All-Star How Much Do Other Sports Cost Compared To Cheer?

[Sterling von Shimmer]

Sorry...where?! My 4yo just finished his first session of tball and the only thing provided was the tee and practice balls, and the coach bought those herself. We had to buy a bat, glove, helmet, uniform, and athletic shoes. He didn't have to have cleats yet and we stupidly didn't buy a bag. I think I paid about $100 for all of this getting the cheapest options at Academy because like I said, he's 4. Bats and gloves can run $200+. Not including private lessons, batting cage, catchers equipment, hotel costs, etc. that parents pay for at the higher levels. And just like competitions, parents don't get in free. It is cheaper entry than cheer, at least.

ETA: "just use your hands"?!? Do you know how fast those guys can throw a baseball, and how much it hurts to catch with your bare hands?!?

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Lol yes I know how fast baseballs go. My fiancé’s big into baseball. I meant it to be facetious.

And when my sister was younger before she hit her stride with dancing, she tried all the sports. I just remember going to her games and seeing coaches dragging around bat racks, soccer ball bags, the cart with all the volleyballs, etc. that the program provided. Same thing with my HS; the school provides all the equipment. That goes for our team’s poms as well. So that’s where my assumption came from. Maybe it’s different now?

 

[TealShades]

I didn’t even know they had gloves for different positions. Just use your hands. Problem solved. ‍(shrug emoji that doesn’t work here)

Have you ever watched baseball?
ETA nvm you just joking

 

[Gym2Cheer]

We came from competitive gymnastics and AS cheer is about half what I was paying. Monthly tuition was around $750-$800, plus assorted private lessons at $65+ per hour. Routines (needed new every year or every other year) were $300-$650 depending on the event and choreographer. Plus we had to pay every event registration out of pocket— at $100-$150 per meet. Travel hotel fees were the same as cheer. There was also a parent club that cost another $1K+ depending on your kid’s level. So no, AS cheer is not the worst.

ETA because I can’t believe I forgot this!! Uniforms for gym were very expensive, very uncomfortable, very tight competition Leo’s— ours were often $800+. As an elite, multiple Leo’s were needed for multi-day events. Plus warmup and bag- another $300+.

We also have friends who do travel soccer, and it is equally pricey. There are 3 levels of team, and all together they essentially split the coach’s annual salary. That’s a chunk of change each year for ‘coaching fees.’ Tournament fees, equipment, extra practice, Olympic training programs, camps, dual seasons, ‘play up’ teams, etc— and suddenly kicking a ball around in a field owned by the city competes easily with AS Cheer.

I’m very happy with my CP’s choice to switch to AS!
Oh— and Hi! I’m new here!

 

[DonnaM]

I will say that CP’s friends who do travel soccer and softball both travel far less than CP does-most competitions are regional, until National finals if a team qualifies. The coaching fees may be similar (especially if they’re training in an indoor gym, not the local park. CP’s cheer gym was half of a building that was a soccer training facility, and seriously considered moving to a former baseball trainiiing facility last year), and equipment can be high, but there’s a difference in cost between one travel comp that requires air travel to not miss more than a couple of days of school and 3+ every season.

 

[CLynn]

The monthly fee (tuition, classes etc) is comparable to others sports in my experience. We have tons of helmets, mits, sticks, and cleats in my garage to prove some equipment was purchased every season whereas our gym tries to keep uniform for a few years (with some trading of sizes etc). It is the 12 month nature, travel, and competition fees that adds dramatically to the expense for us. I think gyms can cut down some on the travel expense by choosing more local competitions or not choosing to send all teams everywhere as some programs do. Perhaps that is a catch 22 for programs to not hurt egos if only certain levels or teams get to travel?

 

[CookieMomster]

I’ve got two daughters in competitive sports. My oldest plays rep softball and we just dropped $300 on her bat, another $150 for her glove plus we dropped $100 for a bag in the summer. That doesn’t include pitching clinics, rep fees, team fees, batting clinics, camps, travel fees, uniforms (she has 3), new cleats, concussion testing, and other stuff. Yes the team has some gear but most prefer to use their own bats, and gloves, batting gloves, face guards, and helmets aren’t provided.

CP also did comp dance last season and I’d have to say it came pretty close to cheer once we paid for the 5 costumes, warm up suit, makeup and jewelry, hair stuff, dream duffle bag (think a traveling closet), dance shoes, practice wear, monthly tuition, choreography fees, comp fees, instructor fees for the comp dances, travel fees, etc. At least I didn’t need to buy tickets to the comps as they were all free.

So for use dance and softball was just as expensive. It’s all subjective. I could buy a small car every year with what I’ve spent on my kids and I don’t regret and would do it again. I feel blessed we can afford it and we also pay it forward and donate a lot of stuff and give it away. We also volunteer to help offset some costs. I do wish it was more accessible and wish more kids could join and take part.

 

[UCFKnights07]

i did competitive show jumping for years as a teen, my parents dont like to talk about how much money they spent during those 4 years even today. The absurd amount of money people spend to do that sport is mind boggling. And i was one of the very rare few who didnt own or lease a horse, but my parents still spent money out the butthole for it. And I dont come from a family of money, like 90% of the people who i competed against.
i loved every minute of it and i was quite good for my age and level, but my parents were glad i started it late and only did it for a short amount of time. Most people i knew in the sport do it for YEARS, like into their late 20s, because if you can get sponsors to support you, the money and free perks are crazy luxurious.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

But...how? I’m not doubting you, but I guess the disconnect for me is the “beauty” expenses of cheer (and other performative sports like gymnastics, dance, figure skating, etc.) that other sports don’t have to worry about (makeup, costumes, hair pieces). That, for me, is what leads me to believe cheer is more expensive than anything else. Assuming travel/uniform/shoe/training expenses are more or less equal for everyone, what kind of costs could other sports possibly incur that would make them break even with all the performative costs of cheer? Sports equipment is provided unless you buy your own to practice on your own time, and how much could a baseball bat/basketball/tennis racket possibly be?

