At the highest levels of travel, there is no avoiding the significant - and escalating - costs. It’s unfortunate for the game because it limits the pool of potential athletes at all levels, but so long as the law of supply and demand holds, it’s likely a permanent feature.

(And it’s gonna get worse… just wait until private equity enters this space. They’re almost done with plumbers, dentists and car washes. There is nothing PE likes more than a fragmented market with insatiable demand.)

If affordability is an issue for your family, two thoughts:

1. Play at a lower level. The experience can still be great, and if a scholarship is the goal it’s still not impossible to achieve. You’ll just have to work harder than others - sending more film and going to more camps.

2. Ask for assistance. You may have to swallow your pride, but there is no harm or dishonesty in telling a club coach that you’d love for your kid to accept their offer, but you just can’t afford it. An under discussed reality of club sports is the number of stud player who have special deals (eg, reduced fees, travel covered, etc.). Hey… hate the game, not the player.

(Trigger warning) This situation is emblematic of our society’s increasingly distant Have and Have Nots… I wish I saw a brighter future for my future grandkids…