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Post by Keeper on Feb 12, 2018 16:16:27 GMT -5
Sorry all but I need a little rant. When the hell did HS soccer become more expensive then club soccer? I mean seriously $500 in costs plus another $150-200 in fundraisers that are all mandatory. All for a teacher who acts like a coach because he or she has watched the US National team once. I mean was I the only one that went to a school that didn’t require any fees to play Hs? We were just asked for a yearly $30 booster club membership fee, and that was in 2000 so I’m not that old.
For all you parents with current or former Hs players what did you all spend per season?
And did the HS tell you what the money was going to cover?
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Post by 04gparent on Feb 12, 2018 16:55:40 GMT -5
Sorry all but I need a little rant. When the hell did HS soccer become more expensive then club soccer? I mean seriously $500 in costs plus another $150-200 in fundraisers that are all mandatory. All for a teacher who acts like a coach because he or she has watched the US National team once. I mean was I the only one that went to a school that didn’t require any fees to play Hs? We were just asked for a yearly $30 booster club membership fee, and that was in 2000 so I’m not that old. For all you parents with current or former Hs players what did you all spend per season? And did the HS tell you what the money was going to cover? Wow!!! I dont have a player in high school yet, but that is quite expensive. What are the team expenses that would require that much money per player?
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Post by fanatic21 on Feb 12, 2018 18:18:51 GMT -5
Our high school charges about $200, but players get to keep their warm-up jackets, pants, practice jerseys, shorts, and socks. Not sure why any school would charge $500 for high school soccer.
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Post by Keeper on Feb 12, 2018 18:39:30 GMT -5
They say it’s to cover costs like Refs, Buses, equipment. Pretty much the entire program which I find hard to believe being a Gwinnett County school. I mean they do get warmups, bags, hoodies, practice shirts to keep and they are replacing two year old uniform kits. But this seems like a scam because it’s not like they have a community coach that they have to pay either. Just a varsity, JV and GK/Asst coach who are all teachers, same for the boys so 6 coaches total.
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Post by fan on Feb 12, 2018 19:08:02 GMT -5
Some counties restrict how much booster clubs can charge with smaller amounts for kids on free or reduced fee lunch. My guess is $250 is more common than $500. IMO kids should not be required to purchase bags or warmups. Require the basics like socks. Find a sponsor or two for the back of warm up shirts and they can be free. For fundraising, I've found sponsors to be a much faster way to raise money than selling gift cards, candles, onions, car washes, etc.
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Post by Strikermom on Feb 12, 2018 20:23:18 GMT -5
At a GCPS school $350 Varsity, $300 JV. If you bring in a sponsor, that amount deducted from your costs. We do 1 mandatory Coca Cola fundraiser which is easy., and we do the local fast food nights for a donation night. No warm ups, but they do get some nice half zips, socks, extra jersey, etc to keep. County gives no monies to soccer, you have to raise it through the boosters.
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Post by Keeper on Feb 12, 2018 22:27:35 GMT -5
At a GCPS school $350 Varsity, $300 JV. If you bring in a sponsor, that amount deducted from your costs. We do 1 mandatory Coca Cola fundraiser which is easy., and we do the local fast food nights for a donation night. No warm ups, but they do get some nice half zips, socks, extra jersey, etc to keep. County gives no monies to soccer, you have to raise it through the boosters. So the school board doesn’t pay for buses or any basic expenses? That just doesn’t seem right, but sadly seems like something that’s normal for Gwinnett.
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Post by soccerparent02 on Feb 13, 2018 8:03:43 GMT -5
Schools don't pay for any athletic expenses. The local athletic depts and booster clubs pay for everything. We pay $200 for the year but have to purchase uniforms every two years. $200 they get markups, practice gear and socks.
