Why expensive travel?? - UofO tuition $10,289/yr - OSU tuition $9,123/yr

[Unregistered]

Just a though on the economics of girls soccer...

First, let me say this... If you have disposable income and your daughter enjoys travelling a lot, then the various high cost travel teams make sense (ECNL/Pre-ECNL, THUSC, CU, TA etc...).
In my opinion ECNL, THUSC, CU and TA have some great coaches and teams(and some not so great).

BUT here are the hard facts.. Only about 2% of all soccer players get scholarships and, even more importantly, even fewer get a full ride scholarship. Nearly all get partial scholarships because the womens teams do not bring in the big money that Mens Football and Baskeball do.. It's not fair, but it's a fact..

If you are paying $8k to $12K a year for your 11-15 year old to travel you will spend $40,000 to $60,000 before any college coach can even talk to them. You are essentially gambling that your daughter will definitely be one of the 2% that gets a scholarship AND one the few of those that gets a full ride... It's just not likely! on average, of the 2% of girls high school seniors get awarded a scholarship and they only cover about 43% of costs" That $40,000 to $60,000 you are spending now would cover all 4 years of tuition at OSU or UofO and then some.
You might be better off finding a good coach on a competitive team that does not fly around the country all the time, saving that excessive travel money to cover the inevitable expenses she will have at college even with a scholarship.
None of the above takes into account that your daughter could get decide to change sports or quit sports all together.

And worse, Female athletes have four to 10 times more ACL injuries than male athletes, meaning that all the money you spent on travel could be for nothing if she has a bad ACL tear...

Despite what the talking soccer peanut gallery says - There are several great clubs around town with great coaches that will not bankrupt your family just to play there - and all of those clubs have pathways to college and ex-player-alumni who have received scholarships.. - Ask around and find out who the respected coaches are and who they coach for. Find out how much they travel and what the expenses are. Then make the best decision for your family.

I only mentioned tuition costs because your daughter will have to pay room and board, regardless of where she goes to school and there is basically zero chance that any scholarship she gets will cover it. Again, it's not fair but it is the fact...

If money is not an issue, go for it. But if you are like most people - save your money now to spend on college later. Money in your bank account is a sure thing - scholarships are definitely not... Save the expensive travel teams for her junior and senior year, if at all....

http://berkshiresocceracademy.com/20...-scholarships/
http://www.scholarshipstats.com/soccer.html
A quote from the above site... ** Do the Math! NCAA Division I men's Soccer teams have an average roster size of 28 players but only a maximum of 9.9 athletic scholarships to award per team. This means the average award covers only about 35% of a typical athlete's annual college costs - and this assumes the sport is fully funded at the sponsoring school. Soccer is an equivalency sport for NCAA limits, so partial scholarships can be awarded as long as the combined equivalent awards do not exceed the limit. For example, an NCAA Division I school can award 21 women soccer players each a 2/3 equivalent scholarship and still meet the limit of 14 per team.

Why play club soccer? Play rec. save the money pay for another year of college.

Sounds good!

If you have the money, play the best level you can play. Broke, don't play competitive soccer.

[Unregistered]

Bingo! Only the wealthy and the handful of Oregon players who are truly elite should be playing club soccer at all. Club soccer is basically a country club with some soccer coaches. Girls Dap can be for the few truly elite players that don't have parents who can toss 6-10k/yr down the drain. Just think, if we all played Rec, we'd have the same competition and could pay for a ton of group private lessons and still have a boatload left for college.

[Unregistered]

The truth is, that comment could of been from anyone, not necessarily ECNL. I don't need to defend it. I don't understand why everyone needs to attack it. If you are not paying the bill for travel, have false hopes for your daughter and every other insult you sling at the ECNL crowd, if those things don't apply to your family, seriously, why do you give a ****?

ECNL has done wonders for the prescription drug makers and pharmacies in Portland.

[Unregistered]

Just a though on the economics of girls soccer...

http://berkshiresocceracademy.com/20...-scholarships/

Funny that you sourced a camp that costs $1400 for 4 1/2 days of soccer - and $2200 for a 4 1/2 days with Hamm, Lilly and Hoch "coaching." Talk about MONEY

[Unregistered]

The source makes the fact even more credible.. They are making the situation very clear so no one can say they were dishonest......

[Unregistered]

There are benefits and drawbacks to all of them. It's kids soccer. No need to insult anyone.

Agreed

[Unregistered]

Funny that you sourced a camp that costs $1400 for 4 1/2 days of soccer - and $2200 for a 4 1/2 days with Hamm, Lilly and Hoch "coaching." Talk about MONEY

I know we aren't supposed to talk about it, but their are also travel costs involved to get the kids to camps. In this case Massachusetts.

[Unregistered]

I know we aren't supposed to talk about it, but their are also travel costs involved to get the kids to camps. In this case Massachusetts.

Yes the private jet needs fuel, and fuel isn't free.

[Unregistered]

Here is the problem with the attempted math lesson. What the haters don't know is that more scholarship money was handed out to members of the CU ECNL 2015 team than all of the other teams in the state combined. That team saw two members garner FULL rides to D1 schools and another two members getting 20%+ first year assistance.

Now if we look at the money handed out to the FC ECNL players of the same year they also garnered more D1 money than the total of all the non-ECNL players in the state.

