2018-2019 Club Fees

[SoccerFan4Life]

Well, are you making the same amount in salary as you did in 2007? Are you paying the same for utilities, gas, clothes, medical care, food, etc. etc. etc. Why wouldn't club fees go up?

Lambchop, you are right everything should go up in price. However we are beginning to see a lot of problems with club sports (not just soccer):

- Wages & Salaries are not keeping up with inflation: Low income/Middle Income are struggling to keep up with expenses, including youth sport fees. Club fees go up 10% to 15% a year yet salaries are less than 3% a year.

- Oversaturation: 7 years ago, my kid couldn't break into club soccer because it was highly selective. Today, you have a child with a ball and you will find a club willing to take your money. Heck my daughter got asked to join a club from a coach that just saw her warming up before the game started.

- Everyone wants their child to be in club.?. right?!!. This is common in a highly competitive environment like the "OC". Makes sense, supply and demand. Lots of demand so more club soccer teams and higher fees.

- Fall Sport became year round sport: No more time for other hobbies for these kids.

- Paying for academies: Kids that will never have a chance at making the academy are paying for academy programs.

- $3,000 for U9 is too much: Seriously, how does Beach FC, LA Galaxy, and others decide to charge so much on kids so young.


I personally believe that you are going to see a big drop in club soccer participation at the younger level. My daughter attended several tryouts for U9 and you couldn't find too many club that have more than 6 girls trying out.

Basically if you have 2 kids in youth sports, this is almost the 2nd most expensive monthly bill next to your mortgage payment and car payment.

I love soccer and I make good money but once I look at 2 kids at $6k a year ($500 a month) , I start wondering if I should bring them down to signature level or pick another hobby.

 

[Chalklines]

This is California. A State thats pushing for an $18 hr min wage past 2020.Prices will never go down here.

I was floored seeing some clubs in SoCal charging $3000 for younger teams but when you have 2200 sqft houses pushing a million plus in the suburbs of orange county is this really surprising?

 

[Multi Sport]

At $3k a year I am better off putting 2k away for college tuition and $1k for a new hobby. Lol.

It will be interesting to see if the amount of club soccer players begins to decrease within the next 3 years if clubs continue to raise prices.

Try putting away 10k a year. Seriously, I have 4 kids. Two are done with College, one is in College and one in HS.

College is expensive, it's more expensive without a scholarship. If your kid has great/good grades then the school can offer an academic scholarship while the coach can offer an athletic scholarship. Between the two it's not uncommon for your kid to receive 100k over their four years.

 

[seuss]

Between the two it's not uncommon for your kid to receive 100k over their four years.

What percentage of people has this happened for? I’d say it’s way more than uncommon. Maybe I misunderstood you ????????

 

[Multi Sport]

What percentage of people has this happened for? I’d say it’s way more than uncommon. Maybe I misunderstood you ????????

If your kid has the grades and is a good player then it is not uncommon.

My DD had the grades, 4.0 with AP classes, and was a solid player. She was not an All League HS player but played on a solid Flight 1 team.

She is in her Jr. year of college and when all is said and done will have received over $110k in scholarships between athletic and academic.

The more they can give your kid academically the better it is for the coach. Keep up the grades, they open so many doors for the kids.

 

[SoccerFan4Life]

If your kid has the grades and is a good player then it is not uncommon.

My DD had the grades, 4.0 with AP classes, and was a solid player. She was not an All League HS player but played on a solid Flight 1 team.

She is in her Jr. year of college and when all is said and done will have received over $110k in scholarships between athletic and academic.

The more they can give your kid academically the better it is for the coach. Keep up the grades, they open so many doors for the kids.

Congrats but you are describing a rare situation to have a star athlete and 4.0 student. For the rest of us we have to save and hope to have enough for 2 years of college.

 

[Multi Sport]

Congrats but you are describing a rare situation to have a star athlete and 4.0 student. For the rest of us we have to save and hope to have enough for 2 years of college.

I appreciate you saying my DD is a star athlete but the truth is she is not a star. She is very good, true, but she came off the bench on her club team for two years. It was during that time that she signed her letter. The team she played on during this time had an average GPA of 3.6 with one girl having a 4.4. Most of the girls were like my DD, taking AP classes. There was only one girl below 3.0.

As far as grades, she was a 4.0 with AP classes but the school she chose to go to did not look at weighted GPAs thus they viewed her GPA as 3.8. There is a lesson, know if the college your kid wants to go to looks at weighted or non-weighted GPAs. She took ACT probably three times to get her score high enough to receive the schools highest academic scholarship.

And again, it's not that rare. Tough, difficult to do? Sure. Rare? Not really.

 

[seuss]

I appreciate you saying my DD is a star athlete but the truth is she is not a star. She is very good, true, but she came off the bench on her club team for two years. It was during that time that she signed her letter. The team she played on during this time had an average GPA of 3.6 with one girl having a 4.4. Most of the girls were like my DD, taking AP classes. There was only one girl below 3.0.