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Post by coachcc on Feb 13, 2018 12:01:45 GMT -5
That cost really isn't that bad. For one, high school is typically 5 days per week of training and/or games while club is typically only 3 or 4 days per week. The coaches at most of the big schools or good programs at smaller schools have been either coaching high school for years or also coach club soccer so it's often wrong to think of them as being that different from club coaches. Gwinnett county only pays for 2 coaches per program- a head coach and a jv coach- so those extra 2 coaches coaching salaries have to be raised by the booster club. Those costs along with things like goals, balls, uniforms, etc. do add up and require $ from parents or fundraising. The days of everything being covered by tax money ended when millions of $ began being taken away from public schools and given to private schools. Most of the kids of state representatives probably go to private schools so I don't see that ever changing.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 13, 2018 14:26:50 GMT -5
That cost really isn't that bad. For one, high school is typically 5 days per week of training and/or games while club is typically only 3 or 4 days per week. The coaches at most of the big schools or good programs at smaller schools have been either coaching high school for years or also coach club soccer so it's often wrong to think of them as being that different from club coaches. Gwinnett county only pays for 2 coaches per program- a head coach and a jv coach- so those extra 2 coaches coaching salaries have to be raised by the booster club. Those costs along with things like goals, balls, uniforms, etc. do add up and require $ from parents or fundraising. The days of everything being covered by tax money ended when millions of $ began being taken away from public schools and given to private schools. Most of the kids of state representatives probably go to private schools so I don't see that ever changing. I'll be honest, I didn't know about the money being funneled to private schools. Disgusting if true... As for the rest, I agree, it's not always top level playing, but the coaching usually is not bad.
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Post by rifle on Feb 13, 2018 14:44:35 GMT -5
375 this year
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 13, 2018 18:45:22 GMT -5
I have heard that Lambert charges around $1500 and West Forsyth is close to that because they take a trip to Jekyll
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Post by spectator on Feb 14, 2018 0:04:13 GMT -5
$375 plus the mandatory $300 fundraising thing -sell them or buy them so total cost max would be $675. Based on what our boosters have done for seniors in the past, this year we are just in it for the perks! Make that four years of payments worth it LOL
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Post by rifle on Feb 14, 2018 7:21:17 GMT -5
Ridiculous
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Post by SoccerMom on Feb 14, 2018 9:24:15 GMT -5
Last year we paid $350 and did a fundraiser. Kids got to keep the socks, they got 2 pullover shirts and a couple of practice shirts. On game day they were provided Jimmy John's lunches brought to them at school and there was snacks on the bus rides for them. I'm sure what was left over from transportation expenses went towards the banquet and buying the plaques/awards for the kids. I didn't think $350 was bad compared to some of the other schools in our county.
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Post by soccerlegacy on Feb 14, 2018 10:49:05 GMT -5
I’m floored. Until now I’ve discarded the “too expensive to play in this country commentary”. I’m fortunate that I have a good job that pays well and the academy fees are manageable. Nuts but manageable. That said - I played for close to 20 years in Sweden. My parents never paid more than $200 any year for me to play. And the year they paid $200 was when we went to Italy for a week camp and good games versus Seria B and C sides when I was 17/18 and made it on the senior, Div 3 team. Team did a bunch of manual labor to afford that trip to Italy as well. Inflation aside - paying this money to play for a public school is just nuts. I don’t have a jersey, shorts, etc from that time - all team property and returned after games and a volunteer did the laundry. We got sponsors to pay for some training gear, but club was fine w us kids wearing what we could afford for practice when not covered. Etc. How did soccer here become such a financial burden? How did this go so wrong? This has happen over a long period of years and I wouldn't take the time to go back and study it, but my guess... Overzealous PARENTS!!! Ones that pigeon-holed their kids into playing one sport year-round at earlier and earlier ages... Ones that paid exorbitant amounts for private lessons.. Ones that lived through their child so that they could have bragging rights and relive their glory days through their kids. These are the ones that were willing to pay just about anything that was offered to them. The side effect was that parents with good athletes that just wanted to have their kids play in a competitive environment now had to play the "keeping up with the Jones" and it just continued (continues) to snowball from there.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Feb 14, 2018 11:49:12 GMT -5
Perfect example is when a club changes the color of required training jerseys every 2 years. A club my kids used to be with was very good about this, they had the same training jersey for years, I literally had a stock pile of training jerseys. I think they went 6 years without a change (might be exaggerating a bit)
Kids less than <12, should only have to buy 1 full kit, and a jersey of a secondary color. Training jerseys should be a consistent color from year to year, i.e. an affordable dry fit shirt.
