So Really, What's This Select Thing Gonna Cost Me?

Also, part tongue-in-cheek and part not.. Don't let it cost you your job/career. Keep your head screwed on tightly, don't get too carried away, and keep things in perspective. Three close select friends through the years, a mom and two dads, actually lost their jobs. Too much leaving work early for cross-town practices, missing important meetings for tournament travel, team management during the work day, and overall team priority over work. You know you're getting close to insanity if you're already checking gopher's rankings (or whoever does your academy dd's age) every waking moment and if you have tequila or other stiff drink as part of your user name. JK. ((I may have been one of those two dads back before I had any sense)). I know that's extreme, but still kinda falls into the "what's this select thing gonna cost me" lol.

LP will charge $2,550 plus $370 for uniform kit for 2014-2015. What are other clubs charging?
Yes, yes...posting for the first time....yadda yadda yadda not a RASE parent.

What is covered in the $2500 is the question?

Coach fees, club fees, field watering and lighting, etc. my understanding is everything except uniform, travel, and some tournaments. Seems like the $2500 would cover about 3 tournaments per year. Everyone would need to chip in for additional tourneys. Also does not cover use of indoor facilities.

If you know the cost then the rest should be clearly stated. Its not a guessing game. Clearly stated in the contract. Add in everything not covered and that is your true yearly fee.

Your talking cost, way too expensive! Forget about it!

Borussia wrote:If you know the cost then the rest should be clearly stated.  Its not a guessing game. Clearly stated in the contract.  Add in everything not covered and that is your true yearly fee.

When I was a manager, our parents made it very clear from U-11 on, that they didn't want to be nickeled and dimed to death.  We knew at the beginning of the year what tournaments we were going to do, and we built in all of the expenses for the team, including any speed and agility training, etc. we were doing.  The uniforms were separate (since we didn't buy them every year), and was the only thing that wasn't included in the budget, save their travel expenses, which was the responsibility of the families. All of this was included in the fact sheet.  At signing, we distributed a line item budget so that it was clear where the money was going.  

The only time we ever collected any additional was if we had a particularly rainy season, and we ran over the amount of indoor time we'd budgeted.  Everyone knew how many scholarship players we had (since they were paying for it), but we didn't tell them who.  It wasn't too hard to figure out, since the scholarshipped families were typically the ones that refused to do any of the volunteer tasks or to do anything more than the bare minimum. 

ballhead wrote:

 We knew at the beginning of the year what tournaments we were going to do, and we built in all of the expenses for the team, including any speed and agility training, etc. we were doing.  The uniforms were separate (since we didn't buy them every year), and was the only thing that wasn't included in the budget, save their travel expenses, which was the responsibility of the families. All of this was included in the fact sheet.  At signing, we distributed a line item budget so that it was clear where the money was going.  

 Everyone knew how many scholarship players we had (since they were paying for it), but we didn't tell them who.  It wasn't too hard to figure out, since the scholarshiped families were typically the ones that refused to do any of the volunteer tasks or to do anything more than the bare minimum. 

A well-run team should always function this way. Clear and transparent from the outset.

And that second paragraph is sadly quite familiar.

OK, let's introduce the rubber to the road and provide specific $ info so that the free market can work.  If you have definitive info on what U11/Select will cost for 2014-2015, (or what you know the club charged in 2013) pls post here.

Sting in 2013-14:  $2800 to Club dues, $500 Kit.  Included some tournaments.  Contributed about $200 for extra tournaments.  5 out of town trips (each at least 2 nights hotel unless you want to stay extra in Las Vegas for all the family friendly activities), including two trips requiring plane tickets.  Tolls to NTTA and gas to tournaments and fields.  I expect the Club dues to increase in 2014.  It's OK, I dont need to save for "retirement" cause it's gonna be the end of me.   

At U11, I dont expect as much out of town travel, but note that you should add that to the xl when you are comparing costs. The coach should be able to tell you what s/he aims to do as far as out of town trips.

skillzbeatbrutes wrote:OK, let's introduce the rubber to the road and provide specific $ info so that the free market can work.  If you have definitive info on what U11/Select will cost for 2014-2015, (or what you know the club charged in 2013) pls post here.

