we found the happy medium with how we approached it.

My younger one has picked dance as her activity. THAT is way more expensive. Lessons, shoes, tights, costumes, that adds up fast. Lessons are about $250/month for 5 classes (2 are technique classes, so no costume). Recital costumes will be about $200 total. She's on their student "company," but not the competition team, thank GOD, so that's another $360/year for the Saturday rehearsal sessions, and then another $150-200ish for costumes on top of that for their 2 shows (Nutcracker and a benefit concert). It's insane, but she loves it, and it's definitely her "thing."