Money, Money, Money, Money ... MONEY!

How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

My dd has played Academy over 3 years, with 3 different teams, multiple leagues per season, and we have never paid any of the above mentioned fees. We have paid extra when practice had to be moved indoors and there were extra fees from the indoor facility, but that is completely reasonable I thought.

twomattiesmom wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

My dd has played Academy over 3 years, with 3 different teams, multiple leagues per season, and we have never paid any of the above mentioned fees. We have paid extra when practice had to be moved indoors and there were extra fees from the indoor facility, but that is completely reasonable I thought.

Totally agree about paying indoor fees when weather sends you inside ~ common and reasonable.

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

We have never paid an extra fee for the things you mentioned above. It sounds like your coach is looking to pad his pocket. Don't most clubs run the coaching fees through the club? If so, it would seem that you club is asking for this extra money. Maybe your real issue is with the club and not the coach in this instance.

If the fees are paid straight to the coach, then my suggestion would be to run as fast as you can away from this coach!

Crazy4Academy wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

We have never paid an extra fee for the things you mentioned above. It sounds like your coach is looking to pad his pocket. Don't most clubs run the coaching fees through the club? If so, it would seem that you club is asking for this extra money. Maybe your real issue is with the club and not the coach in this instance.

If the fees are paid straight to the coach, then my suggestion would be to run as fast as you can away from this coach!

Everything goes to the coach directly except league fees which are collected by the manager and then paid to the league.

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

I thought most club fees cover 1 league? So why wouldn't the coach charge for additional games that the club does not pay him/her for? Why would they coach a 3v3 tourney for free? Coaching is a full time job for some. Why would we expect them to go and work for free? I love my job, but I am not going to come in to work for free.

As far as the fee for lights on the field, I would not know. If the field fees are not covered by the club, somebody has to pay the fee. If the coach pays, no reason why he/she would not be reimbursed 100% by the team.

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

Been around north texas soccer a long time. Never paid or heard of friends paying for a 2nd league or lights. Why wouldn't the club notify parents of field fees such as lights and collect from impacted teams?

I have seen some coaches charge for 3v3 but it was almost like a specialty team within a team - extra practices, 3v3 tournaments, etc. It wasn't like the whole team signed up to play small sided soccer (like winter futsal or the new summer 3v3 leagues we've seen lately). That seems more like just business as usual and covered by regular dues.

soccermom4 wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

Been around north texas soccer a long time. Never paid or heard of friends paying for a 2nd league or lights. Why wouldn't the club notify parents of field fees such as lights and collect from impacted teams?

I have seen some coaches charge for 3v3 but it was almost like a specialty team within a team - extra practices, 3v3 tournaments, etc. It wasn't like the whole team signed up to play small sided soccer (like winter futsal or the new summer 3v3 leagues we've seen lately). That seems more like just business as usual and covered by regular dues.

That is a good point on the 3v3 subject. Are the fees for the whole team or a certain set of girls that play 3v3 together? If it is just a small group of kids, I can see where a coach would charge a fee for those games/practices. Most of the 3v3s that we have played have been coached by a parent.

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

$10 a season isn't that much, but I haven't heard of any other teams charging for that. I definitely wouldn't pay extra for 3v3.

jj4mel wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

I thought most club fees cover 1 league? So why wouldn't the coach charge for additional games that the club does not pay him/her for? Why would they coach a 3v3 tourney for free? Coaching is a full time job for some. Why would we expect them to go and work for free? I love my job, but I am not going to come in to work for free.

As far as the fee for lights on the field, I would not know. If the field fees are not covered by the club, somebody has to pay the fee. If the coach pays, no reason why he/she would not be reimbursed 100% by the team.

Just asking how many teams pay these fees. I have heard the coach's argument about why it is reasonable. However, my belief is that it isn't very common at this age so I posed a question.

In this case, the $70/month does not include any league fees. So players pay monthly dues + 2 league fees + extra coaching for 2nd league + extra fee for lights + an occasional fee for a coach who might help out.

Texdad wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

$10 a season isn't that much, but I haven't heard of any other teams charging for that. I definitely wouldn't pay extra for 3v3.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. It's $10 per player per game for the 2nd league. Let's say $80 - $100 per season.

We don't do that on my DD team. Our fees are 500 a year. That includes, skills, leagues, and coach fees.

allsport22 wrote:

Texdad wrote:

allsport22 wrote:How many Academy coaches charge their teams an extra $10 per player to play in a 2nd league? (This would be a fee in addition to the league fees and the monthly dues/coaching fees. You're an 04 team so your primary league might be Sunday SDL. Do you pay an extra coaching fee for playing on Saturday in PSA, SDL 03, whatever?)