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Post by Keeper on Feb 14, 2018 12:18:47 GMT -5
Perfect example is when a club changes the color of required training jerseys every 2 years. A club my kids used to be with was very good about this, they had the same training jersey for years, I literally had a stock pile of training jerseys. I think they went 6 years without a change (might be exaggerating a bit) Kids less than <12, should only have to buy 1 full kit, and a jersey of a secondary color. Training jerseys should be a consistent color from year to year, i.e. an affordable dry fit shirt. Exactly! Keep it simple. So last night the kid that started this rant played her Hs game and it was cold. Well you’d think out of that $200+ kit I just bought would have a Long Sleeve Shirt that matches their Away kits (Red) but no the idiot coach ordered LS practice/Warm up shirts in Black and grey, two colors that aren’t school colors. Luckily she already has a white Underarmour for the home games but seriously, make SMART decisions if you’re gonna require all this gear. I have lot a lot of faith in Gwinnett educators...🤦🏻♂️
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Post by forsythsd on Feb 15, 2018 10:28:39 GMT -5
The days of everything being covered by tax money ended when millions of $ began being taken away from public schools and given to private schools. Most of the kids of state representatives probably go to private schools so I don't see that ever changing. I'm unaware of this and, frankly, doubt it. Please provide a link to a credible source that details how public education dollars have been diverted to private schools. Around here, the majority of school funding is via property tax. I highly doubt property tax revenue is being given to private schools. I'm aware of some programs that allow tax deductions for private school tuition, and more recently the ability to use 529 funds. But that cannot fairly be classified as "taking funds away from public schools". The people taking advantage of such programs still pay their full share of school property tax. IMO, people who send their kids to private schools actually INCREASE funding (or, more precisely, DECREASE expenses) for public schools. These families pay taxes to fund public schools they do not use. The schools get the revenue, but not the expense of actually educating the kids. Regarding soccer being expensive and lamenting the good ole days of "free" (100% tax-payer funded) sports: Every club and team needs to pay their own way. There are too many to fund. The Drama club wants fancy stages and costumes and props, plus licensing fees for copyrighted material. The band wants free instruments and instruction and travel, including to far-away competitions. The ping-pong club wants free travel to a fancy tournament in China. The equestrian club wants free horses and upkeep and transportation. There are dozens of clubs and dozens of sports, and most lack the gate receipts to fund themselves.
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Post by coachcc on Feb 16, 2018 23:47:29 GMT -5
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Post by forsythsd on Feb 18, 2018 11:24:53 GMT -5
Flimsy. So a donor gets a credit on their state income taxes, and that's "taking money from schools"? Why wouldn't it be "taking money from parks" (or roads, or firemen, or libraries, or indigent care, etc.)? Are my donations to Goodwill "taking money from schools", since they lower my state income tax? Again I'll opine that kids diverted to private school are a net gain for public schools. Those families are paying for a benefit they are not consuming.
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Post by onemoresoccermom on Feb 23, 2018 13:44:36 GMT -5
Booster club exec committee member here... our fee is $500 for varsity and $400 for junior varsity. That covers: - practice kit/spirit wear (shirts, hoodie, 1/4 zip, etc.) - players get to keep
- 2 pair game socks - players keep
- officials
- transportation
- meals before away games/snacks before home
- booster club membership - one vote per player
- banquet meal for player
- tournament fee/hotel/bus (varsity teams)
Other program expenses are:
- website/domain fees
- PO box
- continuing ed for coaches
- uniforms (@$7-8,000 every few years)
- equipment - balls, goals, corner flags, captain's bands, etc.
- awards
- scholarships for players that cannot afford the fee
- senior night - senior banners & gifts, decor, etc
- misc banquet expenses
- administrative fees to maintain non-profit status
None of the above expenses are covered by the county/school. If the booster club doesn't pay for it, it doesn't happen.
Sponsorships/fundraisers (none are mandatory but we do request that all players participate), gate fees, and concession income pay for everything not covered with player fees.
