Posted by Rodney Dangerbroke on August 28, 2025, 2:42 pm
Is there a trick to affording all tourneys in one fall and summer season? Colorado, California, Florida X 3, St. Louis X 3……and these are only places I know SO FAR.
Is softball a marathon of the wealthy or is there a way to do it when you aren’t uber wealthy?
Re: Cost….
Posted by Daddy CreateAbuck on August 31, 2025, 1:36 pm, in reply to "Cost…."
Travel any sport is expensive. Create the bucks. Get imaginative. Hustle the dough. An individual athlete can create their own MoneyDollly. Similar to a go fund me. Run your own March madness bracket pool. Run your own Super Bowl squares fundraiser. Buy the latest Ghost bat. Run your own raffle. So many more side hustles. Where there is a will there is a way.
Re: Cost….
Posted by @Rodney on August 28, 2025, 10:24 pm, in reply to "Cost…."
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…
Re: Cost….
Posted by Program on August 28, 2025, 3:10 pm, in reply to "Cost…."
Yeah, find an experienced program that has a history of recruiting without making families poor. There are only a few out there. And if you are a good enough player to be D1 or even P4 and have the correct recruiting guidance those schools will find you, no matter how little you travel.
Re: Cost….
Posted by @Program on August 28, 2025, 3:33 pm, in reply to "Re: Cost…."
.. or, and I know this is crazy talk, you find a program that fits your daughter's skill level and you feel will improve her game. This may be shocking, but the point of competing in a sport is to improve and win. So few players receive meaningful college money; maybe you should just play the game. There are a ton of girls out there who don't want to compromise their school selection based on a sport, are academically gifted, and just want to focus on their degree, or want to join a sorority and party like a rock star.
Let a sport be a sport.
Re: Cost….
Posted by @@@program on August 29, 2025, 1:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Cost…."
There is meaningful money in scholarships. People need to stop pushing this BS. Also you can use softball as a crutch to get into a school that may have been just out of your reach academically. This is not emphasized enough. Playing a sport gives SA's an edge in admissions. I agree with you %100, playing in college is not for everyone. Unless your daughter loves the game and is willing to make sacrifices she should go join a sorority. One more thing, do not think for a minute that during the off season that the softball players are not partying like rock stars!
Re: Cost….
Posted by @@Program on August 28, 2025, 3:44 pm, in reply to "Re: Cost…."
I couldn't agree more. Why not find schools you want to attend, then reach out to the coaches? Maybe be a walk-on or play club if those are the options. It's not the end of the world if you're not a scholarship athlete.