Do most charge an extra per player per game fee for 3v3?

Do teams pay their coach extra $$ during late Fall/Winter for lights for practice?

It seems like we wake up each day to a new fee ... wondering if that's NTX, the Club or the coach.

$10 a season isn't that much, but I haven't heard of any other teams charging for that. I definitely wouldn't pay extra for 3v3.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. It's $10 per player per game for the 2nd league. Let's say $80 - $100 per season.

So if there are 12 kids on the team, the coach is making $120 an hour to coach a game? Seriously?

I believe that if you want your team to play above and beyond what the club offers, the club does not pay the coach for the extra activities. My DD has played for a couple coaches and I have paid for the coach to coach our team in 3v3. I have also paid for fields and lights. This was due to the club not having a facility close to the players location so our coach was able to make the connections. Club would not pay it, so the coach paid and we all reimbursed. If you don't like it, get in touch with your club and ask if it is acceptable and common practice. The fees you are paying sound a little high, but I can't answer for that.

Thank goodness not anymore!

My oldest dd's team has played in 2 leagues for years and our coach has NEVER charged us extra for coaching fees.

I have no problem paying for indoor practice fees esp in the winter when it's to cold or weather condition forces the girls indoors. Also if my dd is going to play 3v3 which is not covered under my team dues I have no problem paying the extra fee. I know this going in and have the right to opt to not have dd play if I so choose.

I understand that many of these coaches do this solely as living but they also have to know when enough is enough. Parents don't want to fee nickle and dime to death. That is one of the fastest ways to loss good quality players.

Things, must be getting pretty boring if I'm commenting in an '04 thread.

Keep in mind the coaches of academy kids are almost volunteering their time (it's not that much money).
If someone said - 'hey, would you like to play in this league? It's $100-120' the response would be entirely different than the $10/game. I don't think the coaches time for an additional league should be free. That just doesn't make sense. You don't go to a business on Saturday and again on Sunday and determine your payment on Saturday should suffice, right?

To prepare you for select, there will be times where the team decides to travel - be prepared for situations where you may have to put out another $500-1000, so, honestly, don't sweat this stuff.

Just realize, the coach is doing you a service and isn't exactly getting wealthy. The best way to handle this is to, upfront, tell the parents there is an emergency fund of $XXX that will pay for extra leagues/tournaments.... and someone should do some accounting and communication around payments out of it. That will likely kill this issue.

Run away from this sport if you are sweating the extra $100, it only gets waaaaaaay worse. I know some paying 5-8K for travel alone (not out of the question with respect to older kids and showcase tournaments). Make sure you can afford it, and just enjoy the time with the other parents and travel opportunities, lifelong memories/friends - it's certainly worth it if you can afford it.

clueless wrote:Things, must be getting pretty boring if I'm commenting in an '04 thread.

Keep in mind the coaches of academy kids are almost volunteering their time (it's not that much money).
If someone said - 'hey, would you like to play in this league? It's $100-120' the response would be entirely different than the $10/game. I don't think the coaches time for an additional league should be free. That just doesn't make sense. You don't go to a business on Saturday and again on Sunday and determine your payment on Saturday should suffice, right?

To prepare you for select, there will be times where the team decides to travel - be prepared for situations where you may have to put out another $500-1000, so, honestly, don't sweat this stuff.

Just realize, the coach is doing you a service and isn't exactly getting wealthy. The best way to handle this is to, upfront, tell the parents there is an emergency fund of $XXX that will pay for extra leagues/tournaments.... and someone should do some accounting and communication around payments out of it. That will likely kill this issue.

Run away from this sport if you are sweating the extra $100, it only gets waaaaaaay worse. I know some paying 5-8K for travel alone (not out of the question with respect to older kids and showcase tournaments). Make sure you can afford it, and just enjoy the time with the other parents and travel opportunities, lifelong memories/friends - it's certainly worth it if you can afford it.

Interesting points.

Couple of things ~ it isn't really about $100 ... it's about whether a coach is requiring more money for 'same service' as other other coaches and whether it is worth it at 7-year-old soccer to pay above local standards. And the extra league actually costs $175-$200 per player when you combine the coaching fee plus the league fee (SDL for example).

