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Post by atv on Aug 31, 2018 8:50:54 GMT -5
tudelafcla.comThoughts on the hybrid financial model of Tudela FC? ... Together, they’ve built a competitive program for girls 9-13 and and a fully subsidized recreational program for girls 6-8. The club operates under a hybrid financial model that funds its programs, in part, by families who can pay, and by sponsorships, grants, and fundraising. Unlike other clubs that allocate a certain number of scholarships per each of its teams, TFC allocates scholarships by need across the entire program. “If we can’t break the pay-to-play model of youth soccer, we’re determined to bend it into something better,” said Tudela. “To have a champion like Hope Solo, someone who has been fighting so hard for reform in our sport, recognize the work we’re doing means so much. It’s a testament to the dedication of every coach, parent and kid in our program and their belief in our mission.” “We want to be a model for youth development and make our club a vehicle for social change, said Braun. “We’re not looking to build hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars in reserves. We’re looking at what we need to operate our business, pay our coaches and staff a competitive salary – and then invest the rest back into the kids. If we truly want to find and develop our best talent, this is the future of youth soccer.”
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Post by atlfutboldad on Aug 31, 2018 10:01:33 GMT -5
I dunno, sounds a bit like socialism. Maybe they're getting more from sponsorship than your average club, but I'd be willing to bet it's more on the parents "who can". If the wealthier parents are cool with bankrolling those that cannot afford it, then that's great for them.
However, it seems like they'd have to keep costs low, including coaches salaries. Unless your coaches don't really need the money, once they're proven they will look for better opportunities. Also, if the wealthier parents become unhappy with the value for their investment (playing time/development of their kids), the system will crumble.
Unfortunately, women's soccer looks like it's almost always a money-losing propositon.
If you wanna make soccer cheaper, find cheap fields and coaches who will work for free, get simple uniforms, cut out travel and tournaments...ie rec soccer.
What if they have no parents able to pay?
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Post by straightred on Aug 31, 2018 10:38:35 GMT -5
This is fantastic... good for them.
I don't think the effort of trying to make club soccer more affordable/accessible is totally unique, but it looks like Tudelafcla is uniquely focused on becoming an example of how youth soccer can be transformed from what it is, and that is really powerful.
The blueprint for how to operate a very profitable death-star club is out there for everyone to see. It takes a bit of money, access to facilities, a tiny bit of business acumen, and access to wealthy parents. In the absence of an attractive alternative sheople (aka sheep-people) naturally migrate to these soccer factories. The factories turn out acceptable widgets and the colleges can shop for kids as if they are shopping on Amazon.
There is no blueprint for success of a different kind. Kids that find themselves on a great community based team that can rival the big clubs can't avoid the pull to the bigger clubs because the top leagues require competitive teams from U12 through U19 - no community based club can do that. So the cycle continues, and we send our best U12s off to the First Order year after year.
The system works for those who can easily navigate it, and those customers (parents and colleges) are for the most part happy. Hard to fault them for not knowing that a (socially) better system might be possible. Having been on a board of a small local club, I know discussions about scholarship can be tough. Money and roster spots are hard to come by.. and you are asking those that have both to possibly give one (or both) to someone else.
I would have thought the prevalence of corporate sponsorships you see these days on kids' jerseys would have led to fewer Land Rovers in the parking lots at these tournaments, and a bit more diversity on the field. Ultimately, I think outside money (corporate or other) is what will have to fund social change.
I know a lot of people hate on Hope Solo, but I think she is trying to lend her profile to a very worthwhile effort. At least she is trying to make a difference that will benefit others.
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Post by atv on Aug 31, 2018 10:41:10 GMT -5
My initial thoughts from the article was, paying parents will subsidize a large part of the fees. Someone mentioned Hope’s initiatives earlier but I’m frankly not sold on it yet.
I honestly don’t think there is an easy answer here.
The segregation of leagues definitely adds to the issues. More “collaboration” of competing organizations would probably cut down on overall travel for everyone.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Aug 31, 2018 10:43:05 GMT -5
I wonder if by partnership that means she is donating to the club as well?
You see pockets of this, the Queen Mutiny club in charlotte started out like this, a few teams that were fully funded by a single indvidual - Thats not the case there anymore, as my guess $$$ increased etc, and maybe even the parent moved (just conjecture).
The point is you need a solid business plan and strong affordable leadership for it to be sustainable.
