BOTC - US Lacrosse Community Forum Forums NORTHEAST LACROSSE BOTC MAIN FORUM (LI, CT, WC) What is a fair price for a Boy's travel team? 8th grade and under.

The parameters being:
- Uniform and shooting shirt only.
- 2 Qualified coaches
- 5 Summer Tournaments
- 10 practices.

How much extra for Helmets? Gloves? Bags?

What percentage should Fall, Winter and Spring League be marked up to cover overhead?

If there really is someone out there that can put in the time and effort needed with zero profit, God bless them.

Our town offers this except for full uniforms (shorts, penny, 2 warm-up jerseys) and only 4 tournaments for $750. 3 local and 1 away. Coaches do get paid (not sure how much) and their travel costs are covered.

You should pay what the market will bear but at the end of the day you want your kid on the field playing so team size should also be concidered.

Breaking down the $750.00

Apparel
$100

Tournaments
$240.00
Based on an average of $1,300/tournament with a 22 player roster that works out to about $60/player

Coaches Hotel - 2 nights
$15.00
Based on $150/night divided by 22 players

That leaves $345 times 22 players which equals $7,590.00

Let's assume practice fields are free and the Directors are volunteers and all that is left is coaches fees.

$7,590.00 divided by 2 = $3,795.00 per coach for 4 weekends, 10 practices and all the associated planning. Easily 100 hours of time so at best the coaches can make $38/hr with no benefits.

Remember - practice costs and Directors profit are $0.00 in this breakdown.

$750.00 is a huge bargain

I would say the average tournament fee if around $1,500 team and your hotel price is about half of what is should be. You're also forgeting about insurance, ophones, websites, expenses, etc.

Not forgetting so much as trying to stop the people who complain that families are being "swindled". It doesn't matter if the player is in 2nd grade or 8th grade if all the expenses are the same.

$1,150 - $1,600 as you see with Jesters, 91, Outlaws, Express is not unfair.

Equipment is an area we as consumers should voice our opinion on. We don't need a new helmet every year. Gloves? Bag? I think the team looks more "professional" when the team is fully decked out like a college team.

After that - it's all about the coaching, IMHO.

What is a fair price for a travel team?

Based on 23 Players (6 Attack, 9 Middies, 6 Defense, 2 Goalies)

$100.00 uniform, shooting shirt and a tee shirt
$175.00 Helmet
$130.00 Gloves
$75.00 Bag
$100.00 Administration and overhead (Website, Insurance)
$350.00 Tournament Fees (5 Tournaments)
$450.00 Coaching Fees (2 Coaches)
$200.00 Practice Fees (10 practices)

GRAND TOTAL $1,580.00 - ($1,200.00 if no Helmet, Gloves and Bag)

Fall, Winter and Spring extra.

Anybody disagree?

I have registered my son to play spring with the Jesters. $250 includes spring games and practices, uniform, shooting shirt and a headwrapz for the helmet. Tournaments will be split based on team size. so all that factored in you are still making out great compared to say Team 91 which is $1300. Before anyone jumps all over me about Team 91 I think they are a fantastic team and maybe in a year or two my son will tryout, but right now I am now even sure how many tournaments he can play in that have 2nd grade divisions. There is plenty of time for Elite teams in the future. I think that exposing him to some other kids besides the ones on his team and some new experiences will be all he needs to make him love the game even more and have some fun this spring summe, in second grade that is all I am really looking for because if he hates the game I wont need an elite team.

Several of the programs now have teams for 3rd grade and even 2nd grade...LI Jesters is as good as any at that age (and argubly for the older kids as well as evidenced by their u-15 making the finals of the National Championship last year)...you are 100% correct, in that its about exposing your child to other kids who are dedicated to the game and presumably have skills that match, getting some more intensive coaching, playing in a competitive league and competitive tournaments...I beleive all of the programs offer the above but at different costs. The one mistake some parents make is they believe that if they join a 91 or Express etc. at a young age that they are guarnateed to be with that team over the years.

The breakout of the cost is reasonable. Parents need to also consider the travel costs for out of town tournaments. Figure hotel, meals, gas, tolls. for two day tourney at $500 each. It adds up quickly. We calculated that for our son between tuition(club cost), tournaments, winter ball, training. it'll be $4,000 for the year. Take that into consideration before signing up. My son is going to college either way (putting money away for it). No dream of scholarship. All because he's having fun playing sports and making new friends.