The coach is taking the 04s to an out of town tournament that will cost $100-$150 per player in league and coaching fees plus individual expenses (personal travel, gas, hotel, meals). So no need to prepare for the extra $500 - $1000 ... we are there!

Absolute dollars matter for sure and no doubt the costs will escalate, but what I was trying to determine is whether the extra fees charged by the coach was consistent with other 04 coaches. It sounds like the answer is no. So ... the question now becomes whether it is worth it to pay measurably more money for this coach or to keep the small bills in your pocket in 8u and save them for private skills, new cleats, select soccer, circus tickets, whatever.

Not a lot of posts, but I think we can assume that the extra league fees, the fees for lights and the other random charges are not common ... especially not common at 8u.

Easy enough ~ with all of the options in north Texas it becomes just a personal choice. Do you suck it up and pay more because the coach is worth it, push the coach to bring their fees in line with what is common, choose another option that costs $500-$1000 per year less.

clueless wrote:Things, must be getting pretty boring if I'm commenting in an '04 thread.

Keep in mind the coaches of academy kids are almost volunteering their time (it's not that much money).
If someone said - 'hey, would you like to play in this league? It's $100-120' the response would be entirely different than the $10/game. I don't think the coaches time for an additional league should be free. That just doesn't make sense. You don't go to a business on Saturday and again on Sunday and determine your payment on Saturday should suffice, right?

To prepare you for select, there will be times where the team decides to travel - be prepared for situations where you may have to put out another $500-1000, so, honestly, don't sweat this stuff.

Just realize, the coach is doing you a service and isn't exactly getting wealthy. The best way to handle this is to, upfront, tell the parents there is an emergency fund of $XXX that will pay for extra leagues/tournaments.... and someone should do some accounting and communication around payments out of it. That will likely kill this issue.

Run away from this sport if you are sweating the extra $100, it only gets waaaaaaay worse. I know some paying 5-8K for travel alone (not out of the question with respect to older kids and showcase tournaments). Make sure you can afford it, and just enjoy the time with the other parents and travel opportunities, lifelong memories/friends - it's certainly worth it if you can afford it.

It's one thing if the parents are asking the kids to play in a 2nd league and it's another if it's the coach that is wanting to do so. If its the coach that is wanting to do so then he waves the add'l coaching fee. I am not saying the coach should pay the league fee but s/he shouldn't ask parents for an add'l $10 per game per player. A full 12 player roster that is $120 per game for 45mins of coaching (if s/he actually does so on the side line). Do you make $120 which is roughly $160 an hour for work? Probably not! Most of us on here don't.

Your not getting an add'l practice during the week to justify the add'l fee. I also don't see the point for 7/8 yr olds to be playing in multiple leagues. One it doesn't allow them to explore other sports. I know there are a select few that have decided this is the sport but most kids at 7/8 haven't yet. Second it doesn't all them time to be kids on the weekend and just get aware from the demands on them. I feel putting so much of 1 thing on a child will drive them away from that thing quickly.

allsport22 wrote:

clueless wrote:Things, must be getting pretty boring if I'm commenting in an '04 thread.

Keep in mind the coaches of academy kids are almost volunteering their time (it's not that much money).
If someone said - 'hey, would you like to play in this league? It's $100-120' the response would be entirely different than the $10/game. I don't think the coaches time for an additional league should be free. That just doesn't make sense. You don't go to a business on Saturday and again on Sunday and determine your payment on Saturday should suffice, right?

To prepare you for select, there will be times where the team decides to travel - be prepared for situations where you may have to put out another $500-1000, so, honestly, don't sweat this stuff.

Just realize, the coach is doing you a service and isn't exactly getting wealthy. The best way to handle this is to, upfront, tell the parents there is an emergency fund of $XXX that will pay for extra leagues/tournaments.... and someone should do some accounting and communication around payments out of it. That will likely kill this issue.

Run away from this sport if you are sweating the extra $100, it only gets waaaaaaay worse. I know some paying 5-8K for travel alone (not out of the question with respect to older kids and showcase tournaments). Make sure you can afford it, and just enjoy the time with the other parents and travel opportunities, lifelong memories/friends - it's certainly worth it if you can afford it.

Interesting points.

Couple of things ~ it isn't really about $100 ... it's about whether a coach is requiring more money for 'same service' as other other coaches and whether it is worth it at 7-year-old soccer to pay above local standards. And the extra league actually costs $175-$200 per player when you combine the coaching fee plus the league fee (SDL for example).

