by | Salma Cano
Staff Reporter
As of 2023, the average family pays over $800 on a single child each year for youth club sports. Costs of travel and registration have only increased from times of quarantine, making them even less affordable.
The extreme costs required by club sports need to be lowered .
The high expenses of club sports can often keep low income families from letting their kids take part in the sports that they enjoy. A simple costly price can keep an aspiring athlete from reaching their goals regarding the sport they’re interested in.
There is also the opposite occurrence, where families that are very passionate about a certain sport, may be struggling financially because of it. The costly prices of equipment, practices, and traveling may be keeping families from their ability to put food on the table.
Lowering the costs required of youth club sports would also allow individuals to do several sports if desired. Sometimes, it comes down to difficult decisions for multi-sport athletes, and once again, it becomes an experience that they have to miss out on.
Though some may disagree and say that the prices for club sports are necessary for what athletes get in return, it still remains unfair for all those that can’t afford it. However, we can make the experience of kids playing sports more affordable by actions that some students have already taken towards getting involved and providing free practices for children that pay for club sports.
Many families can find it difficult to constantly pay expense after expense for youth club sports. There are many factors that play into this such as traveling, equipment, and the practices themselves. By taking action towards this and providing the ways we can, however, can allow sports opportunities for many more people.