This might be an extremely narrow-minded view of things. Like I said, never done anything else. But either way, costs are massively out of control.

I suggest you read some of the articles about youth sports, the cost, and the culture that's being created around it... "beauty" costs have nothing to do with it. There are a million articles on Google.

I'd also like to say if you're going to compare cheerleading to "other sports" to see what is more or less expensive, you really need to make sure you're making fair comparisons. You can't compare local rec teams, that are made to be as accessible as possible to the community, to competitive travel teams, whose main goal is to make it to the top no matter what. Those are different markets with drastically different cultures and end goals. FWIW, I think it's unfair to compare the costs of all star to high school, too.

But as a whole, the costs of youth sports has gone up everywhere in both rec and club teams. Youth sports is a $15 billion industry. It's doubled in the past 10 years. It's not just cheerleading. Youth sports are pricing a lot of families out everywhere at all levels. I'm not against the idea of paying for higher levels/commitments/competition but the fact that, 1. youth sports cost just as much or more than college educations; and 2. there are less and less low-level commitment options for families, is absolutely ridiculous. Sports are important to children and their development. Denying them the opportunity to develop team building skills, work ethics, and healthy, active habits that you can only get through sports is going to cost society in the long run.

 

[Lablover]

Any sport has the potential to cost a lot of money, look at places like IMG Academy.
Standard tuition for one year of boarding at IMG Academy is $68,500 plus a team sport competition and training gear fee that ranges from $3,750-$4,250 depending on the sport. A single semester costs $39,400.

 

[ScottyB]

Any sport has the potential to cost a lot of money, look at places like IMG Academy.
Standard tuition for one year of boarding at IMG Academy is $68,500 plus a team sport competition and training gear fee that ranges from $3,750-$4,250 depending on the sport. A single semester costs $39,400.

img academy is a whole diff ball game for paid youth sports

 

[OnceUponACheerleader]

img academy is a whole diff ball game for paid youth sports

Holy!!! I had to google what it was. That is incredible

 

[Lisa Seye]

I wrote a whole paper on this in university. Unfortunately the media & consumer culture portrays sport as 'equal for all' when it is in-fact the farthest thing from that. Think the cost of training, equipment, coaching, medical bills/physio, travel, tickets (as an athlete, or the family of the athlete), and then the cost of sport to the spectator (i.e. You want to go watch a Toronto Maple Leaf game in Toronto, Canada... be prepared for a $200-$2,000 ticket PER GAME. I wish I was kidding). There is nothing equal about sport & the whole industry as a whole has the public believing this illusion - and the consistent feel good story of 'the underdog' making it to the big leagues.

Sports are expensive at all levels, until you reach the pro level. However countless sociological studies have proven that athletes with more economic means will almost exclusively have the opportunities to reach that 'pro level' versus their lower economic counterpart.

Would love to read your paper

 

[OnceUponACheerleader]

Would love to read your paper

hahah honestly @Lisa Seye , I would too. I couldn't tell you where I filed it away... maybe some old computers.
One of those things in university where you cannot wait for it to be all done, and you loose track of absolutely everything as soon as you do finish it... (anyone else have this experience?)

 

[catlady]

Sports are important to children and their development. Denying them the opportunity to develop team building skills, work ethics, and healthy, active habits that you can only get through sports is going to cost society in the long run.

The most fundamental shift in youth sports and child rearing is the shift from development, as you said above, to winning. From there, the emphasis on winning has created an abyss, because the playing field is never 100% fair. There is definitely a bazaar obsession with sport figures and celebrities in America, and they are a huge reason parents try to buy their kids social status through fashion, elite sport training, material things and elaborate social events. I think we're already starting to get a good look at what the results are on our society. We have kids growing up feeling like victims in one of the wealthiest countries, because geographic and economic differences are being highlighted in every aspect of their life instead of their development and all the skills you mentioned above.

 

[Sterling von Shimmer]

I suggest you read some of the articles about youth sports, the cost, and the culture that's being created around it... "beauty" costs have nothing to do with it. There are a million articles on Google.

I'd also like to say if you're going to compare cheerleading to "other sports" to see what is more or less expensive, you really need to make sure you're making fair comparisons. You can't compare local rec teams, that are made to be as accessible as possible to the community, to competitive travel teams, whose main goal is to make it to the top no matter what. Those are different markets with drastically different cultures and end goals. FWIW, I think it's unfair to compare the costs of all star to high school, too.

But as a whole, the costs of youth sports has gone up everywhere in both rec and club teams. Youth sports is a $15 billion industry. It's doubled in the past 10 years. It's not just cheerleading. Youth sports are pricing a lot of families out everywhere at all levels. I'm not against the idea of paying for higher levels/commitments/competition but the fact that, 1. youth sports cost just as much or more than college educations; and 2. there are less and less low-level commitment options for families, is absolutely ridiculous. Sports are important to children and their development. Denying them the opportunity to develop team building skills, work ethics, and healthy, active habits that you can only get through sports is going to cost society in the long run.

As I mentioned before, I’ve literally never done anything else. And in my defense, these super expensive club teams just didn’t exist when I was growing up or if they did, they were rare. My high school had a really competitive athletics program so you if you wanted to succeed at a sport, you just went with the HS team and that was enough to prepare you for college. They had costs, but most uniforms and equipment were provided. Cheer and dance were the only sports required to buy new uniforms on a yearly basis and purchase hundreds of dollars worth of MAC makeup. So that’s where I’m coming from.