Sting in 2013-14:  $2800 to Club dues, $500 Kit.  Included some tournaments.  Contributed about $200 for extra tournaments.  5 out of town trips (each at least 2 nights hotel unless you want to stay extra in Las Vegas for all the family friendly activities), including two trips requiring plane tickets.  Tolls to NTTA and gas to tournaments and fields.  I expect the Club dues to increase in 2014.  It's OK, I dont need to save for "retirement" cause it's gonna be the end of me.   

At U11, I dont expect as much out of town travel, but note that you should add that to the xl when you are comparing costs.  The coach should be able to tell you what s/he aims to do as far as out of town trips.  

Good post, and pretty accurate.  Most clubs are in that $2-3K range which covers coaching, league fees and 2 frozen roster tournaments (like QT and State Cup).
Expect every 3-day holiday weekend to have a tournament, which could be local or travel  (Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, etc.)  Which will probably NOT be included in the initial contract.
Expect one "big" travel tournament per year - i.e. Surf/Disney/etc.  Where you will have to buy plane tickets.  Most other tournaments will be driving distance (Houston/Austin/Tulsa/Memphis/etc.)  This is also NOT in the original contract.
Some clubs/teams require parents to chip in for coach's expenses for travel tournaments too, so be aware.  Additionally, if you make nationals with the Texans, you will get the Hassan surcharge as well.   

I did the math in 2011.  Made me sick.  My dd...also a keeper, played for a big club.  After putting a pencil to it...we conservatively spent over $6,000.  This was dues, extra training, tournaments, gas, uniforms, gloves, etc.  Not included is eating out all the time because you're never home, wear and tear on your vehicle...and lots of alcohol.

Also...I know folks who have paid for this with their marriage.  Just sayin'

Just this year, she went to a smaller, less competitive team that is close to home.  Can't tell you how happy we all are.  I will admit...I miss watching my dd play against the skill and ability of D1 teams, but I can just go catch a few LH D1 games in all my newly found spare time     Also, I actually look in my checkbook and I'm amazed what I find in there...a black balance...woo hoo!!  

For aguements sake.....Where do you draw the line?

Price should drop going with a smaller club correct? Lesser skilled team?

Sometimes smaller clubs are a little cheaper. But only by a couple hundred bucks. Tournaments and leagues don't give discounts to smaller clubs...so the only real difference is the coaching costs and maybe any facility fees that may be in the contract.
Lesser skilled teams don't get a discount either. Although, they generally stay local for all their tournaments - or maybe they do Austin or something. Less travel means less cost essentially.

I think the question you should ask is what can I afford, is it worth it to HER, and then decide. The first few years it was worth it. Now that she plays school sports and is interested in having a life outside soccer. It wasn't worth it. I'm just putting more in her college saving plan now...that way she can decide where she wants to go to school..not let hoping for a scholarship or more likely a partial scholarship decided where she attends. And that is if she was even offered one...I also want her to enjoy college, not be owned by a scholarship. Just my 2 cents.

Evolution 04G trains in Colleyville and convenient to North Tarrant County / West Dallas County (Grapevine, Irving, etc):

Projected 2014 fees: $1375 INCLUDES professional coaching, league fees, field fees, indoor facility in winter, 2-4 local tournaments, and up to 10 friendly games with officials.  Uniform is projected to be $300 (home and away, warm up jacket and pants, backpack).

That's it, no nickels, no dimes.

Web site: Click Here

Email for more info:  evo04gmanager@colleyvillesoccer.net

Practice info in the "Teams Looking" section of this forum!

There are really no hard and fast rules about what is included and what is not.  Some teams include all tournaments and expenses they anticipate for the year (my preference), others include some, but not all.  Others don't include tournaments, coach travel, etc.  Be very careful about taking what you read here as gospel about how many tournaments and what expenses are included.  Different clubs/teams do it differently.

The important thing is to fully understand what is included in the teams that you are interested in, then decide 1: if you can afford it, and 2: if it's the right deal for your family.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, my team's parents hated being nickeled and dimed to death, so everything was included, and we gave them a detailed budget at signing showing what was included so there were no surprises.  

Sometimes when there were some local undetermined tournaments, we would include an estimated budget item.