Cost of Playing Sports

If your child really likes a sport, they likely want to be playing that sport competitively in some type of league. If they really love the sport, there’s a good chance they want to play that sport even in the offseason. Ultimately, supporting your child in their sports league is something that you would like to do, but there can be a huge price tag that comes along with doing so. We’ll look at several of the common ways that you must pay for your child’s sport, and help you to figure out how much it’s going to cost.

League costs

The cost that you are going to run into for every sport that your child wants to join - league costs. The price for this is going to be all over the place. There are leagues that are as little as $15. There are leagues that cost thousands of dollars. The price is going to depend on the sport, how competitive the league is, and where you live.

The cheapest leagues are usually those that are run by your local city or county. These leagues are usually less competitive in nature and are really meant for kids that are looking to have a fun time, learn a new sport, and enjoy playing their sport. These leagues generally have strict signup periods and are run during the standard sport seasons - you’re not going to get baseball in the middle of the winter.

As you move into private leagues, the price will start to go up. Some sports may require that you join a private league (for example, they don’t offer tackle football through our city or county, but there are private leagues in our area). You can usually expect better coaching and better players in these leagues. Part of the reason that it costs so much more for these leagues is because you are paying for better coaches and competition. If your child wants to play against better competition and you can afford it, a private league can definitely make a big difference.

Equipment

Every sport that your child plays will require that they have some type of equipment. The equipment that’s required will vary depending on the sport, and you can spend way more than the minimum that you have to spend. There’s nothing wrong with buying the minimum equipment for your child if you can’t afford more - sometimes just getting them into the sport will be difficult financially.

With every sport, there is equipment that is required vs equipment that’s nice to have. For example, in soccer you have to have shin guards, but there’s nothing that requires your child to have top of the line sports clothing. It’s nice to have some compression shorts, but your child can play without them. Depending on the league that you buy into, you may have to buy your own equipment or it may be provided. You’ll want to know when you sign up for the league what you’ll get vs what you’ll have to pay for.

Some leagues will provide a uniform for you. Others will require that you pay more on top of what you paid when you signed up. Once again, you want to find this out as you’re preparing to sign your child up for a league. One league may seem way cheaper than another, but you’ll have to buy all of your own equipment and clothing which may make it more expensive.

Travel

Are the games close by? Do you have to travel long distances to watch games? Is travel for your child included in your league costs or will you have to pay more? Are there playoffs, and will you have to travel for those? Learning about all of these costs up front will be important to help you calculate how much you’ll be spending.

Generally, your local rec league isn’t going to require a large amount of travel - you’ll be playing against other teams in your city and county. Most of these don’t have playoffs as part of the league, so there’s not really any additional costs. On the other hand, private leagues may travel much further away and there is a good chance of some type of playoff at the end of the season.

While travel for your child to games that are far away will usually be coordinated by the league, there is also no guarantee of that. However, it usually doesn’t include travel for parents or family of any type. So it’s not just travel for your child you’re worrying about, but travel for yourself as well if you want to support your child.

Conclusion

Make sure that you’re looking at all of the potential costs when signing your child up for sports. Local rec leagues are usually quite a bit cheaper, but the coaching and competition will be lower. Private leagues are going to be quite a bit more expensive but you’re paying for the better competition and coaching. Make sure you know the full cost of putting your child into a sports league before you sign them up.