club soccer and the economy

Everyone is going to be tightening their belts. The Scorpions seem to be ahead of the curve on this one.

How did the Scorpions become part of this topic?

Fees are the lowest of the top clubs and they appear be reducing their travel costs via their own tournament.

Now it makes sense. This thread was kind of odd because it started by implying something but never being clear. Now we know. This is yet another Scorpion Marketing attempt. The coded phrases were targeted at MPS, Bolts and the Stars. This endless parade of self-promotion is getting very boring.

Just making an observation since I am with one of those other 3 clubs.

Everyone is going to be tightening their belts. The Scorpions seem to be ahead of the curve on this one.

Oh please. They are so cutting edge, huh?

Let's see. Three negative comments about the Scorpions posted within 5 minutes. Is it possible that 3 separate posters don't like the Scorpions all happen to be online at the same time or could it be just one?

Coded phrases??????? are you for real? You need to get a life! I have to laugh at wackos like you . I have no connection to Scorpions, but the posterhas made valid points. All of the things mentioned helps keep money in parents pockets, so as a parent I am delighted to see this.If you look at the itenary of the bigger clubs in general it is insane! Dont get me wrong, if I am a coach I would probably be doing the same thing.Nothing like an expenses paid little trip to somwhere warm to break up the winter blues. Just trot out that hoary old chesnut which aludes to finding the best competition available for the development of your little Mia. PS: THIS IS ANOTHERCODED MESSAGE

Coded phrases??????? are you for real? You need to get a life! I have to laugh at wackos like you . I have no connection to Scorpions, but the posterhas made valid points. All of the things mentioned helps keep money in parents pockets, so as a parent I am delighted to see this.If you look at the itenary of the bigger clubs in general it is insane! Dont get me wrong, if I am a coach I would probably be doing the same thing.Nothing like an expenses paid little trip to somwhere warm to break up the winter blues. Just trot out that hoary old chesnut which aludes to finding the best competition available for the development of your little Mia. PS: THIS IS ANOTHERCODED MESSAGE

You must be one of those parents who want a shot at playing the Stars or Scorps (any given day blah blah) The top teams are tired of heavily beating you and when they do your the first to complain about running up the score. Your child doesn't play on these teams because she isn't good enough. All you have to worry about is not having to pay a toll on the pike because you won't be going out of state. Worry about youir child and not about who is going here and how much it costs to go there. Oick on your own coach for not training your daughter to play at this level.


Nothing like an expenses paid little trip to somwhere warm to break up the winter blues. Just trot out that hoary old chesnut which aludes to finding the best competition available for the development of your little Mia.

What a load of @#$%

Ok after reading all this, if you do not think going to all these tournaments is good, then do not play for a club that does it. I see Scorpions U15 are going to Brentwood TN and then Jefferson in the space of 3 weeks. I am not having a go at anyone here but that is still a lot of travel. Flying to those cities is probably as much as flying to the other tournaments the other teams go to. I am from none of the clubs mentioned.

[MASC]

The initial post is very disturbing since it reflects a message of doom that is what the liberal press and polititicians who want America to crash are creating to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The economic climate is changing. Will parents stop investing in their children? No. Will parents be more selective? Yes!

The cost/benefit of various activities will be re-evaluated. The number of expensive destination tournament trips will probably diminish. Many tournaments will fold. There are too many tournaments and consolidation is to be expected.

Maybe the number of extended weekends that are currently manditory soccer tournament weekends will for many families revert to quieter family weekends.

The location will probably impact the choice of club for some people, but if the time spent commuting is not enough of a dis-incentive, it is doubltful that the cost of fuel will cause any changes.

What one will probably see are fewer huge SUV's and other vehicles that get poor gas milage used as primary transportation, but a change to the various "cross-over" vehicles, that get gas milage in the 30+ MPG. Given the driving required for school, sport, and work is considerable for my family/children we have purchased vehicles that get 30+ MPG (they are all at least 7+ years old and are standard transmission.). The 1995 Plymouth Voyager that got 26MPG wasn't sexy, but did haul many players and gear at a very reasonable cost.