As far as grades, she was a 4.0 with AP classes but the school she chose to go to did not look at weighted GPAs thus they viewed her GPA as 3.8. There is a lesson, know if the college your kid wants to go to looks at weighted or non-weighted GPAs. She took ACT probably three times to get her score high enough to receive the schools highest academic scholarship.

And again, it's not that rare. Tough, difficult to do? Sure. Rare? Not really.

Rare with boys then I guess.

 

[Multi Sport]

Rare with boys then I guess.

Now that might be true. I have a Nephew who played two years at a CC and then received a scholarship to a D1. I'll need to chat with him about this but I do have a feeling that it is much harder for the men to receive this type of money.

 

[coachrefparent]

If your kid has the grades and is a good player then it is not uncommon.

My DD had the grades, 4.0 with AP classes, and was a solid player. She was not an All League HS player but played on a solid Flight 1 team.

She is in her Jr. year of college and when all is said and done will have received over $110k in scholarships between athletic and academic.

The more they can give your kid academically the better it is for the coach. Keep up the grades, they open so many doors for the kids.

If my kid has skills like Tom Brady, he'll get $20M a year.
How much is she receiving for athletic and how much for non-athletic?

 

[coachsamy]

One of the main reasons people pay these exorbitant club fees is to keep up with the Joneses! I have a few friends that I have told me that they rather pay more to get "better quality" that will allow their kid to be part of this "prestigious" club. After all these fancy tracksuits are not cheap at all! But is people's money and they can choose where to spend it, I know I'm happy that only paid less than 4k total in my DD 11 year career and she turned out to be a good enough player.

 

[OCsoccerdad7777]

I appreciate you saying my DD is a star athlete but the truth is she is not a star. She is very good, true, but she came off the bench on her club team for two years. It was during that time that she signed her letter. The team she played on during this time had an average GPA of 3.6 with one girl having a 4.4. Most of the girls were like my DD, taking AP classes. There was only one girl below 3.0.

As far as grades, she was a 4.0 with AP classes but the school she chose to go to did not look at weighted GPAs thus they viewed her GPA as 3.8. There is a lesson, know if the college your kid wants to go to looks at weighted or non-weighted GPAs. She took ACT probably three times to get her score high enough to receive the schools highest academic scholarship.

And again, it's not that rare. Tough, difficult to do? Sure. Rare? Not really.

What is the standard to get some kind of scholarship in D1?
For boys and girls. Assuming both have 3.5 gpa and above (or do you need a 4.0 gpa).
Would a player that is top 5 on their F1 team be good enough? Or have to be at least middle academy level player?

 

[Round]

Well, are you making the same amount in salary as you did in 2007? Are you paying the same for utilities, gas, clothes, medical care, food, etc. etc. etc. Why wouldn't club fees go up?

I think this has been responded to well. Basically wages have grown at less than 2% per year over the period 2009 to 2018. Inflation has been similar, 900.00 in 2009 is about 1050.00 now. Fees going up have nothing to do with either. Just everyone should be clear about where those fees are going.

 

[Multi Sport]

What is the standard to get some kind of scholarship in D1?
For boys and girls. Assuming both have 3.5 gpa and above (or do you need a 4.0 gpa).
Would a player that is top 5 on their F1 team be good enough? Or have to be at least middle academy level player?

There are so many things to consider. To my DD the first thing was do they have her major. She was fortunate because she knew what she wanted to major in and that in itself removed a lot of schools from her consideration.

She chose an NAIA school. It's a small, private Christian school that fits her perfectly.

As far as what is needed on the Mens side for a D1? I will say this. At my DDs school, the Mens team was nationally ranked. The team plays better then my Nephews D1 team did, but that's just my opinion. The teams Goalkeeper who just graduated,signed a USL contract. On top of that they have a handful of D1 transfers. But just because a school is D1 doesn't mean that they will automatically get all the top recruits nor does it mean that all the top players want to go there. Some prefer smaller schools or like being the "BigFish" in a little pond.

But grades are so important. Bad grades will prevent your kid from getting into a school while good grades will open doors. Im my opinion, and its only mine, 3.8 is what your kid should be shooting for. My current HS kid is at a 3.8 now but has a looooong way to go if he wants to get a scholarship. Too many injuries has limited his playing time so we might guide him to a JC first.

 

[Multi Sport]

If my kid has skills like Tom Brady, he'll get $20M a year.
How much is she receiving for athletic and how much for non-athletic?

She receives more academic then athletic.

 

[Chalklines]

One of the main reasons people pay these exorbitant club fees is to keep up with the Joneses! I have a few friends that I have told me that they rather pay more to get "better quality" that will allow their kid to be part of this "prestigious" club. After all these fancy tracksuits are not cheap at all! But is people's money and they can choose where to spend it, I know I'm happy that only paid less than 4k total in my DD 11 year career and she turned out to be a good enough player.

