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.

[Unregistered]

"Investing" money in a child's potential scholarship has got to be the worst kind of investment. At least buy lottery tickets since the potential payoff is higher. Or put that cash under your mattress and you'll at least lose 0%.

[Unregistered]

Original poster nailed it!

[Unregistered]

It's our money, if we want to spend it on ECNL it's our business.

[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.

Most of the soccer money goes to girls from CA, TX, CO, etc. Oregon girls (except for maybe a couple) are better off sticking with a decent not so expensive club team and save money for college - unless parents are rich.

[Unregistered]

It's our money, if we want to spend it on ECNL it's our business.

I mostly agree - how people want to spend their own money is their business (a food and his money are soon parted). But it still makes me sad when families think there will be a payoff in the end. It's not just true in soccer but all sports. A good friend of our has a talented baseball playing son. They were quite frank all along about hoping this would help pay for college. The gear, the travel, the private coaching...Now they're facing the cold hard truth his junior year that the money isn't at all what they'd hoped for. Granted - every bit helps, absolutely. But he wants to go to some pricey schools and they aren't the Gettys. $8K off $60K isn't much.

[Unregistered]

I mostly agree - how people want to spend their own money is their business (a food and his money are soon parted). But it still makes me sad when families think there will be a payoff in the end. It's not just true in soccer but all sports. A good friend of our has a talented baseball playing son. They were quite frank all along about hoping this would help pay for college. The gear, the travel, the private coaching...Now they're facing the cold hard truth his junior year that the money isn't at all what they'd hoped for. Granted - every bit helps, absolutely. But he wants to go to some pricey schools and they aren't the Gettys. $8K off $60K isn't much.

There are also just as many families paying the bill that have never expected a scholarship out of it. It has to make sense in the budget right now, or don't do it.

[Unregistered]

There are also just as many families paying the bill that have never expected a scholarship out of it. It has to make sense in the budget right now, or don't do it.

For some, elite soccer is just another activity for wealthier parents to check off for their
dk, especially dds, and to brag with other wealthy friends.
$10K a year nothing to some folks, just another activity for little Ava.
Like $2000 a week private summer camps, equestrian training, $50K a year private schools, etc.

[Unregistered]

For some, elite soccer is just another activity for wealthier parents to check off for their
dk, especially dds, and to brag with other wealthy friends.
$10K a year nothing to some folks, just another activity for little Ava.
Like $2000 a week private summer camps, equestrian training, $50K a year private schools, etc.

I'm the original poster. If they have the money to do that, more power to them. It's their money. They deserve to spend it any way they want.

My post is for people who are not in that situation. People where spending that kind of travel money could mean the difference between skipping family vacatons or going into debt paying for college when their daughter graduates high school because they were led to believe that they would end up on the positive side of the equation when the scholarships do not pay out like they expected...

[Unregistered]

It's our money, if we want to spend it on ECNL it's our business.

And if I want to waste it all on Thorns Academy or Timbers Alliance then I will. You can call me stupid all day long and it won't change the fact that I am stupid.

[Unregistered]

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

[Unregistered]

I'm the original poster. If they have the money to do that, more power to them. It's their money. They deserve to spend it any way they want.

My post is for people who are not in that situation. People where spending that kind of travel money could mean the difference between skipping family vacatons or going into debt paying for college when their daughter graduates high school because they were led to believe that they would end up on the positive side of the equation when the scholarships do not pay out like they expected...

Agree 100%. Also worry about folks who have their u11 dd quit every other activity and sport and have her spend 24/7 on soccer, thinking this will push her into the top echelon of soccer full rides. Realistically not going to happen for 99.9% of Oregon girls (even true for almost as many CA girls). Too much pressure on these girls to give up their childhood in order to attempt to achieve an almost impossible goal. This soccer time taking over their childhood holds for the wealthy kids too.

[Unregistered]

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

It's the only retort that the ECNL crowd has. They can't defend how bad Portland ECNL is, so they have to insult the Thorns or the TA to make themselves feel better. But having a .150 winning percentage in ECNL makes them desperate.

[Unregistered]

It's the only retort that the ECNL crowd has. They can't defend how bad Portland ECNL is, so they have to insult the Thorns or the TA to make themselves feel better. But having a .150 winning percentage in ECNL makes them desperate.

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 ****?

[Unregistered]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered View Post
There are benefits and drawbacks to all of them. It's kids soccer. No need to insult anyone.

ANSWER
It's the only retort that the ECNL crowd has. They can't defend how bad Portland ECNL is, so they have to insult the Thorns or the TA to make themselves feel better. But having a .150 winning percentage in ECNL makes them desperate.

What the heck?
Okay - what is wrong with the above post. It is as if you did not read what you quoted which clearly did not "insult the Thorns or the TA to make themselves feel better." The poster did not identify which "camp" they are in or insult anyone.

Who is the desperate one.....hmmmm.....oh yeah, you are apparently!