The coach is taking the 04s to an out of town tournament that will cost $100-$150 per player in league and coaching fees plus individual expenses (personal travel, gas, hotel, meals). So no need to prepare for the extra $500 - $1000 ... we are there!

Absolute dollars matter for sure and no doubt the costs will escalate, but what I was trying to determine is whether the extra fees charged by the coach was consistent with other 04 coaches. It sounds like the answer is no. So ... the question now becomes whether it is worth it to pay measurably more money for this coach or to keep the small bills in your pocket in 8u and save them for private skills, new cleats, select soccer, circus tickets, whatever.

Not a lot of posts, but I think we can assume that the extra league fees, the fees for lights and the other random charges are not common ... especially not common at 8u.

Easy enough ~ with all of the options in north Texas it becomes just a personal choice. Do you suck it up and pay more because the coach is worth it, push the coach to bring their fees in line with what is common, choose another option that costs $500-$1000 per year less.

I think everything you stated is 100% valid concern and another reason we recently made a move. After tallying all the expenses and if said coach kept at the current rate pace I would be paying more for my 8u dd in academy then the cost of select alone. I can't justify that for 8u. At that current rate I was paying more for my 8u dd then my u10 dd including her $50 an hr private goalie training. That to me was crazy.

We pay our monthly fee, league fees, and tournament fees. We don't pay ANY extra for extra games OR tournaments to the coach. This is all part of the monthly fee which for us is $65/month.

We don't pay light fees or facility fees with the exception of a $3 cost when we have to move a practice indoor due to weather.

We have not had a league or tournament cost over $60. It sounds to me as if your coach is padding extra cost to do the tournaments into the "tournament fee".

Most academy teams will simply take the cost of the tournaments (usually $600-$650 for U7/U8) and divide that among the 12 or so girls playing. If your coach is charging extra to do the tournaments that would seem very unusual to me.

jen_nah wrote:

allsport22 wrote:

clueless wrote:Things, must be getting pretty boring if I'm commenting in an '04 thread.

Keep in mind the coaches of academy kids are almost volunteering their time (it's not that much money).
If someone said - 'hey, would you like to play in this league? It's $100-120' the response would be entirely different than the $10/game. I don't think the coaches time for an additional league should be free. That just doesn't make sense. You don't go to a business on Saturday and again on Sunday and determine your payment on Saturday should suffice, right?

To prepare you for select, there will be times where the team decides to travel - be prepared for situations where you may have to put out another $500-1000, so, honestly, don't sweat this stuff.

Just realize, the coach is doing you a service and isn't exactly getting wealthy. The best way to handle this is to, upfront, tell the parents there is an emergency fund of $XXX that will pay for extra leagues/tournaments.... and someone should do some accounting and communication around payments out of it. That will likely kill this issue.

Run away from this sport if you are sweating the extra $100, it only gets waaaaaaay worse. I know some paying 5-8K for travel alone (not out of the question with respect to older kids and showcase tournaments). Make sure you can afford it, and just enjoy the time with the other parents and travel opportunities, lifelong memories/friends - it's certainly worth it if you can afford it.

Interesting points.

Couple of things ~ it isn't really about $100 ... it's about whether a coach is requiring more money for 'same service' as other other coaches and whether it is worth it at 7-year-old soccer to pay above local standards. And the extra league actually costs $175-$200 per player when you combine the coaching fee plus the league fee (SDL for example).

The coach is taking the 04s to an out of town tournament that will cost $100-$150 per player in league and coaching fees plus individual expenses (personal travel, gas, hotel, meals). So no need to prepare for the extra $500 - $1000 ... we are there!

Absolute dollars matter for sure and no doubt the costs will escalate, but what I was trying to determine is whether the extra fees charged by the coach was consistent with other 04 coaches. It sounds like the answer is no. So ... the question now becomes whether it is worth it to pay measurably more money for this coach or to keep the small bills in your pocket in 8u and save them for private skills, new cleats, select soccer, circus tickets, whatever.

Not a lot of posts, but I think we can assume that the extra league fees, the fees for lights and the other random charges are not common ... especially not common at 8u.

Easy enough ~ with all of the options in north Texas it becomes just a personal choice. Do you suck it up and pay more because the coach is worth it, push the coach to bring their fees in line with what is common, choose another option that costs $500-$1000 per year less.

I think everything you stated is 100% valid concern and another reason we recently made a move. After tallying all the expenses and if said coach kept at the current rate pace I would be paying more for my 8u dd in academy then the cost of select alone. I can't justify that for 8u. At that current rate I was paying more for my 8u dd then my u10 dd including her $50 an hr private goalie training. That to me was crazy.