The new status symbols will become Hybred vehicles and vegetable diesel vehicles (bio-diesel). We have already had the ethanol added to our fuel up to 10% that reduces the fuel efficiency by 10 to 15% (wonder why your gas milage has gone down over the past year 2-5 MPG). Another liberal policy that soothes their sensibilities and actually increases dependency on foreign oil (we add something that is more expensive than gasoline that decreases efficiency). At least bio-diesel is not a fraud.

In any case technology exists to transition to more efficient vehicles (greater acceptance of diesel/bio-diesel - improved hybred technologies - more efficient car designs - etc.)

The initial post is very disturbing since it reflects a message of doom that is what the liberal press and polititicians who want America to crash are creating to become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Dude it aint the liberal press and politicians. The US housing bubble was fueled by Bad loans( zero $ down) being created for 10 years and packaged and sold. The bubble has burst, those loans are now defaulting causing a downward spiral in RE, bad auto loans etc... The banking/credit sector has basically been destroyed, and the Us economy will take years to recover, as all the manufacturing and technology jobs were sent over seas to cheaper labor during the 10 year illusion of a healthy economy as US consumers borrowed to purchase chinese products. The price of Oil and gas is so high becuase the value of the US dollar has dropped so much. Atleast in the 80s we had the BUY US products message, but now we have zero leadership blaming the high price of gas as the major problem.

[MASC]

The size of the mortgage crisis is relatively small compared to the GNP. The crash of the .COM bubble lost more money than is at stake here.

I compete world wide against businesses from China, the Pacific Rim, the EU and our local trading partners (Canada and Mexico). Cost of labor is part of the competitive equation, not the the whole (quality and innovation have a value - very difficult to quantify). A discussion of economics goes beyond a soccer forum. US business can compete and win, but we need to value those who create capital rather than just those who manipulate it.

The size of the mortgage crisis is relatively small compared to the GNP. The crash of the .COM bubble lost more money than is at stake here.


Wrong. This is the wrost credit crisis since the Great Depression. The sooner people realize it the better.

And now back to soccer!!!!!!!! :shock:

MASC, make up your mind. You slammed the initial post and then went 6 or 7 paragraphs into a bleak picture of foregoing soccer tournaments, more family time, hybrids, and bio-fuel! Do you think there's an impact or not?

I knew that was going to be risky and potentially distracting! Could be wrong, but my impression is that club teams of girls tend to be roughly more homogenous socioeconomically than boys teams. I'm guessing the boys teams are a little more diverse as well. We're talking degrees, not massive differences. So, even if I am incorrect about this, question remains for top boys and girls teams...how do they handle costs for players who can't afford to travel to Virginia, Florida, Dallas, San Diego, Arizona, etc.???

No one can answer this? It's obviously not connected to any Scorpions conspiracy, because, as a poster above pointed out, some of their teams are still doing a fair amount of traveling. The question applies to all clubs.

I think the gas prices will affect everyone:

teams playing in region 1 (Maine to NJ) , teams traveling out of state to tournaments ( CT to Florida to California), teams playing in Super-Y league ( Rhode island to Ottawa) , teams playing in Maple ( travel from Cape Cod to the Berkshires) and teams playing academy soccer (NC).

I live in an affluent suburb of Boston and our team draws players from 45 miles away. Some of the players come from "less affluent" areas and I know the cost of gas has to have an effect on some of the team members. It used to cost me $35 to fill my tank and now it costs me $50. That's $45 less each week that I have to spend. Just wrote a check for $970 to my local oil company, more than twice what I paid last year.

If the trend towards a recession continues ( personally, I think we're already in it...I'll get back to you in 6 months) for an extended period, I know we will draw fewer players from distance. Or, the club will have to provide "fee waivers."

I, for one, think there are too many tournaments and too much emphasis placed on them. One is led to believe that if the club goes to different states to play in such matches the players will see better competition, and therefore have a better opportunity to improve further. Yes to better competition, but cummon...3-4 games at a tournament are going to make a player that much better?

(If you want your child to really improve their game, besides playing with their club team, get them playing in as many pickup games as possible with older players. They will be exposed to things they don't see when they are playing in their own age group.)

My child has two out-of-state tournmanents this year, and in all likelihood we'll forego one of them. When I do the cost/benefits analysis for attending both tournaments, I find it hard to justify....