Happy to answer any questions! (although I would prefer not to identify specific county/school)
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Post by Keeper on Feb 23, 2018 21:16:14 GMT -5
Booster club exec committee member here... our fee is $500 for varsity and $400 for junior varsity. That covers: - practice kit/spirit wear (shirts, hoodie, 1/4 zip, etc.) - players get to keep
- 2 pair game socks - players keep
- officials
- transportation
- meals before away games/snacks before home
- booster club membership - one vote per player
- banquet meal for player
- tournament fee/hotel/bus (varsity teams)
Other program expenses are:
- website/domain fees
- PO box
- continuing ed for coaches
- uniforms (@$7-8,000 every few years)
- equipment - balls, goals, corner flags, captain's bands, etc.
- awards
- scholarships for players that cannot afford the fee
- senior night - senior banners & gifts, decor, etc
- misc banquet expenses
- administrative fees to maintain non-profit status
None of the above expenses are covered by the county/school. If the booster club doesn't pay for it, it doesn't happen.
Sponsorships/fundraisers (none are mandatory but we do request that all players participate), gate fees, and concession income pay for everything not covered with player fees.
Happy to answer any questions! (although I would prefer not to identify specific county/school)
Thanks for the info. Here’s some questions though. 1 - Why are HS kids going to tournament and staying in Hotels??? 2 - How many kids are you supplies with uniforms that you’re spending $7K plus on them? If that’s a real number you need a new Rep and supplier because you’re getting ripped off, especially if you’re buying warmups and what not yearly. Just saying since I’ve dealt with wholesale soccer equipment sales for two decades. 3 - What kind of Continuing education for your coaches do you do? What level license does your current boys and girls varsity have? 4 - Roughly how much money has the boosters put away in their rainy day / savings? Or do you spend all of the money before the school year ends?
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Post by onemoresoccermom on Feb 24, 2018 1:48:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. Here’s some questions though. 1 - Why are HS kids going to tournament and staying in Hotels??? 2 - How many kids are you supplies with uniforms that you’re spending $7K plus on them? If that’s a real number you need a new Rep and supplier because you’re getting ripped off, especially if you’re buying warmups and what not yearly. Just saying since I’ve dealt with wholesale soccer equipment sales for two decades. 3 - What kind of Continuing education for your coaches do you do? What level license does your current boys and girls varsity have? 4 - Roughly how much money has the boosters put away in their rainy day / savings? Or do you spend all of the money before the school year ends? 1 - I can't answer for the coaches and the tournament was their idea. But my answer, and why I personally voted "yes" to participating, is - for the same reasons other school groups take day and/or overnight trips (marching band, choir, DECA Conference, Y Club Youth Assembly, etc.). It is fun, team building, and a chance for some competition outside of the norm. 2 - Our ideal full roster total is 68 (4 teams) and we bought extra to account for new size needs in subsequent years, replacement if a few get ruined, etc. Under $100/kit sounded pretty reasonable to me and the other members of the booster but none of us have two decades of experience dealing with wholesale soccer equipment. If you've got some suggestions for places to comparison shop I would love to pass them on to our coaches! It would be nice to cut down on that expense next go-round if possible. 3 - This would be things like the $325 GHSA required certification course for community coaches. It's not a huge line item of our budget, and not one that is needed every year, but it is there. 4 - I'm not sure how things went before I got involved. Our current board does feel it is important to have a reserve fund. We were able to carry over a bit from last season and our hope is that we can continue to slowly but steadily build a small reserve fund. As others on this thread have verified, many schools no longer cover the cost of extracurricular programs and the expenses, big and small, add up quick. Does your program have a booster club to help the coach run things? If you are concerned about where the money is going you can always ask them. There should also be checks and balances to make sure fraud doesn't happen. (Our program has bylaws to follow, we take votes on how to spend the money, we submit monthly bank balances to the athletic director, etc.) If I'm being honest, we could certainly cut out things like the tournament, spirit wear, banquet, senior banners/gifts, and even pre-game meals to get by on less. But where's the fun in that? We do want the kids to enjoy playing soccer for their school and keep coming back so we can build a strong program!
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Post by rifle on Feb 24, 2018 8:44:30 GMT -5
I think back to my own (late 1980s midwest) HS team, our Russell athletic sweatpants and hoodies with screen printed logos.. and it's a different world.
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Post by Keeper on Feb 24, 2018 18:18:38 GMT -5
I think back to my own (late 1980s midwest) HS team, our Russell athletic sweatpants and hoodies with screen printed logos.. and it's a different world. Aww I miss my old late 90s sweat suit like that!
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