It is crazy expensive now relative to the cost of academy. When my dd left Sting it was $5/practice - that was seriously cheap as practices were 2 hours long (not fun for the parents, but certainly cheap). I recall the last year of academy being around $500/season, but I don't recall what was included.

The line is way too blurry between costs of select and academy - it will certainly drive kids out (although, given history, maybe not).

If you visualize this as 3K being the price to play - as in joining a country club, it's much easier to swallow from a psychological viewpoint - although no more sane. Plenty of other cheaper options - don't get sucked into this if your finances dictate otherwise. Too many parents taking second mortgages out of fear their kid is missing something when common sense dictates they shouldn't be going to Orlando, San Diego or Portland. Get away now before you get sucked into the vortex and it will be a never ending keeping up with the Jones situation.

There are a lot of coaches who demand additional/supplemental payments (even in select) - if it's worth it, stay and pay. I would think that's seldom the case - too many other options.

I do think a problem (although it's a nice problem to have ), is that there are several who do exceed that hourly rate aforementioned, so, it's just not a point for the sellers (plenty of buyers).

I quickly browsed over this but I think some of you are missing the point. The coach isn't getting $120 an hour 12 x $10. To play in another league costs money $700 - $1200. The one thing I do agree with is an email to the parents "hey would like to play in another league as well as Sunday at an additional $10 a month to cover costs, anyone up for that?" type of email. The leagues cost big money to play in just remember that.

If your dd plays on a top select program You will spend between 50k-100k on her select soccer habit up to U18. ECNL has even upped the costs, esp w/r/2 travel.If I ever thought my kid would not be playing in college I would have found her a club/team that was free and played in whatever league (or formed her own Plano Premier team), it's just way too much money for a hobby.. not to mention the $ your are spending right now in academy.

Consider this:

8yrsx3k=24k dues
8yrsx2k=16k (2-3 travel tournaments- fla,phoenix,cal,colo,nj,ill)
8yrsx1k=8k local tournaments, games, (ok,sa,hou)
8yrsx1k=uniforms,cleats,balls,etc..
8yrsx??=extra skills, indoor fees, extras...

24+16+8+8+?=56,000+

Triumph FC wrote:I quickly browsed over this but I think some of you are missing the point. The coach isn't getting $120 an hour 12 x $10. To play in another league costs money $700 - $1200. The one thing I do agree with is an email to the parents "hey would like to play in another league as well as Sunday at an additional $10 a month to cover costs, anyone up for that?" type of email. The leagues cost big money to play in just remember that.

I think you missed the point. The OP stated that the coach charged $10 per kid per game. If there are 12 kids on the team, then it is $120 per game that the coach is being paid for the extra league.

Personally, I would never pay my kid's coach this kind of fee. There are too many good coaches out there with quality teams to be on a team that has these kinds of issues. The great news is all of us parents actually get a choice in where our child plays. If you don't like the fees, move on!

DrSoccer wrote:If your dd plays on a top select program You will spend between 50k-100k on her select soccer habit up to U18. ECNL has even upped the costs, esp w/r/2 travel.If I ever thought my kid would not be playing in college I would have found her a club/team that was free and played in whatever league (or formed her own Plano Premier team), it's just way too much money for a hobby.. not to mention the $ your are spending right now in academy.

Consider this:

8yrsx3k=24k dues
8yrsx2k=16k (2-3 travel tournaments- fla,phoenix,cal,colo,nj,ill)
8yrsx1k=8k local tournaments, games, (ok,sa,hou)
8yrsx1k=uniforms,cleats,balls,etc..
8yrsx??=extra skills, indoor fees, extras...

24+16+8+8+?=56,000+

I agree COMPLETLY.

This is a decision ALL academy parents will one day need to make.

At some point if my kid proves to not be ECNL material or D1 LH, then there is no way I will pay that much money to play on a big name club in Plano league or Arlington. Fortunately, there are plenty of decent options for parents looking to save $$$ yet still provide their child with a venue to enjoy soccer with friends growing up.

At some point you need to be honest with the talent/skill level of your kids so as to afford them the decency of playing where they will have fun without the pressure of trying to be more than they are capable of due to mommy and daddy spending a mortgage payment on a game.

Either your kids will be national team capable, D1 college bound, D2, or D3. Figure it out and act accordingly. There is NO reason to spend 50-75K trying to get a D2/D3 scholarship.