Also lost in the conversation is the joy kids get from competing at the highest level. There are THOUSANDS of other youth athletes in Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Volleyball, Hockey and Golf that annually spend amounts that if foregone could easily fund 4 years of tuition. But that completely misses WHY kids play a GAME.

The logic that you are asking us to accept would mean that kids should still be playing Tag, Kick The Can and Stickball.

[Unregistered]

Here is the problem with the attempted math lesson. What the haters don't know is that more scholarship money was handed out to members of the CU ECNL 2015 team than all of the other teams in the state combined. That team saw two members garner FULL rides to D1 schools and another two members getting 20%+ first year assistance.

Now if we look at the money handed out to the FC ECNL players of the same year they also garnered more D1 money than the total of all the non-ECNL players in the state.

Also lost in the conversation is the joy kids get from competing at the highest level. There are THOUSANDS of other youth athletes in Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Volleyball, Hockey and Golf that annually spend amounts that if foregone could easily fund 4 years of tuition. But that completely misses WHY kids play a GAME.

The logic that you are asking us to accept would mean that kids should still be playing Tag, Kick The Can and Stickball.

This post brought to you by Tom Atencio who has no idea what anyone got in terms of assistance. Sorry, the desperation is really showing.

[Unregistered]

Here is the problem with the attempted math lesson. What the haters don't know is that more scholarship money was handed out to members of the CU ECNL 2015 team than all of the other teams in the state combined. That team saw two members garner FULL rides to D1 schools and another two members getting 20%+ first year assistance.

Now if we look at the money handed out to the FC ECNL players of the same year they also garnered more D1 money than the total of all the non-ECNL players in the state.

Also lost in the conversation is the joy kids get from competing at the highest level. There are THOUSANDS of other youth athletes in Basketball, Softball, Baseball, Volleyball, Hockey and Golf that annually spend amounts that if foregone could easily fund 4 years of tuition. But that completely misses WHY kids play a GAME.

The logic that you are asking us to accept would mean that kids should still be playing Tag, Kick The Can and Stickball.

You are so new to this, it is painful. That CU team was good from the start and they havent gotten more college opportunities then some of the teams prior to them. This team's college opporunities doesn't even come close to the past top teams in the state prior to them from 4-5 different clubs. I would say with ECNL they had more turnover, more issues and spent their college scholarship money.

Imagine the idea that they would have gotten this or better without having actually end up in the red after its all said and done. Its really painful how brain washed you are.

[Unregistered]

Here is the problem with the attempted math lesson. What the haters don't know is that more scholarship money was handed out to members of the CU ECNL 2015 team than all of the other teams in the state combined. That team saw two members garner FULL rides to D1 schools and another two members getting 20%+ first year assistance.

NOBODY really knows those facts except the families and schools involved. In addition, plenty of players receive academic/merit money, not athletic money, which they would receive regardless because they have good grades.

[Unregistered]

NOBODY really knows those facts except the families and schools involved. In addition, plenty of players receive academic/merit money, not athletic money, which they would receive regardless because they have good grades.

Thank you.

My thoughts as well.

My DD had several offers and in the end, went with the one that gave her the $5k athletic plus $15k academic and $5k private donor scholarships to a D1 school (CA)). Initially, it was her second choice school but her first choice school only offered $5k.

Our son had the same type of experience by also going out of state (AZ) for school. He too did very well with academic and athletic aid.

We were adamant that our kids had to be responsible for themselves so pretty much what wasn't covered by aid became their responsibility. They have great GPAs so more private scholarships have come in. They Both have part-time jobs and will have some student loans, but surprisingly, not much when they graduate.

Yes.As a family we spent between $10 and $15k a year on our 2 kids for club and ODP plus additional expenses if we traveled with them. We also paid for parochial school and Jesuit High School. Our kids had other interests as well.

We did things together during all of this time. We spent family time together traveling to areas we might not otherwise have gone to and we celebrated our kids wins and went through what we all learned from their losses and being cut from teams.

We were a middle class working family who had a tight budget and participated in team fundraisers. If we couldn't afford for our kids to travel to something than they simply could not go. Sometimes it cost the a spot on a team. So be it. The found spots on another team and they played.

There is no comparison what so ever between watching our kids play rec or CYO sports and the high level competitive sports. My kids did both, sometimes concurrently. They made the choices to play at the levels they did.

[Unregistered]

Not sure the premise of the original post. Certainly scholarships can cover room and board. A full ride (rare) for soccer includes all required costs including room and board. With soccer being an equivalence sport it is important to know what exactly is being offered and meet with financial aid folks to figure out exa.ctly the cost you will pay. Everyone is happy to do that.

[Unregistered]

Not sure the premise of the original post. Certainly scholarships can cover room and board. A full ride (rare) for soccer includes all required costs including room and board. With soccer being an equivalence sport it is important to know what exactly is being offered and meet with financial aid folks to figure out exa.ctly the cost you will pay. Everyone is happy to do that.

Should have added that the 2% figure is Always irrelevant. I am not an ecnl fan - the travel costs do not make sense, but the question for people to consider is what % of kids on this team will play in college. No one should care what % of high school players will go on to play in college, or what percent of total players, including rec, will get a scholarship.

My daughter played for a pretty good team when we lived in the midwest. Maybe in the top 5 in the state in preparation ecnl days (ecnl was just getting started in the state). 16 of 18 kids went on to play in college. 7 played or still play D1 with varying scholarships. Most others did ivy leagues or D3 private. The % that matters is where a particular team stands and what it can do for your kid.