I had an extremely cheap way to excel in sports. When I was 11, I was the worst batter on my little league team. I was 9th in the order. I was of course embarrassed. My dad took me to Sluggers, a batting cage joint by Wrigley Field. We stayed for four hours. When I backed away from the balls and closed my eyes, Dad said to lean in and keep my eye on the ball. I got better over the course of that afternoon. I feared that batting against sloppy little league pitchers would be more dangerous than a machine that always landed the ball in the strike zone. But I stopped being afraid of the ball itself. That reflex left. I hit well the next game. And the next. And the next. Eventually I was third in the order — the spot conventionally reserved for the best hitter (albeit not the best slugger). I came to excel. All it cost was an afternoon and however many coins my dad put in the machine. I saw myself differently. And when I got a little arrogant — at the end of a game, the batter in front of me struck out, resulting in a loss — I threw my helmet down in anger. My dad bolted over to me and gave me a talking to. I got it. I learned both excellence and sportsmanship. And I didn’t travel more than a few miles from my home.
Great story, thanks for sharing! I had the opposite experience of you with the batting cage. I was a pretty good hitter (though kind of weak), so I thought I'd be good at the batting cage. But the ball went so fast! Of course I was only in 5th or 6th grade. I preferred to hit against pitchers my age, not the scary machine.
I don't think we realize how much economics we do on a daily basis. You did a great job framing and explaining opportunity costs as well as the decision making process.
Youth sports is a major industry. The talk that your quoted is also a driver in the influence in trying to tap into the wallets of parents. Many parents have a dream for their children, the dream that they will be the next superstar. In chasing that dream though kids have to give up other things. This might be local relationships and connections to their community.
in the locality that I live, small and rural, the kids often have to travel and hour and half or two hours to have access to elite travel programs. This means kids are doing work in the back of parents cars so they can try to keep up with academics. They are missing school so they can go to elite tournaments. Yes, this may provide opportunities for future success, but what will the next best alternative be that they had to give up? Was it worth it?
Good call. If I had more space in the piece I would have gone into detail about the benefits and costs of "excellence." But I thought I'd leave those to the commenters.
A critique about our travel system that's implicit in the post is that it heaps costs on families, but doesn't deliver the level of excellence it promises (compared to foreign systems). I don't blame the organizations for that. I just think it's hard to put together a system of top players when the game isn't baked into the passions of the population, and in which there aren't many clubs to aspire to, and to organize and bankroll training.
Soccer! I knew you'd eventually find a way to cover this topic.
"Soccer might be the activity for which humans have achieved the highest level of excellence. (The coolest activity invented by humans is skateboarding; that’s a post for another day.)"
I think it goes to paying the coaches, referees, and renting / buying fields. And then all the things that go with running a business, like admin, advertising, and profit. Paying the coaches is what really sets it apart from rec.
Something like $3,000 for a year, and several hundred extra for uniforms. Then add in extra accessories the team chooses, like bags, and travel and hotel costs. It can really add up.
Around $2,500 for the year, not including hotels, extra kits and bags, parents' time, etc. If you have more than one child in travel, it could easily add up to a tenth of a family's income.
I had an extremely cheap way to excel in sports. When I was 11, I was the worst batter on my little league team. I was 9th in the order. I was of course embarrassed. My dad took me to Sluggers, a batting cage joint by Wrigley Field. We stayed for four hours. When I backed away from the balls and closed my eyes, Dad said to lean in and keep my eye on the ball. I got better over the course of that afternoon. I feared that batting against sloppy little league pitchers would be more dangerous than a machine that always landed the ball in the strike zone. But I stopped being afraid of the ball itself. That reflex left. I hit well the next game. And the next. And the next. Eventually I was third in the order — the spot conventionally reserved for the best hitter (albeit not the best slugger). I came to excel. All it cost was an afternoon and however many coins my dad put in the machine. I saw myself differently. And when I got a little arrogant — at the end of a game, the batter in front of me struck out, resulting in a loss — I threw my helmet down in anger. My dad bolted over to me and gave me a talking to. I got it. I learned both excellence and sportsmanship. And I didn’t travel more than a few miles from my home.
Great story, thanks for sharing! I had the opposite experience of you with the batting cage. I was a pretty good hitter (though kind of weak), so I thought I'd be good at the batting cage. But the ball went so fast! Of course I was only in 5th or 6th grade. I preferred to hit against pitchers my age, not the scary machine.
I don't think we realize how much economics we do on a daily basis. You did a great job framing and explaining opportunity costs as well as the decision making process.
Youth sports is a major industry. The talk that your quoted is also a driver in the influence in trying to tap into the wallets of parents. Many parents have a dream for their children, the dream that they will be the next superstar. In chasing that dream though kids have to give up other things. This might be local relationships and connections to their community.
in the locality that I live, small and rural, the kids often have to travel and hour and half or two hours to have access to elite travel programs. This means kids are doing work in the back of parents cars so they can try to keep up with academics. They are missing school so they can go to elite tournaments. Yes, this may provide opportunities for future success, but what will the next best alternative be that they had to give up? Was it worth it?
Good call. If I had more space in the piece I would have gone into detail about the benefits and costs of "excellence." But I thought I'd leave those to the commenters.
A critique about our travel system that's implicit in the post is that it heaps costs on families, but doesn't deliver the level of excellence it promises (compared to foreign systems). I don't blame the organizations for that. I just think it's hard to put together a system of top players when the game isn't baked into the passions of the population, and in which there aren't many clubs to aspire to, and to organize and bankroll training.
Soccer! I knew you'd eventually find a way to cover this topic.
"Soccer might be the activity for which humans have achieved the highest level of excellence. (The coolest activity invented by humans is skateboarding; that’s a post for another day.)"
Yes, you'll have to wait patiently for the skateboarding post!
So how much does it cost to have a kid in traveling soccer and where does the money go?
I think it goes to paying the coaches, referees, and renting / buying fields. And then all the things that go with running a business, like admin, advertising, and profit. Paying the coaches is what really sets it apart from rec.
Something like $3,000 for a year, and several hundred extra for uniforms. Then add in extra accessories the team chooses, like bags, and travel and hotel costs. It can really add up.
I forgot to say, great column.
So how much does it cost to have a kid in traveling soccer and where does the money go?
Also you didn't mention time time comittment for the parents
Around $2,500 for the year, not including hotels, extra kits and bags, parents' time, etc. If you have more than one child in travel, it could easily add up to a tenth of a family's income.