Now did your friends say they would pay more for a different level of play? GOLD vs Bronze etc?

That I can can buy into but no way they drank that much kool-aid to believe the more you pay the better quality club you get.

 

[coachsamy]

Now did your friends say they would pay more for a different level of play? GOLD vs Bronze etc?

That I can can buy into but no way they drank that much kool-aid to believe the more you pay the better quality club you get.

The team was a bronze team, but they got sold as they were going into a gold team. People are drinking the kool aid in a constant basis. How do you think big box clubs get away with 4-6 teams in each age group? How can anyone explain paying shit ton of money to be in a team that has their quality inferior to AYSO?

 

[Surfref]

....But grades are so important. Bad grades will prevent your kid from getting into a school while good grades will open doors. Im my opinion, and its only mine, 3.8 is what your kid should be shooting for. My current HS kid is at a 3.8 now but has a looooong way to go if he wants to get a scholarship. Too many injuries has limited his playing time so we might guide him to a JC first.

Nothing wrong with a JC. My oldest went the JC route for four years until she figured out what she wanted to do with her life. She ended up getting some good academic scholarships from UCSD and ultimately a BS and Masters. She now makes around $150K working for a software company that primarily has military contracts. My youngest got $14000 in scholarships($11k soccer and $3k academic) plus in-state tuition to a D1 college in the Southeast. After the first year she came back home because she hated the racism of the Southeast, disliked the college and area, and the soccer program. She came back to SoCal and has attended a JC and will transfer to a D1 next year. She has chose not to play college soccer and focus on her major. She is still involved in soccer as a club coach, referee and plays in a local adult league and indoor.

My daughter knows several very good players that were mediocre academically and got accepted to colleges because of their soccer abilities. All of them dropped out of college and are working waitressing or retail jobs because they could not keep up academically at the college level. They would have probably done better if they started at a JC and started off with a lighter and easier class load. All of them had parents that were constantly bragging about how great their daughters were on the soccer field and pushed them toward colleges that academically they were not prepared for. Parents and kids need to have realistic expectations when it comes to college soccer and academics.

 

[Gu8 Dad]

I noticed that some clubs are now selling advertising on their jersey's.
I can assume that the club is getting some revenue, but what I have not seen is a drop in our club fees.

 

[OCsoccerdad7777]

There are so many things to consider. To my DD the first thing was do they have her major. She was fortunate because she knew what she wanted to major in and that in itself removed a lot of schools from her consideration.

She chose an NAIA school. It's a small, private Christian school that fits her perfectly.

As far as what is needed on the Mens side for a D1? I will say this. At my DDs school, the Mens team was nationally ranked. The team plays better then my Nephews D1 team did, but that's just my opinion. The teams Goalkeeper who just graduated,signed a USL contract. On top of that they have a handful of D1 transfers. But just because a school is D1 doesn't mean that they will automatically get all the top recruits nor does it mean that all the top players want to go there. Some prefer smaller schools or like being the "BigFish" in a little pond.

But grades are so important. Bad grades will prevent your kid from getting into a school while good grades will open doors. Im my opinion, and its only mine, 3.8 is what your kid should be shooting for. My current HS kid is at a 3.8 now but has a looooong way to go if he wants to get a scholarship. Too many injuries has limited his playing time so we might guide him to a JC first.

Great info thank you.
Just one final question. Does your kid have to be a top 3 player skill wise on a good Flight 1 or Gold level team to even be considered by the school for scholarship?Or do they have to be even better. Like top 2 or be Academy level?

 

[Multi Sport]

Great info thank you.
Just one final question. Does your kid have to be a top 3 player skill wise on a good Flight 1 or Gold level team to even be considered by the school for scholarship?Or do they have to be even better. Like top 2 or be Academy level?

All I can speak of is my daughter and nephew.

What they had in common:

Good grades
Speed
Skill

How they were different:

My daughter is slight in build. When she arrived at her college I think she was about 116 lbs. At 5'-6" that is slight. But she was always like that and thats why she had to have better skills.

Nephew was not big when he left HS but because he was 21 when he started at his D1 school he had already filled out. Solid build.

He was a very aggressive player. My daughter, as you can imagine, prefers to go around a player so definitely not a very aggressive player.

My daughter is comfortable with the ball on either foot and can strike equally with either foot. That was a big plus for the coach.

My nephew was predominantly right footed but capable with his left.

Her slight build was a concern for her college coach but fortunately her club coach went to bat for her. So keeping your club coach in the loop is a good idea.

Best advice I can give you is be realistic. @Surfref made a great post about pushing kids into a school that is over their heads academically. The pace of classes in college on top of practice is too much for some kids. If your kid is already having a hard time in HS then maybe JC is the route for them. Of course there are exceptions, especially for those top ten nationally ranked players, but for the rest...

There are some good post on the College recruiting pages.

Best of luck.