Paying the Price

We often talk about "paying the price" to become successful in athletics.  But the prices have literally gone through the roof. The funding gap between taxpayer-supported programs and costs has left parents and athletes frustrated and with few alternatives.

In 2011, the Wall Street Journal documented the case of the Dombi family of Medina, OH, which paid over forty-four hundred dollars annually in fees for athletic and other participation. Almost four thousand of the Dombi family costs were band and sports-related. School costs in both personnel and supplies have risen, and reductions in state aid have produced funding gaps requiring both tax increases and participant fees.

The Lexington High School Athletic manual discusses playing time. "Perhaps the most emotional part of a student-athlete's involvement in high school athletics centers around playing time. It is the coach's responsibility to decide...approached very seriously after having observed the athletes in practice sessions, game like situations, scrimmages and actual game competitions." The "emotional part" isn't restricted to the student-athlete. Families naturally have a central, deep response to real or perceived injustices done to their child.

Note that any references to athletic users fees remain conspicuously (and appropriately) absent. User fees pay for participation, not for playing time.

But the costs go far beyond user fees. Many parents pay for travel teams (some AAU programs can run into the thousands), extra costs for travel, meals, and lodging, gym or YMCA memberships, personal training, sport-specific skill coaching, additional health costs for injury, sports equipment, and more. Players hit their parents up for tee-shirts, sweatshirts, and other memorabilia. And that doesn't count the costs of fueling the family car to get to regional practices or games, or fueling the high caloric needs of growing athletes.

So, when we're talking "paying the price", it's not just figuratively with the blood, sweat, and tears of our young people. The "mental account" of families includes far more than dollars as they sponsor their children's dreams...with no guarantees. Understanding why parents care as much as we do is easy. Backstopping children's futures is a life-long investment. Providing creative, dynamic, effective leaders for our children deserves critical thought in the classic and traditional sense. Decisions merit reason, clarity, logic, accuracy, breadth, depth, fairness, and understanding of biases and consequences. It's far more than just about the money.