Constant Rising Dues

[CountryBumpkin]

I wasn't preaching...sorry if it seemed as I was...

Was asking more how was your 'dues' broken down?
Uniform costs?
Tourney fees?
Do you pay coaches? Their travel and expenses...Equipment fees?
Are travel fee's included...as if parents don't go...?
How far and how much do you travel?
Do you pay field rental fees?
What type venues do you attend?
Do you have to pay for 'private' lessons?

Our club goes to bigger tourneys, Uniforms last 2 seasons...paid almost $500 for uni's and $600ish for tourney fees ea. year.
If we couldn't go with her, we'd split the travel coasts with team mate she was staying with...

I do know of teams whose 'owner' / coach that are merely cash cows for her...with very little legitimacy on anything. They make kids buy everything thru the org, at inflated prices, even the swag the parents wear (they tell them what to wear also) And charge very high rates for private lessons that you MUST attend...and go to no one else...

Thank you 'PaleRider'

We are responsible for uniform costs. Thankfully we don't have to do that each year, only when the uniform wears out. Thankfully they haven't changed the design in 3 years.
Tourney fees are covered in our annual dues.
16u and up has paid for coaches plus their travel fees are paid for... all with our annual dues.
Team equipment fees are covered by our annual dues.
Travel fees are NOT covered. We have to come out of pocket on our own for that.
This fall we have 5 tournaments, 2 out of state (14+ hour drives). In the summer we usually only play 2/3 in state tournaments out of 8
Field rentals are covered by our annual dues.
The past 12-months we attended the Colorado Independence, PGF Premier, Florida D9, Ronald McDonald, Atlanta Legacy. (We had to pay for the PGF & Indepence tournaments out of pocket in addition to our dues.)
Yes we pay for private lessons out of pocket.

[Hurricane]

I do know of teams whose 'owner' / coach that are merely cash cows for her...with very little legitimacy on anything. They make kids buy everything thru the org, at inflated prices, even the swag the parents wear (they tell them what to wear also) And charge very high rates for private lessons that you MUST attend...and go to no one else...

I concur, Pale Rider, but be careful by telling the truth and exposing those types of "big name" organziations! TD might see this and call you a bitter whiner, too.

I've been bringing this type of stuff up for a while now. Just trying to get the word out about these types of "organizations". Pull back that green curtain and there's this little "wizard" counting the money coming into the organization rather than looking out for the children in the organization....or the "daddy-ballers" coaching some of the teams. They promise a college scholarship to entice children to play in their organization, but the reality is most of them is just a worthless "verbal" that comes with little scholarship money. But you do get the endorphin flow of saying "my DD got verbaled!". Yippee. But at what cost?

Travel Ball softball is a brutal, selfish world and the more HeyBucket parents are made aware of it, the more questions or more careful they will be with their DD's life.

[Pale Rider]

I concur, Pale Rider, but be careful by telling the truth and exposing those types of "big name" organizations! TD might see this and call you a bitter whiner, too.

I've been bringing this type of stuff up for a while now. Just trying to get the word out about these types of "organizations". Pull back that green curtain and there's this little "wizard" counting the money coming into the organization rather than looking out for the children in the organization....or the "daddy-ballers" coaching some of the teams. They promise a college scholarship to entice children to play in their organization, but the reality is most of them is just a worthless "verbal" that comes with little scholarship money. But you do get the endorphin flow of saying "my DD got verbaled!". Yippee. But at what cost?

Travel Ball softball is a brutal, selfish world and the more HeyBucket parents are made aware of it, the more questions or more careful they will be with their DD's life.

TD ?...

Ive met a few folks on here...and I may *Bull *hit ya, but I wont make up lies...I will call BS when I see it....I dont / wont live thru my kid (s)...As far as the money Ive spent on softball, it wasn't for me and my 'ego'...It was for my kid to achieve her dreams, which I kept a very firm grasp on reality...even begged a very well known name in ball to tell me..."If my kid sucks, please tell me...I'll pull the plug, buy a new truck and a boat and we'll go fishing"...(He said kid is great, but I was an a**hole.....(I think he was joking about me...maybe not )
If you Google worst softball player ever, my oldest pic would probably pop up, but I love her absolutely as much and do anything I can to help her...Shes my 29 ACT, Artist, English guru, and will soon be a English Prof at some University...and I will always have her back also...

I do know a few organizations who make a living off softball...Some are truly productive orgs, whose managers do make money off softball, but provide a truly great service, with viable results and competitions...and truly cares about the kids...Sadly I know a few who make outlandish promise of D-1 'glory' with very expensive requirements, who deliver almost nothing but still happily cash checks and lure new naive folks with young kids into the monetary loop...and don't give 2 diddlys about any kids...

Back on topic, If I were wondering where money goes, I'd simply ask...And if that causes an issue, I'd call it a RED flag and time to move on...

[AlwaysImprove]

I attended a tryout last year for a "well known" organization and they handed the parents a form. It said something to the effect that the Gold team does not have to pay for anything, which means the other teams pay for that team.

Good point. Also, don't forget, on some "big organization" teams, there are girls that some coaches feel are worthy to be given a "free" ride - so the other girls usually have to make up those fees, too. The money has to be squeezed from someone somewhere.

They often give some of those girls that free ride to create draw. Many great hitters look to join a team with great hitters and great pitching. There is a network effect to these things.

[TulsaEliteGold]

Our organization is one of the top organizations in our region with over 130 college commitments since 2008 and have won ASA National Championships, finished Top 10 at PGF, TCS, CO Ind Day, CO Fireworks, etc. The Organization doesn't charge our teams anything for being part of the Organization. Each team has their own annual budgets to cover that team's expenses, each team also manages their own bank accounts so there is no having one team pay for other teams. The organization also gets our teams access to huge discounts on equipment and uniforms/clothing. They use the buying power of having 15+ teams to negotiate huge savings and those savings are passed directly to the teams. The organization also helps organize fundraisers for the teams who choose to help offset some expenses. Some of the teams have paid coaches who's travel expenses are paid and some teams have parent coaches.

My advice to all is know what the fees are up front and if you agree to those fees and get what's promised in return, who cares if they paid the coach more or paid to cover a player who couldn't afford to play otherwise. Anyone who has coached a travel team has more then likely had to come out of pocket before and cover unplanned expenses. Even when coaches are paid, its usually very minimal stipend for the amount of time they put in. Now if you are promised one thing, than asked to pay more money or do not attend the promised events, than yes you have a right to be upset. Otherwise ask up front what the cost is and what is included, than if you agree to those terms, its no ones business except your families.