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Post by atv on Aug 31, 2018 11:05:57 GMT -5
I wonder if by partnership that means she is donating to the club as well? You see pockets of this, the Queen Mutiny club in charlotte started out like this, a few teams that were fully funded by a single indvidual - Thats not the case there anymore, as my guess $$$ increased etc, and maybe even the parent moved (just conjecture). The point is you need a solid business plan and strong affordable leadership for it to be sustainable. Doesn’t mention she’s donating. She is, “mentoring and providing promotional support”.
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Post by soccerfan30 on Aug 31, 2018 11:50:00 GMT -5
I can't wrap my head around the notion that pay for play is bad. Now if we're just talking about providing access to the sport at the grassroots level then yes it should be cost effective. Every sport costs money: travel ice hockey, AAU basketball, travel volleyball, competitive gymnastics, etc. Is it because unlike those other sports we aren't a top soccer country on the men's side that drives this ideal that pay for play is terrible. Everything costs money, I understand that some of the cost of participation is grossly inflated and shouldn't be so high. Lets say for an Athena level player it cost $1,500 per season or $3,000 a year. Uniforms are every two to four years and most Athena teams play 90% local tournaments. I think that's on par with any other activity that practices/trains 2 to 3 times and week with upwards to 24-28 league games a year.
I looked into starting my three year old daughter in toddler martial arts- they wanted $125 a month, sign an 18 month contract with early termination fees if you quit before 18 months......for a THREE year old.
Everything cost more now: education, health care, school, food, gas, entertainment and sports. That's not going to change unfortunately.
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Post by straightred on Aug 31, 2018 13:29:04 GMT -5
I can't wrap my head around the notion that pay for play is bad. .. Everything cost more now: education, health care, school, food, gas, entertainment and sports. That's not going to change unfortunately. Change rarely happens unless enough people agree (within a family, community, or country) that there is actually a problem. Soccer is certainly not much different than the other major sports. I recently stumbled upon an un-publicized camp/scrimmage of the U17 National Baseball Team taking place in my neighborhood. Not surprisingly, the majority of kids were from CA, TX and FL, and they were all VERY good players. But after striking up a few conversations with proud parents there a pattern emerged. These kids had to navigate their way to this point not just with skill, but with a tremendous amount of parental research, planning, advocacy, and funding. I was amazed at the number of private high schools these ~40 kids went to. Nine of them had already committed to Vanderbilt. All the parents I met were very proud, and they should be. Their kids have a special talent. I was happy for them, and really liked most of them. However, I didn't get the sense that any of them were aware of the great privilege they were able to call upon to help make their reality. It made me think about all the kids that fall through the cracks because they don't have the resources and advocates to get the same place. No idea what the solution is, but the first step is to at least acknowledge that the system can be better.
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Post by Soccerhouse on Aug 31, 2018 14:30:44 GMT -5
I can't wrap my head around the notion that pay for play is bad. .. Everything cost more now: education, health care, school, food, gas, entertainment and sports. That's not going to change unfortunately. Change rarely happens unless enough people agree (within a family, community, or country) that there is actually a problem. Soccer is certainly not much different than the other major sports. I recently stumbled upon an un-publicized camp/scrimmage of the U17 National Baseball Team taking place in my neighborhood. Not surprisingly, the majority of kids were from CA, TX and FL, and they were all VERY good players. But after striking up a few conversations with proud parents there a pattern emerged. These kids had to navigate their way to this point not just with skill, but with a tremendous amount of parental research, planning, advocacy, and funding. I was amazed at the number of private high schools these ~40 kids went to. Nine of them had already committed to Vanderbilt. All the parents I met were very proud, and they should be. Their kids have a special talent. I was happy for them, and really liked most of them. However, I didn't get the sense that any of them were aware of the great privilege they were able to call upon to help make their reality. It made me think about all the kids that fall through the cracks because they don't have the resources and advocates to get the same place. No idea what the solution is, but the first step is to at least acknowledge that the system can be better. Interesting you bring up baseball, just stumbled upon this Jaden Agassi, son of Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, making name for himself in baseball (home schooled) www.maxpreps.com/news/pkV5uAzILEyxqvBPe-Fz2w/jaden-agassi,-son-of-andre-agassi-and-steffi-graf,-making-name-for-himself-in-baseball.htm
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Post by Futsal Gawdess on Apr 11, 2019 6:13:40 GMT -5
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Post by soccerdad522 on Apr 11, 2019 7:53:04 GMT -5
Tudela's development model is interesting too. There was a 3Four3 podcast on the club a few months ago, if you enjoy that sort of thing.
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